Iowa Code

Iowa Code § 633.279 (2026)

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✓ current as of July 2026

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1. Formal execution. All wills and codicils, except as provided in section 633.283, to be valid, must be in writing, signed by the testator, or by some person in the testator’s presence and by the testator’s express direction writing the testator’s name thereto, and declared by the testator to be the testator’s will, and witnessed, at the testator’s request, by two competent persons who signed as witnesses in the presence of the testator and in the presence of each other; provided, however, that the validity of the execution of any will or instrument which was executed prior to January 1, 1964, shall be determined by the law in effect immediately prior to said date. 2. Self-proved will. a. An attested will may be made self-proved at the time of its execution, or at any subsequent date, by the acknowledgment thereof by the testator and the affidavits of the witnesses, each made before a person authorized to administer oaths and take acknowledgments under the laws of this state, and evidenced by such person’s certificate, under seal, attached or annexed to the will, in form and content substantially as follows: Affidavit State of........................ ) County of........................ ) ss We, the undersigned, ............................, ............................ and ...................................., the testator and the witnesses, respectively, whose names are signed to the attached or foregoing instrument, being first duly sworn, declare to the undersigned authority that at the date of the instrument, we all knew the identity of each other; the instrument was exhibited to the witnesses by the testator, who declared it to be the testator’s last will and testament and was signed by the testator or by another at the direction of the testator at ................................, in the County of ........................, State of ........................, on the date shown in the instrument, and

Tue Dec 09 21:59:21 2025 Iowa Code 2026, Chapter 633 (154, 4) 63 PROBATE CODE, §633.281\n\n in the presence of each other as subscribing witnesses; that we, as witnesses, declare to the undersigned authority that in our presence the testator executed and acknowledged such will as the testator’s will and that we, in the testator’s presence, at the testator’s request, and in the presence of each other, did subscribe our names thereto as attesting witnesses on the date of such will; and that the witnesses were sixteen years of age or older. ............................ Testator ............................ Witness ............................ Witness ............................ Subscribed, sworn and acknowledged before me by ................................, the testator; and subscribed and sworn before me by ................................ and ............................, witnesses, this ............ day of ........................ (month), ............ (year) .............................

Signature of notarial officer (Stamp)

[...................] Title of office [My commission expires] b. A self-proved will shall constitute proof of due execution of such instrument as required by section 633.293 and may be admitted to probate without testimony of witnesses. 3. Execution of remote will or codicil in counterparts. When a will or codicil is executed using remote signing under this section, the original document may be executed in one or more counterparts by parties located in different locations, and all such counterparts may be aggregated to comprise the complete will or codicil of the testator. 4. Remote will or codicil under disaster proclamation. Any will or codicil executed using the remote signing procedures permitted under the proclamation of disaster emergency of the governor issued April 2, 2020, and expired February 15, 2022, shall be deemed to satisfy the presence requirements of this section if the will or codicil was executed during the effective period of the proclamation of disaster emergency. 5. Definition. For purposes of this section, “presence” means any manner, physical or electronic, in which the witness and testator can see and hear the acts of each other in real time. [C51, §1281; R60, §2313; C73, §2326; C97, §3274; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §11852; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, §633.7; C66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §633.279] 2000 Acts, ch 1058, §56; 2011 Acts, ch 25, §73; 2012 Acts, ch 1050, §57, 60; 2013 Acts, ch 33, §2, 9; 2015 Acts, ch 30, §180; 2023 Acts, ch 133, §2, 3 Referred to in §622.1 Subsection 4 applies retroactively to wills and codicils executed on or after April 2, 2020; 2023 Acts, ch 133, §3

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 23 cases (5 in the last 5 years), 1968–2024 · leading case: Iowa Supreme Court Attorney Disciplinary Bd. v. Joseph Michael Haskovec, 869 N.W.2d 554 (Iowa 2015).

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Iowa Supreme Court Attorney Disciplinary Bd. v. Joseph Michael Haskovec, 869 N.W.2d 554 (Iowa 2015). · cites it 4× “Iowa Code § 633.279 (1). The attestation clause of Benson’s will mimicked the formal requirements for the valid execution of a will contained in section 633.”

Matter of Est. of Bearbower, 426 N.W.2d 392 (Iowa 1988). · cites it 6× “Count one asserted that execution was improper under Iowa code section 633.279(1) (1985). Counts two and three asserted lack of testamentary capacity and undue influence respectively.”

