Iowa is exploring the establishment of two new specialty probate courts. In anticipation of an unprecedented transfer of wealth as the population ages, some experts believe specialty courts can play a critical role in probate, trust and estate law.
Speciality Courts?
Iowa could become the first state in the Midwest to adopt specialty probate courts. KPVI News provides this rationale from attorney, and State Representative, Jon Jacobs:
Qualified full-time associate probate judges would be dedicated to hearing trust law and probate law cases. That area of law, which most judges don’t have much experience in, has “a steep learning curve,” Jacobsen said. Iowa’s courts that singularly hear certain types of law have provided quicker, more accurate decisions.“It brings in judges with a real degree of expertise having worked in these fields for so long who really understand the law both as it’s been codified and in common law to render some really excellent decisions that are best for Iowans…”
Good To Know
As Flick Law Group explains, probate can be simply defined as “the court-supervised process for distributing a deceased person’s money and property….” Although it is often assumed that it is best to avoid the probate process, estate planners remind us that the probate process can be very helpful. For example, probate courts can play an important role in helping families resolve debt, conflict and a wide range of other complexities.
Probate courts frequently require procurement of a type of fiduciary bond known as a probate bond. Sometimes also referred to as an estate or personal representative bond, a probate bond essentially protects the interests of the estate and its beneficiaries in accordance with state law. As a leading national and direct provider of all kinds of fiduciary bonds, Colonial Surety makes it quick and easy to obtain probate bonds—and all types of fiduciary bonds. The steps to obtaining a probate bond with Colonial are easy: get a quote online, fill out the information, and enter a payment method. Print or e-file the bond from anywhere—even while at court. It’s that simple. Probate Bonds Here.
Unprecedented Wealth Transfer?
It’s estimated that $68 trillion will be passed along to Generation X and Millennials over the next twenty-five years! In preparation, as Wealth Management reports, legal, financial and tech innovators across the country are using technology to make estate planning more widely available: “Wealthtech firms are flipping the narrative by developing solutions that democratize estate planning through artificial intelligence, design thinking and automation. Wealth managers who leverage this disruptive technology will make estate planning more accessible to a wider client base…”
Time Savings for Probate Lawyers
Colonial Surety provides attorneys with complimentary business support services via The Partnership Account®. Once you sign up for The Partnership Account® for Attorneys, you will have direct access to our complete online portfolio of court and fiduciary bonds–and your own private dashboard. Use it to quickly and efficiently obtain, track, manage and even e-file all the bonds needed to keep your clients and cases moving forward.
Let Colonial arm you with game changing competitive advantages:
- By leveraging our technology, you will streamline your operations, lowering your overhead and increasing your efficiency.
- By directly accessing our online portfolio of bonds, you will save time—which you can invest back into your clients.
Colonial’s online bond portfolio includes: administrator, estate, executor, guardian, personal representative, probate, trustee and conservator. We also have: appeal, supersedeas, injunction, replevin and receiver bonds—and more.
Yes, save me time: The Attorney Partnership Account®
Founded in 1930, Colonial Surety Company is a direct writer of surety bonds and insurance products. Colonial is rated “A Excellent” by A.M. Best Company, U.S. Treasury listed, and licensed for business everywhere in the USA.