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Case No. 18-0527

In the Matter of the Estate of Helen E. Houser, Deceased.

Bonnie Forbes, Appellant

Attorney for Appellant

David Burbidge

Attorney for Appellee Woodrow Houser

John E. Beasley and Thomas E. Williams

Attorney for Appellee Estate

Thomas E. Maxwell

Court of Appeals

Court of Appeals Opinion

Opinion Number:
18-0527
Date Published:
Jul 03, 2019
Summary

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Johnson County, Patrick R. Grady, Judge.  AFFIRMED IN PART, REVERSED IN PART, AND REMANDED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., Doyle, J., and Vogel, S.J.  Opinion by Vaitheswaran, P.J.  (12 pages)

            A mother of four children died, leaving a significant estate to be distributed to her children under the terms of her will.  In this second appeal, Bonnie Forbes challenges the district court’s (A) reduction of her share of the estate, (B) refusal to reduce Woodrow Houser’s share of the estate, (C) allocation of executor fees, and (D) refusal to pay certain charges incurred for upkeep of estate assets.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm the portion of the district court order awarding Forbes thirty-five percent of the ordinary executor fee and Lawrence Houser sixty-five percent of the fee.  We reverse the portion of the order reducing Forbes’ distributive share by $52,837.81 and remand for entry of an order increasing her distributive share by that amount.  We reverse the portion of the order declining to reduce Woodrow Houser’s distributive share by amounts owing on promissory notes and remand for entry of an order reducing his distributive share by $36,557.71 after reduction by the $38,272.29 contained in the UICCU savings account.  We reverse the denial of the charges submitted by Forbes’ son-in-law, son, and husband and remand for entry of an order requiring the executor to pay the enumerated charges.

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