2009 Iowa Code
Title 15 - Judicial Branch and Judicial Procedures
Subtitle 1 - Domestic Relations
CHAPTER 598 - DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE AND DOMESTIC RELATIONS
598.21 - ORDERS FOR DISPOSITION OF PROPERTY.

        598.21  ORDERS FOR DISPOSITION OF PROPERTY.
         1.  General principles.  Upon every judgment of annulment,
      dissolution, or separate maintenance, the court shall divide the
      property of the parties and transfer the title of the property
      accordingly, including ordering the parties to execute a quitclaim
      deed or ordering a change of title for tax purposes and delivery of
      the deed or change of title to the county recorder of the county in
      which each parcel of real estate is located.
         2.  Duties of county recorder.  The county recorder shall
      record each quitclaim deed or change of title and shall collect the
      fee specified in section 331.507, subsection 2, paragraph "a",
      and the fees specified in section 331.604.
         3.  Duties of clerk of court.  If the court orders a transfer
      of title to real property, the clerk of court shall issue a
      certificate under chapter 558 relative to each parcel of real estate
      affected by the order and immediately deliver the certificate for
      recording to the county recorder of the county in which the real
      estate is located.  Any fees assessed shall be included as part of
      the court costs.  The county recorder shall deliver the certificates
      to the county auditor as provided in section 558.58, subsection 1.
         4.  Property for children.  The court may protect and promote
      the best interests of children of the parties by setting aside a
      portion of the property of the parties in a separate fund or
      conservatorship for the support, maintenance, education, and general
      welfare of the minor children.
         5.  Division of property.  The court shall divide all
      property, except inherited property or gifts received or expected by
      one party, equitably between the parties after considering all of the
      following:
         a.  The length of the marriage.
         b.  The property brought to the marriage by each party.
         c.  The contribution of each party to the marriage, giving
      appropriate economic value to each party's contribution in homemaking
      and child care services.
         d.  The age and physical and emotional health of the parties.

         e.  The contribution by one party to the education, training,
      or increased earning power of the other.
         f.  The earning capacity of each party, including educational
      background, training, employment skills, work experience, length of
      absence from the job market, custodial responsibilities for children,
      and the time and expense necessary to acquire sufficient education or
      training to enable the party to become self-supporting at a standard
      of living reasonably comparable to that enjoyed during the marriage.

         g.  The desirability of awarding the family home or the right
      to live in the family home for a reasonable period to the party
      having custody of the children, or if the parties have joint legal
      custody, to the party having physical care of the children.
         h.  The amount and duration of an order granting support
      payments to either party pursuant to section 598.21A and whether the
      property division should be in lieu of such payments.
         i.  Other economic circumstances of each party, including
      pension benefits, vested or unvested.  Future interests may be
      considered, but expectancies or interests arising from inherited or
      gifted property created under a will or other instrument under which
      the trustee, trustor, trust protector, or owner has the power to
      remove the party in question as a beneficiary, shall not be
      considered.
         j.  The tax consequences to each party.
         k.  Any written agreement made by the parties concerning
      property distribution.
         l.  The provisions of an antenuptial agreement.
         m.  Other factors the court may determine to be relevant in an
      individual case.
         6.  Inherited and gifted property.  Property inherited by
      either party or gifts received by either party prior to or during the
      course of the marriage is the property of that party and is not
      subject to a property division under this section except upon a
      finding that refusal to divide the property is inequitable to the
      other party or to the children of the marriage.
         7.  Not subject to modification.  Property divisions made
      under this chapter are not subject to modification.
         8.  Necessary content of order.  Orders made pursuant to this
      section need mention only those factors relevant to the particular
      case for which the orders are made but shall contain the names, birth
      dates, addresses, and counties of residence of the petitioner and
      respondent.  

         Section History: Early Form

         [C51, § 1485; R60, § 2537; C73, § 2229; C97, § 3180; C24, 27, 31,
      35, 39, § 10481; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, § 598.14; C71, 73, 75,
      77, 79, § 598.17, § 598.21; C81, § 598.21; 82 Acts, ch 1054, § 1, ch
      1250, § 4--9] 

         Section History: Recent Form

         83 Acts, ch 101, § 118; 85 Acts, ch 159, § 10; 85 Acts, ch 178, §
      6, 7; 86 Acts, ch 1079, § 5; 88 Acts, ch 1141, §2; 89 Acts, ch 102,
      §6; 89 Acts, ch 166, §6; 90 Acts, ch 1224, § 42--45; 92 Acts, ch
      1195, § 405, 406, 508, 509; 93 Acts, ch 78, §44--46; 93 Acts, ch 79,
      §48, 49; 94 Acts, ch 1171, §40--42; 95 Acts, ch 52, § 8; 95 Acts, ch
      115, § 11, 12; 96 Acts, ch 1106, § 17; 96 Acts, ch 1141, § 7, 28, 29;
      97 Acts, ch 41, §32; 97 Acts, ch 175, §188--193, 200; 99 Acts, ch
      103, §44, 45; 2001 Acts, ch 143, §8; 2002 Acts, ch 1018, § 16, 17,
      21; 2003 Acts, ch 151, §28; 2004 Acts, ch 1157, §1; 2005 Acts, ch 69,
      §38; 2007 Acts, ch 163, §1--3; 2009 Acts, ch 27, §36; 2009 Acts, ch
      159, §14; 2009 Acts, ch 179, §44
         Referred to in § 321A.17, 598.20, 598.21A