In the Matter of the Estate of Robert Earl Siefkas, Deceased.
Michael Siefkas, Appellant
Attorney for Appellant
Peter M. Sand
Attorney for Appellee
Richard O. McConville
Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Summary
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Clarke County, John D. Lloyd, Judge. AFFIRMED AS MODIFIED. Heard by Vaitheswaran, P.J., Mullins, J., and Potterfield, S.J. Opinion by Mullins, J. (7 pages)
Michael Siefkas appeals a district court order in a proceeding concerning his father’s estate. Michael argues the district court erred in determining a jointly-held account should be listed on the estate inventory and was subject to attorney fees. He also argues the jointly-held account was not an estate asset. OPINION HOLDS: The account was held in joint tenancy with rights of survivorship between the decedent and his two sons. Accordingly, it was not an estate asset and ownership of the account passed automatically to the survivors. However, because assets held in joint tenancy are considered gross assets of the estate for tax purposes, the account was properly included on the inventory form and may be considered in the court’s discretionary award of a reasonable attorney fee. We offer no opinion as to how much should be allowed by the court as a reasonable fee.
