If a minor makes such a contract it can be reneged without penalty.  In Iowa a minor can only be bound to contracts for necessities like apartment, clothing, food, etc.  However if such a contract was made and the minor kept, for example a car, past their 18th birthday then they would be liable under the terms of the contract.  If it is a contract for a necessity then the terms of the contract must be fair.  For example if a minor gets an apartment for $450 when similar apartments in the building are rented to other tenants for $400 then the minor will be liable for the contract but only for $400.

Probably not, but the state could still prosecute if they wanted to.  In a criminal case it is not up to the victim to decide if they want a case to go forward.  The state has limited resources that it would probably not want to spend on a case where the victim does not want to go forward but they may still prosecute.  Generally it will be up to the County Attorney to decide whether or not to go forward.  If for example it was not the defendant’s first offense then they may still choose to prosecute him. 

Iowa recently changed its laws regarding annulment i.e. making it so that legally the marriage never happened.  Now if you have been married for a short amount of time and want to get a divorce you still have to get a divorce or what is now called dissolution of marriage.  In the case of a “mistake” marriage the court will not try to use its usual standard i.e. a fair distribution of assets, but rather it will try to put the parties back in the place they were the day before the marriage.  There are still some instances when a marriage is going to be undone as a matter of law.  Some cause will make the marriage automatically void and some void able.  Here are some examples… incest or other illegal marriage-void; impotent at time of marriage- void able; bigamy-void; lack of mental capacity to contract-void able; fraud or duress-void able.  Even when these are present a petition for dissolution of marriage must be filed.

Yes it will.  In Iowa a marriage will be recognized if violation of regulatory requirements and any child from the marriage will be recognized as legitimate.  As long as the parties intended to marry then it will be recognized but they could be fined $50 dollars each also any witness to the marriage as well as the person who married the couple can also be fined

No.  In Iowa a common law marriage can be recognized after any length of time.  A common law marriage will give a couple rights as if they were married.  It will also give an individual the right to claim the property of their deceased “spouse”.  To determine if a common law marriage exists the court will look to see if there was an intent or agreement between the couple, if the couple was living together continuously, and that the couple were holding themselves out as man and wife and other factors.  Factors to prove these include such things as introducing the spouse as Mr. and Mrs. Jones, filing taxes as a married couple, writing your name on your mail as Mr. and Mrs. Etc.   See In Re Marriage of Winegard 278 N.W.2d 505 (1979).

If a minor makes such a contract it can be reneged without penalty.  In Iowa a minor can only be bound to contracts for necessities like apartment, clothing, food, etc.  However if such a contract was made and the minor kept, for example a car, past their 18th birthday then they would be liable under the terms of the contract.  If it is a contract for a necessity then the terms of the contract must be fair.  For example if a minor gets an apartment for $450 when similar apartments in the building are rented to other tenants for $400 then the minor will be liable for the contract but only for $400.

Contact the Department of Health at 515-323-2760.

It depends on the laws of states.  If you were trying to move to Iowa and wanted to get a divorce in Iowa you would have to wait one year and then show that you have maintained the residency in good faith and not for the sole purpose of getting a divorce in Iowa.  Other states may differ but one year is a typical period.  Also the state you are going to would have to have jurisdiction over the other spouse.  In Iowa you are also required to wait 90 days from the filing of the petition for divorce before the divorce can be deemed to be final.

You can speak with your lawyer about a temporary order.  In almost all divorce case you will get a hearing shortly after filing for divorce to establish a temporary arrangement.  In the temporary order the court can set up boundaries regarding such things as child support, spousal support, child custody, attorney’s fees, restraining orders etc.

There are many things that will be taken into consideration but in general either the parent who pays the support (the payer) or the parent who is the custodial parent (the payee) may ask the court for a hearing regarding a modification of the child support order.  In Iowa there must be a “substantial change of circumstances” for a child support order to be changed.  The two most common ways that this change can be shown is for the payee parent to show that the payer parent has health insurance that they did not have at the time of the order and that the insurance would cover the children or that the “10% rule” applies.  The “10% rule” says that if the amount the payer parent would have to pay would be 10% higher or lower than what they pay based on the previous order than this counts as a “substantial change of circumstances”.  It is important to note that a parent can not quit their job or decide to take a job that pays much less than their previous job and then turn around and say that they should not have to pay as much child support anymore.  The reduction of income must be involuntary in order to qualify for a new amount under the 10% rule.

No, visitation rights are not conditioned on the non-custodial spouse’s keeping with other provisions of the divorce decree.  If they are not paying child support then tell your lawyer or the child support recovery unit but you still have to let him see the kids or you will be in violation of a court order just as much as the other spouse is.

No, if the other parent or child is still living in the state that they moved from then that state still has exclusive jurisdiction regarding the order.  The home state of the child does not control.

If the child is going to any kind of vocational school or traditional university/ community college then the court can order the other parent to help pay for college.  The court will require that good cause be shown by looking at the child’s age and ability and the financial situation of the parents.  If good cause is shown then the court can order each parent to pay for 1/3 of the amount that it would cost to send the child to an instate public university for an undergraduate degree.  The 1/3 portion does NOT go to the custodial parent but directly to the university or to the child.

The Iowa code currently says that a grandparent may petition for visitation rights when any of the following occur; parents of child are getting divorced, parents have died, child placed in a foster home, a step parent of the child is seeking to adopt the child.  However, recent Iowa cases have struck down several of these subsections as unconstitutional.  A  recent U.S. Supreme Court decision has stated that the law should not interfere with a parent’s fundamental right to raise their child by ordering them to let their child see a grandparent if the parent does not want them to.  This case and recent Iowa cases seem to be shifting to determining that Iowa grandparent visitation laws are not constitutional.  The final answer has not been made yet so if you have a question about this area it is best to call the Hotline to get the latest information regarding this topic.

