Section 598.21. Orders for disposition of property.

  1.  General principles.  Upon every judgment of annulment, dissolution, or separate maintenance, the court shall divide the property of the parties and transfer the title of the property accordingly, including ordering the parties to execute a quitclaim deed or ordering a change of title for tax purposes and delivery of the deed or change of title to the county recorder of the county in which each parcel of real estate is located.

  2.  Duties of county recorder.  The county recorder shall record each quitclaim deed or change of title and shall collect the fee specified in section 331.507, subsection 2, paragraph “a”, and the fees specified in section 331.604.

  3.  Duties of clerk of court.  If the court orders a transfer of title to real property, the clerk of court shall issue a certificate under chapter 558 relative to each parcel of real estate affected by the order and immediately deliver the certificate for recording to the county recorder of the county in which the real estate is located. Any fees assessed shall be included as part of the court costs. The county recorder shall deliver the certificates to the county auditor as provided in section 558.58, subsection 1.

  4.  Property for children.  The court may protect and promote the best interests of children of the parties by setting aside a portion of the property of the parties in a separate fund or conservatorship for the support, maintenance, education, and general welfare of the minor children.

  5.  Division of property.  The court shall divide all property, except inherited property or gifts received or expected by one party, equitably between the parties after considering all of the following:

  a.  The length of the marriage.

  b.  The property brought to the marriage by each party.

  c.  The contribution of each party to the marriage, giving appropriate economic value to each party’s contribution in homemaking and child care services.

  d.  The age and physical and emotional health of the parties.

  e.  The contribution by one party to the education, training, or increased earning power of the other.

  f.  The earning capacity of each party, including educational background, training, employment skills, work experience, length of absence from the job market, custodial responsibilities for children, and the time and expense necessary to acquire sufficient education or training to enable the party to become self-supporting at a standard of living reasonably comparable to that enjoyed during the marriage.

  g.  The desirability of awarding the family home or the right to live in the family home for a reasonable period to the party having custody of the children, or if the parties have joint legal custody, to the party having physical care of the children.

  h.  The amount and duration of an order granting support payments to either party pursuant to section 598.21A and whether the property division should be in lieu of such payments.

  i.  Other economic circumstances of each party, including pension benefits, vested or unvested. Future interests may be considered, but expectancies or interests arising from inherited or gifted property created under a will or other instrument under which the trustee, trustor, trust protector, or owner has the power to remove the party in question as a beneficiary, shall not be considered.

  j.  The tax consequences to each party.

  k.  Any written agreement made by the parties concerning property distribution.

  l.  The provisions of an antenuptial agreement.

  m.  Other factors the court may determine to be relevant in an individual case.

  6.  Inherited and gifted property.  Property inherited by either party or gifts received by either party prior to or during the course of the marriage is the property of that party and is not subject to a property division under this section except upon a finding that refusal to divide the property is inequitable to the other party or to the children of the marriage.

  7.  Not subject to modification.  Property divisions made under this chapter are not subject to modification.

  8.  Necessary content of order.  Orders made pursuant to this section need mention only those factors relevant to the particular case for which the orders are made but shall contain the names, birth dates, addresses, and counties of residence of the petitioner and respondent.

[C51, §1485; R60, §2537; C73, §2229; C97, §3180; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §10481; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, §598.14; C71, 73, 75, 77, 79, §598.17, §598.21; C81, §598.21;

82 Acts, ch 1054, §1

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ch 1250, §4 – 9

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83 Acts, ch 101, §118

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85 Acts, ch 159, §10

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85 Acts, ch 178, §6, 7

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86 Acts, ch 1079, §5

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88 Acts, ch 1141, §2

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89 Acts, ch 102, §6

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89 Acts, ch 166, §6

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90 Acts, ch 1224, §42 – 45

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92 Acts, ch 1195, §405, 406, 508, 509

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93 Acts, ch 78, §44 – 46

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93 Acts, ch 79, §48, 49

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94 Acts, ch 1171, §40 – 42

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95 Acts, ch 52, §8

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95 Acts, ch 115, §11, 12

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96 Acts, ch 1106, §17

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96 Acts, ch 1141, §7, 28, 29

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97 Acts, ch 41, §32

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97 Acts, ch 175, §188 – 193, 200

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99 Acts, ch 103, §44, 45

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2001 Acts, ch 143, §8

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2002 Acts, ch 1018, §16, 17, 21

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2003 Acts, ch 151, §28

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2004 Acts, ch 1157, §1

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2005 Acts, ch 69, §38

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2007 Acts, ch 163, §1 – 3

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2009 Acts, ch 27, §36

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2009 Acts, ch 159, §14

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2009 Acts, ch 179, §44