In re Estate of Myers
Annotate this CaseAt issue in this appeal was whether a surviving spouse's elective share, as defined in Iowa Code 633.238, includes pay-on-death (POD) assets. The probate court ruled that three of Karen Myers's assets, a checking account, certificate of deposit, and an annuity, all payable on her death to her daughters, should be included in the elective share of her surviving spouse, Howard Myers. The assignees of Howard's elective share argued that the elective share should include POD assets under Sieh v. Sieh, which held the elective share includes assets in a revocable trust. The executor argued that the General Assembly, by amending section 633.238 in 2009, expressly limited the surviving spouse's elective share to four categories of assets listed in the statute, none of which included POD assets. The Supreme Court reversed the ruling of the probate court, concluding that the 2009 amendment to section 633.238 trumps Sieh, and the controlling statutory language omits POD assets from the surviving spouse's elective share. Remanded.
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