Opinion ID: 1749422
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Whether Mary Jane's Election is Time Barred Pursuant to Iowa Code Section 633.3109.

Text: The district court concluded that, even if Mary Jane was entitled to subject the assets of the revocable trust to her spousal election, that election was time barred by reason of Iowa Code section 633.3109. That statute provides for the giving of notice of the type served on Mary Jane by the trustees and provides that, unless an action to contest the validity of the trust is brought within the later to occur of sixty days from the date of the second publication of the notice or thirty days from the date of mailing the notice, such claims are barred. Iowa Code § 633.3109(3)( d ). This statute further provides creditors having claims against a trust must mail proof of their claim to the trustee via certified mail, return receipt requested, within the later to occur of sixty days from the second publication of the notice or thirty days from the date of mailing of the notice, or thereafter be forever barred. Iowa Code § 633.3109(3)( e ). Mary Jane urges that this statute does not operate to bar her effort to include the assets of the revocable trust in the statutory share to which she is entitled by reason of her timely election against Edward's will. We agree. Pursuant to her election to take against the will, the district court had authority to decide whether her statutory share embraced the trust assets by ruling in the estate proceedings. It was not necessary for Mary Jane to file a claim in the trust or bring a separate action involving the trust in order to obtain the relief she was seeking. An analogous situation exists with regard to creditors filing claims in an estate following the publication of notice under Iowa code sections 633.230 or 633.304. Those creditors may seek to subject revocable trust assets to their claims in the estate proceeding through the regular claims process and are not subject to the requirements of section 633.3019(3). Iowa Code § 633.3019(2). The notice and bar provisions of section 633.3019(3) are conditioned on an absence of proper notice to creditors in the estate proceeding. See id. We have considered all issues presented and conclude that the judgment of the district court must be reversed. The case is remanded to that court for a determination of Mary Jane's spousal share under section 633.238 in accordance with the directives of this opinion. REVERSED AND REMANDED.