Todd Hinkel v. Chad Hinkel

── Todd Hinkel v. Chad Hinkel ── Court: Court of Appeals of Iowa Date: May 13, 2026 Category: General IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA _______________ No. 25-0205 Filed May 13, 2026 _______________ Todd Hinkel, Plaintiff–Appellant, v. Chad Hinkel, Defendant–Appellee. _______________ Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Johnson County, The Honorable Lars G. Anderson, Judge. _______________ AFFIRMED _______________ John C. Wagner, John G. Daufeldt, and Colin W. Smyka of John C. Wagner Law Offices, P.C., Amana, attorneys for appellant. Peter C. Riley of Tom Riley Law Firm P.L.C., Cedar Rapids, attorney for appellee. _______________ Considered without oral argument by Tabor, C.J., and Badding and Sandy, JJ. Opinion by Sandy, J. 1 SANDY, Judge. On June 12, 2020, Todd Hinkel drove his ailing father to a parking lot in Johnson County, held him steady while he signed a deed, and verified his identity to the notary. Four years later, Todd asks this court to declare that his father lacked the mental capacity to do what Todd helped him do. We decline that invitation. Upon our de novo review, we affirm. BACKGROUND FACTS AND PROCEDURE Dewey Hinkel was born in 1936 and owned a roughly ten-acre property in North Liberty, Iowa. Dewey and his wife, Patricia, had two children together: Todd and Chad. Patricia died in 2005 and Dewey died in 2022. This action was filed before Dewey’s death. Chad lived with Dewey on the property for multiple years until May 2020, when Dewey’s health deteriorated and he could no longer live at home. It is undisputed that Dewey’s physical health declined as he got older. On May 10, 2020, Dewey suffered a stroke and Chad brought him to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (UIHC). Dewey stayed at UIHC for ten days, until he was moved to a rehab facility. Dewey had to go back to UIHC when it became clear he needed more assistance than could be offered to him at home. Dewey ultimate moved to Solon Care Center in June, where he lived until he passed away in 2022. After Dewey suffered his stroke, Chad became concerned about how the expenses from Dewey’s time in the nursing home could affect his father’s assets. Chad contacted Kyle Wilcox, an attorney who primarily practices in estate planning, taxation, and related matters, including Medicaid planning. None of the Hinkels knew Wilcox before Chad contacted him. 2  On June 8, 2020, Chad, Todd, and Wilcox had an hour-long meeting to discuss, among other things, how to protect Dewey’s assets without having to sell them. Wilcox testified that generally someone cannot give away assets within five years of moving to a nursing home without those assets counting against them for purposes of Medicaid eligibility. An exception to this rule allows someone to convey their home to another person living in the home for two or more years. This was the case with Chad, and Wilcox discussed the possibility of Dewey deeding the property to Chad to protect it. Wilcox testified at trial that both Todd and Chad agreed to the plan, that he was representing Dewey, and that he needed to meet with Dewey to explain and see if he understood and agreed to the plan. Wilcox testified that both Chad and Todd told him that Dewey was competent to execute a deed at that time. Chad corroborated Wilcox’s recollection of the meeting, but Todd testified that it went differently. Todd claimed that the meeting only lasted fifteen to twenty minutes, and that he did not unders