The State of Iowa has recently amended its inheritance laws to provide an estate tax exemption to the lineal descendants of step-children. Iowa’s new statute, which will go into effect on July 1, 2016, will also clarify the term “lineal descendants” to include those who are descendants by adoption. Specifically listing parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, children, and other certain relatives will no longer be required under the new law in Iowa. The current exemptions that exist for surviving spouses and step children will also continue to remain in place.
See Walter Kluwer Law & Business, Inheritance Tax Exemption Provision Amended, Resourcefullaw, August 20, 2015.
