The Iowa Court of Appeals held that a plaintiff failed to meet his burden of showing that his father had lacked the mental capacity to sign a deed transferring real property to the plaintiff’s brother, where the plaintiff helped facilitate the transaction and the evidence of his father’s capacity was conflicting. Hinkel v. Hinkel, No. 25-0205 (Iowa Ct. App. May 13, 2026).
Dewey Hinkel had two sons, Chad and Todd. Dewey owned a 10-acre parcel of real property, where he lived with Chad. In May 2020, Dewey suffered a stroke and was no longer able to live at home. He eventually moved into a nursing facility and remained there until he died in 2022.
After Dewey’s stroke, Chad became concerned that nursing home expenses could deplete his father’s assets. Chad contacted an attorney, who met with him and Todd in June 2020. The attorney explained to them that if an individual transfers assets within five years of moving into a nursing home, those assets count against them in determining their Medicaid eligibility. The attorney also told them that there is an exception if a homeowner transfers their home to another person who has lived in the home for two or more years.*
*Note: Although the opinion does not address it, the caregiver exception has two parts: The caregiver must live in the home for two years prior to a Medicaid applicant’s institutionalization AND provide care that prevented the applicant’s prior institutionalization. Whether the transfer would have achieved its intended Medicaid planning purpose was not before the court, and no comment is made on that question here.
According to the attorney’s testimony at trial, Chad and Todd agreed that the property could be deeded to Chad, who had lived in the home for two or more years. The attorney further testified that he had told Chad and Todd that he would represent Dewey and needed to meet with him. He testified that both brothers told him that Dewey was competent to execute a deed.
The day after Chad and Todd met with the attorney, Todd facilitated a 20- to 30-minute phone call between the attorney and Dewey. The attorney testified that he verified that Dewey wanted to proceed with the plan to deed the property to Chad. The attorney, who never met Dewey in person, prepared the documents. He testified that he was not fully aware of Dewey’s health, did not know that Dewey’s will provided for his property to be equally divided between Chad and Todd, and did not know that Chad and Todd had a difficult relationship.
Todd transported Dewey to the deed signing and testified that he had to help Dewey sign the documents. In addition to Todd, an employee of the attorney’s law firm was present for the signing, which occurred in a parking lot. The employee testified that Dewey did not speak and that Todd had to hold him up while he signed the documents.
Chad and Todd later had a dispute about Todd’s use of the property, leading Chad to tell Todd that he and his belongings were not allowed on the property. Before Dewey’s death, Todd filed suit against Chad, asserting that Dewey had lacked the mental capacity to execute the deed. The district court dismissed his petition, finding that he had failed to meet his burden to show that Dewey lacked the capacity to execute the deed. Todd appealed.
The Iowa Court of Appeals noted that Todd, as the party challenging Dewey’s capacity, had the burden of proving by clear, convincing, and satisfactory evidence that Dewey lacked sufficient consciousness or mentality to understand the import of his actions when he executed the deed. The court held that Todd had failed to meet that burden, finding that Todd’s testimony that he did not understand what was going on in relation to the deed contradicted Chad’s and the attorney’s testimony and lacked credibility. The court further noted that Todd’s actions in facilitating Dewey’s meeting with the attorney and helping Dewey sign the deed did not make sense unless he was in full agreement with the plan.
In addition, there was conflicting evidence regarding Dewey’s capacity; some witnesses testified that he was sometimes confused, and others testified that his cognitive health seemed fine. Further, Todd’s witnesses, a social worker and physician from Dewey’s nursing home, were not retained as experts and did not testify that Dewey was incompetent. The court determined that although Dewey was in poor health and seemed confused around the time he signed the deed, Todd had not met his heavy burden of showing that Dewey’s mental powers were so deteriorated that he was incapable of understanding, in a reasonable degree, the nature and consequences of the deed he was signing.
The court affirmed the district court’s decree dismissing Todd’s petition.
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