Senior Downsizing · Probate & Estate Sales · Out-of-State Heirs | Des Moines, Iowa
Guides for out-of-state heirs and executors managing inherited Iowa property from a distance — covering the Iowa probate timeline, remote sale process, tax considerations, and how to navigate an estate sale without flying back to Des Moines.
By Sarah Ingles, REALTOR® SRES® CPCU® | Smart Move Des Moines Every inherited house Des Moines heirs receive comes with the same first temptation: take the cash offer and be done. When you inherit a house in the Des Moines metro and you live several states away, the first offer that feels like relief is … Read more
My phone doesn’t ring at 11pm very often. When it does, it’s usually an adult child calling from Phoenix or Chicago or Florida who just got off the phone with a hospital, and the family home in Polk County is suddenly their problem. They’re not ready to sell. They don’t know what they’re allowed to … Read more
If you need to sell an inherited house in Iowa, start here. Selling an inherited house in Iowa starts with one question: who has the legal authority to sign? Until that question is answered, nothing else can move forward. Most families in Polk, Dallas, and Warren Counties find the full process takes four to six … Read more
Iowa inheritance tax repealed:When a parent dies and leaves an Iowa house, one of the first calls an out-of-state heir makes is to their CPA or home-state attorney. And one of the first things that CPA or attorney says — if they haven’t updated their Iowa knowledge recently — is some version of: “Watch out … Read more
By Sarah Ingles, REALTOR® SRES® CPCU® | Smart Move Des Moines Selling Your Parents’ Iowa Home From Out of State: What Out-of-State Heirs Need to Know Need to sell an inherited Iowa home from out of state? If you live in Chicago, Denver, Minneapolis, or Phoenix and just learned you’re responsible for selling a parent’s … Read more
The Iowa probate timeline shapes every decision you’ll face as an out-of-state heir. When a parent dies and leaves you a house in Iowa — and you live in Phoenix, or Chicago, or anywhere that isn’t Des Moines — the first question is almost always the same: “How fast can I sell it?” It’s a … Read more