Before hearing the application, the court shall appoint an attorney to act as guardian ad litem for any person under legal disability or not personally served with notice, who shall cross-examine for the ward if any deposition is ordered, and unless an attorney has been so appointed the deposition shall not be admissible against such person in any subsequent action.
Rule 1.724.Guardian ad litem
Division VII: Depositions and Perpetuating Testimony · Last amended February 15, 2002 · Last verified July 15, 2026
In one sentenceRule 1.724 requires the court to appoint an attorney as guardian ad litem, before hearing an application to perpetuate testimony, for anyone under legal disability or not personally served, and bars use of the resulting deposition against that person unless the appointment was made.
Full Text of Rule 1.724
Plain-English Summary
An application to perpetuate testimony can affect people who never had a chance to defend their interests — someone under a legal disability, or someone the applicant could not personally serve. Rule 1.724 protects them by requiring the court to appoint an attorney to act as guardian ad litem for that person before the hearing on the application takes place.
The guardian ad litem's job is concrete: if the court orders a deposition taken, the guardian ad litem cross-examines on behalf of the person under disability or the unserved party. That gives the absent or vulnerable party a voice in testing the testimony even though they could not appear themselves.
The rule backs this protection with a real consequence. Without a guardian ad litem appointment, the resulting deposition cannot be used against that person in any later action. The appointment is not optional paperwork — it is what makes the deposition usable against someone who could not participate directly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who does Rule 1.724 protect?
Anyone under legal disability, and anyone named as an expected adverse party who was not personally served with notice of the application. The court must appoint an attorney as guardian ad litem for that person before hearing the application.
What does the guardian ad litem do?
If the court orders a deposition taken, the guardian ad litem cross-examines the deponent on behalf of the person under disability or the unserved party, standing in for interests that person could not otherwise protect.
What happens if the court skips the guardian ad litem appointment?
Rule 1.724 makes the consequence plain: without that appointment, the deposition is not admissible against the person under disability or the unserved party in any later action.
Does this appointment happen automatically, or does someone have to ask for it?
The rule requires the court to make the appointment before hearing the application whenever it applies, rather than leaving it to a party's request.
Is the guardian ad litem the same as an attorney representing that person in the eventual lawsuit?
No. The guardian ad litem's role under Rule 1.724 is limited to the perpetuate-testimony proceeding itself — cross-examining on behalf of the protected person if a deposition is ordered — not general representation in whatever action may later be filed.
Source & verification. Rule text and the Comment are
reproduced verbatim from the Iowa Rules of Civil Procedure, adopted by the
Iowa Supreme Court. Last verified July 15, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: iowa guardian ad litem perpetuate testimonycross examine deposition unserved party iowarule 1.724 iowaprotecting incompetent party deposition iowa