Iowa Code » Chapter 597 — HUSBAND AND WIFE
Iowa Code

Iowa Code § 597.16 (2026)

Wages of married person — actions by

✓ current as of July 2026
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A married person may receive the wages for the person’s personal labor, and maintain an action therefor in the person’s own name, and hold the same in the person’s own right, and may prosecute and defend all actions for the preservation and protection of the person’s rights and property, as if unmarried. [C73, §2211; C97, §3162; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §10461; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §597.16]

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597.17 Liability for separate debts. Neither husband nor wife is liable for the debts or liabilities of the other incurred before marriage, and, except as otherwise declared in this chapter, they are not liable for the debts

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Tue Dec 09 22:00:07 2025 Iowa Code 2026, Chapter 597 (19, 0) §597.17, HUSBAND AND WIFE 4\n\nof each other contracted after marriage; nor are the wages, earnings, or property of either, nor is the rent or income of the property of either, liable for the separate debts of the other. [C51, §1453; R60, §2505; C73, §2212; C97, §3163; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §10465; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §597.17] 2020 Acts, ch 1063, §321

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Notes of Decisions
Cited in 3 cases, 1965–1987 · leading case: Shook v. Crabb, 281 N.W.2d 616 (Iowa 1979).
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Shook v. Crabb, 281 N.W.2d 616 (Iowa 1979). · cites it 2× “3, The Code, or for personal labor, § 597.16, The Code. It is difficult to understand why negligence actions between spouses would be any more disruptive than a case involving property or for personal labor, both of which are now permitted.”
Flogel v. Flogel, 133 N.W.2d 907 (Iowa 1965). · cites it 6× “3) and 2211 (now section 597.16) were cited as changing the common-law rule of inter-spousal immunity.”
Matter of Honomichl, 82 B.R. 92 (Bankr. S.D. Iowa 1987). · cites it 2× “According to Iowa Code section 597.16, “a married person may receive the wages for the person’s personal labor .”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.