In Re Est. of Fordonski, 678 N.W.2d 413 (Iowa 2004). · cites it 14× “Iowa Code § 633.279 (1). In seeking to uphold the district court's ruling, the contestants point out that in keeping with the form of affidavit specified in section 633.”

Matter of Est. of Graham, 295 N.W.2d 414 (Iowa 1980). · cites it 3× “See § 633.279, The Code 1973. The facts surrounding the execution of the will are undisputed and come from the deposition of Herschel Langdon, the attorney who drew it.”

In the Matter of the Est. of P. Richard Meyer, Deceased: Miracles Meyer, Pers. Rep. for the Est. of P. Richard Meyer v. Kelly Catherine Fanning, 2016 WY 6 (Wyo. 2016). “” Iowa Code § 633.279 (1). Thus, in Iowa, the requirements for proof of a will by affidavit did not exceed the requirement for forming a valid will.”

In Re Est. of Sheimo, 156 N.W.2d 681 (Iowa 1968). · cites it 4× “Code, 1966, section 633.279. The foregoing discussion would seem to agree with Restatement of the Law, Contract, Vol.”

Comm. on Prof'l Ethics & Conduct of the Iowa State Bar Ass'n v. Seff, 457 N.W.2d 924 (Iowa 1990). · cites it 2× “The commission found, and we agree, that the 1984 will was not executed as required by Iowa Code section 633.279. It was not a valid will.”

Matter of Est. of Henrich, 389 N.W.2d 78 (Iowa Ct. App. 1986). · cites it 2× “A will to be valid in Iowa must be executed in accordance with the requirements set forth in Iowa Code section 633.279(1) (1985). A will must be: 1.”

Matter of Est. of Thompson, 346 N.W.2d 5 (Iowa 1984). · cites it 2× “On June 3, 1982, plaintiffs, decedent’s heirs at law, filed a petition to set aside decedent’s will; they alleged that (1) the will had not been executed with the formalities required by Iowa Code section 633.279 (1981); and (2) the will was “the product of fraud.”

In Re Est. of Safley, 193 N.W.2d 118 (Iowa 1971). · cites it 6× “Plaintiff-appellant asserts the trial court erred in (1) allowing exhibit A and the labels to explain paragraph III as they were not validly incorporated by reference, (2) admitting exhibit A and the labels when they were not properly executed under the requirements of Code…”

Synagogue v. Lubavitch of Iowa, Inc., 678 N.W.2d 413 (Iowa 2004). · cites it 14× “Iowa Code § 633.279 (1). In seeking to uphold the district court’s ruling, the contestants point out that in keeping with the form of affidavit specified in section 633.”

City of Cedar Rapids v. Atsinger, 617 N.W.2d 272 (Iowa 2000). · cites it 2× “This section does not apply to acknowledge-ments where execution is required by law, to a document which is to be recorded under chapter 558 or to a self-proved will under section 633.279, subsection 2. Before section 805.”

Show all 23 citing cases →

— Iowa Code § 633.279(1) — 7 cases

Matter of Est. of Bearbower, 426 N.W.2d 392 (Iowa 1988). “Count one asserted that execution was improper under Iowa code section 633.279(1) (1985). Counts two and three asserted lack of testamentary capacity and undue influence respectively.”

Iowa Supreme Court Attorney Disciplinary Bd. v. Joseph Michael Haskovec, 869 N.W.2d 554 (Iowa 2015). “Iowa Code § 633.279 (1). The attestation clause of Benson’s will mimicked the formal requirements for the valid execution of a will contained in section 633.”

Matter of Est. of Henrich, 389 N.W.2d 78 (Iowa Ct. App. 1986). “A will to be valid in Iowa must be executed in accordance with the requirements set forth in Iowa Code section 633.279(1) (1985). A will must be: 1.”

In Re Est. of Fordonski, 678 N.W.2d 413 (Iowa 2004). “Iowa Code § 633.279 (1). In seeking to uphold the district court's ruling, the contestants point out that in keeping with the form of affidavit specified in section 633.”

Synagogue v. Lubavitch of Iowa, Inc., 678 N.W.2d 413 (Iowa 2004). “Iowa Code § 633.279 (1). In seeking to uphold the district court’s ruling, the contestants point out that in keeping with the form of affidavit specified in section 633.”

— Iowa Code § 633.279(2) — 3 cases

In the Matter of the Est. of Pamela Ann Gavin (Iowa Ct. App. 2024).

— Iowa Code § 633.279(2)(a) — 1 case

In the Matter of the Est. of Pamela Ann Gavin (Iowa Ct. App. 2024).

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