IOWA BAR EXAM DISTINCTIONS — ONE-PAGE CHEAT SHEET
Condensed companion to the Iowa Bar Exam Distinctions long outline.
1. EXAM FORMAT
· UBE state · two-day exam: 2 MPT (90 min each) + 6 MEE (30 min each) on the written day, 200-question MBE on the other · weighting MBE 50% / MEE 30% / MPT 20% · single portable score, max 400 · minimum passing 266 (most common national cut score) · MPRE required separately · no separate Iowa-law component exam · MEE/MPT drafted by NCBE, test national common law + uniform frameworks (UCC, FRCP, FRE, ABA Model Rules) · essays test national law unless an Iowa instruction appears — never volunteer an Iowa rule.
2. CIVIL PROCEDURE & LIMITATIONS
· Iowa Rules of Civil Procedure govern state court (MEE CivPro is federal) · SOL (Iowa Code ch. 614): written contract 10 yrs, oral 5 yrs, personal injury 2 yrs, injury to/recovery of property 5 yrs, judgment of record 20 yrs · discovery rule: accrues when plaintiff knew or should have known of injury and cause · 15-yr statute of repose for real-property improvements and products · separate medical-malpractice rule (≈2 yrs from discovery, 6-yr outer limit).
3. EVIDENCE
· Iowa Rules of Evidence mirror the FRE in structure and numbering — assume FRE answer · broader statutory privileges than federal practice: physician, mental-health practitioner, clergy, marital-communication and spousal-testimony · those privileges have no clean FRE analogue · default to FRE on the MEE; cite Iowa Code privileges only for Iowa-instructed items.
4. CONTRACTS
· Tracks national common law + UCC (Iowa Code ch. 554) · bargained-for consideration required · no civil-law "cause," no lesion (contrast Louisiana) · conventional Statute of Frauds (Iowa Code ch. 622) · predominant-purpose test for mixed goods/services contracts · no exam-significant divergence — confidence that the national rule IS the Iowa rule is correct.
5. FAMILY LAW
· Equitable distribution, NOT community property (Iowa Code § 598.21) · court may reach ALL property of the parties; inherited/gifted generally set aside to recipient but divisible if refusal would be inequitable · divides equitably, not necessarily equally, on statutory factors (length, contributions, earning capacity) · common-law marriage STILL recognized (present intent/agreement + continuous cohabitation + public holding out) · traditional, rehabilitative, and reimbursement spousal support · best-interests custody with joint-legal-custody preference.
6. WILLS & ESTATES
· Will = writing + testator signature (or at direction) + 2 competent witnesses signing in testator's presence (Iowa Code ch. 633) · NO holographic wills executed in Iowa; no broad nuncupative-will statute — strict compliance · traditional fractional elective share (≈1/3 of decedent's realty + personal-property share), NOT a UPC augmented-estate sliding scale · intest