In the Matter of the Estate of James Edwin Ibeling

── In the Matter of the Estate of James Edwin Ibeling ── Court: Supreme Court of Iowa Date: May 01, 2026 Category: General In the Iowa Supreme Court No. 24–1139 Submitted March 25, 2026—Filed May 1, 2026 In the matter of the Estate of James Edwin Ibeling. Nancy Ibeling, Appellant. On review from the Iowa Court of Appeals. Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Katie Ranes, district associate probate judge. A surviving spouse seeks further review from a court of appeals decision holding that assets transferred to a Panamanian private interest foundation founded by her husband are not included in the elective share under Iowa Code section 633.238(1)(d)(1). Decision of Court of Appeals and District Court Judgment Affirmed. McDonald, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which Oxley, McDermott, and May, JJ., joined. Mansfield, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which Christensen, C.J., and Waterman, J., joined. Gary Dickey (argued) of Dickey, Campbell & Sahag Law Firm, PLC, Des Moines, and Dallas J. Janssen of Janssen Law, PLC, Des Moines, for appellant. Matthew G. Sease (argued) of Sease & Wadding, Des Moines, for appellee.  2 McDonald, Justice. The surviving spouse of a decedent may elect to claim a share of statutorily “limited” property of the decedent against the decedent’s will, including one third of the value of the decedent’s property held in a revocable trust. Iowa Code section 633.238(1)(d)(1) (2021). The question presented in this appeal is whether the statutory provision creating the right to take an elective share of such property is applicable to property held by a distinct legal entity that is not a revocable trust but shares some of the same characteristics as a revocable trust. I. In December 2013, James Ibeling contacted a lawyer in Panama, Carlos Eduardo Varela Cardenal, in connection with a real estate development project. James asked Cardenal to establish a private interest foundation (PIF) pursuant to Panama’s Law No. 25 of June 12, 1995. The foundation was named the Harris 6 Foundation. Harris 6 was registered with the Republic of Panama in January 2014. James was both the founder of Harris 6 and the main beneficiary during his lifetime. In the event of James’s death, the PIF regulations directed that the foundation assets be passed to the substitute beneficiaries in equal parts. The regulations listed four substitute beneficiaries: a testamentary charitable foundation named the James Ibeling Foundation; James’s longtime personal assistant and bookkeeper, Lisa Mengwasser; James’s nephew; and a minor from Arizona whom James considered a friend and who is also named as a beneficiary in James’s will, Deyon Rashad Harris. According to the foundation charter, the purpose of the PIF was to “cover the costs of education, training, equipment, aid, as well as the general maintenance or other similar purposes of one or more members of one or more families specified” and to “benefit other natural or legal  3 persons or institutions of any nature and take the necessary provisions for the orderly succession of their assets.” James did not transfer any assets into the PIF at the time of its creation, and it remained unfunded for the next five years. In August 2019, James reconnected with Cardenal because he wanted to transfer assets to the PIF. James’s assistant communicated to Cardenal that “[t]he purpose of transferring assets into the Foundation [was] because Jim [was] considering getting married (without a prenup) and want[ed] to protect his assets.” James conveyed twelve properties in Arizona to the PIF by warranty deeds. Under Panamanian law, Harris 6 was the owner of the properties. The warranty deeds were recorded on August 23. Three days later, on August 2