No, he will still be responsible for child support payments.  Support judgments cannot be undone by a bankruptcy.

To get a custody order modified is a fairly difficult thing to do.  There is a heavy burden on the party seeking the modification.  Generally the court will only change custody for the most cogent reasons.  The primary factor that the court will look at is what is in the best interest of the child.  Also the party wishing to get custody must show that they can offer superior care than the parent or guardian who currently has custody.  Besides these there are no real hard and fast rules regarding changing custody and it will be looked at from a situation-to-situation basis.

 You can and it is called “Opting Out”.  There are a few different ways that you can do it, and they are relatively simple.  In order to find the best way for you, call 1-888-5optout (1-888-567-8688) or call the Iowa Attorney General’s Office-Consumer Protection Division at 515 281-5926.

Though it is always best to file a lawsuit as soon as possible, a person will be barred from bringing a lawsuit after a certain amount of time. The Iowa code sets out some time limits for filing in general situations.  For a personal injury you have 2 years to file from the day the incident occurred or the time when you did or should have known of the injury.  Actions regarding verbal contracts and injury to property have a 5-year statute of limitations.  Actions on written contracts and the recovery of real property (i.e. land) are 10 years.  Suits based on injury or defects regarding products can be brought within 15 years of the sale of the product.  Suits relating to medical malpractice can be brought 2 years after you knew or through the use of reasonable diligence should have known of the injury but not more than 6 years after the act by the medical professional that caused the injury.

No.  Iowa does not recognize a will simply because it may be shown to be in the handwriting of the alleged creator of the will.  In order for a will to be valid in Iowa it must be type written and signed by the person wishing to execute the will (who in Iowa is called the Testator).  In addition the will must also be signed by at least two witnesses.  These witnesses must not be permitted by the will to receive any money or property and the witnesses must be at least 16 years old to be recognized as a legitimate witness.

No an attorney is not needed but if at all possible it is better to have a lawyer help you with your will.  There are several legal requirements in Iowa law that a person must follow regarding creating their will.  If some of these requirements are not met then the probate court may be forced to disregard your will and give out your assets as if you had no will.  Your will is the only way to force others to carry out your wishes after you die so it is worth it to have a lawyer to ensure that the will is valid.

Possibly.  Iowa courts will not recognize a will in favor of a previous will if the testator i.e. the person who wrote the will does not have a general mental capacity.  In order to be recognized as having a general mental capacity to make a will the testator must know and understand several things. 

1. They must understand the “objects of their bounty” i.e. how many potential heirs they have. 
2. They must also know the nature and extent of their property i.e. what you have to give.  
3. They must understand the planed distribution i.e. know what is going where with regard to their assets.  
4. They must understand the nature of the instrument he or she is executing
5. They must understand how disposition will effect people i.e. understand the significance of disinheriting someone. 

Of these the most important are the first two but all of them must be present at the time the will is executed.  In re Estate of Adams, 234 N.W.2d 1125 (Iowa 1975).  Also insanity and fraud are examples of mental states of a testator that can get the will thrown out by a court.

There are 3 primary ways to undue or revoke a will that you have already made.

1. You can either revoke a will by a cancelation.  A cancellation is when you revoke your will going through the same procedure that you had to do to create it.  In Iowa you would need to have at least two witnesses and tell them that you no longer want the will to be recoginzed  and indicate that on the will or part of the will you wish to revoke.  The witnesses must then sign the will as witnesses to the revocation. 
2. You can destroy the will if such an act is accompanied by an intent to revoke. 
3. You can make a new will and all provisions of the old will that are covered in the new will would be considered to be revoked.  In order to cancel out the entire first when then you must also include a residuary clause in the second will which basically will tell the court to ignore the first will.

Yes.  Iowa law allows for a wife (not an ex-wife) to elect against her husband’s will.  Electing against a will entitles a surviving spouse to claim 1/3 of the value of all real property owned at anytime during the marriage provided that the surviving spouse did not sign off on those sales at the time they were made. All exempt personal property i.e. Clothing, $2,000 worth of household goods. Life insurance policies, pension benefits, 1 car, farming tools, a right to live in the couple home for the rest of the surviving spouse’s life, and 1/3 of all other personal property.

No.  If a couple gets a divorce then all provisions in the will made before the divorce that refer to the spouse are considered to be revoked.

EVERYTHING!  With exception of paying off debts the spouse gets everything and the children or other relatives get nothing.  The children will only get anything after the surviving spouse dies.  A child may be allowed to collect but only if the child is not the child of the surving spouse.  This is very rare but in this case the surviving spouse would get ½ of the real property i.e. land, all exempt personal property such as clothing, $2,000 worth of household goods, life insurance policies, pension benefits, 1 car, farming tools, a right to live in the couple home for the rest of the surviving spouse’s life and ½ of all other personal property after payment of debts.  The law also says the surviving spouse must get at least $50,000 from the above provisions or they may be given a larger percentage of the estate.  A divorce between the spouses destroys the above rights.

The court will split the estate up among the child lines.  What this means can best be shown be some examples.  If there are three children then each child gets 1/3.  If there were three children but one died then the remaining two children take as if there had only been two children i.e. 1/2 each.  In other situations it can get more complex so for the following example assume that X and Y are the dead parents and the court found that they had $3,000 and that A, B and C are the children of Y and X.  If C died before X and Y but C had two children of his own then X and Y’s assets would be divided up as follows. A would get 1/3 ($1,000) and B would get 1/3 ($1,000).  C’s share would NOT go to A or B but rather to the children of C so C’s 1/3 portion would be divided evenly to C’s two children ($500 to each child of C).  There are several different situations that can involve many different twists and turns so it is best to call the hotline on this topic.