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:
Date Published:
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.