Iowa Code 633.415 – Commencement or continuance of separate action
Current as of: 2023 | Check for updates
|
Other versions
1. Any action pending against the decedent at the time of the decedent’s death that survives, shall also be considered a claim filed against the estate if notice of substitution is served upon the personal representative as defendant within the time provided for filing claims in section 633.410; however, this provision shall not bar parties entitled to equitable relief due to peculiar circumstances. A copy of the proof of service of notice of such proceedings shall be filed in the probate proceedings but shall not be jurisdictional.
Terms Used In Iowa Code 633.415
- Decedent: A deceased person.
- Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
- Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
- Estate: means the real and personal property of either a decedent or a ward, and may also refer to the real and personal property of a trust described in section 633. See Iowa Code 633.3
- Party: means the respondent, petitioner, guardian, conservator, or any other person allowed by the court to participate in a guardianship or protective proceeding. See Iowa Code 633.701
- Personal representative: includes executor and administrator. See Iowa Code 633.3
- Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
- Probate: Proving a will
- Statute of limitations: A law that sets the time within which parties must take action to enforce their rights.
- Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
2. A separate action based on a debt or other liability of the decedent may be commenced against a personal representative of the decedent in lieu of filing a claim in the estate. Such an action shall be commenced by serving an original notice on the personal representative within the time provided for filing claims in section 633.410 and such action shall also be considered a claim filed against the estate. Such action may be commenced only in a county wherein the venue would have been proper had the decedent survived and the action been commenced against the decedent. A copy of the proof of service of notice shall be filed in the probate proceedings but shall not be jurisdictional.
3. A judgment or decree in favor of the plaintiff in any such action shall constitute an adjudication against the estate.
4. In all cases where by the death of the party to be charged, the bringing of the action against the estate shall have been delayed beyond the period provided by the statute of limitations, the action may be brought if the original notice is served on the personal representative as defendant, and proof of service of notice of such proceeding is filed in the probate proceedings within the time provided for filing claims in section 633.410.