Settling an estate in Colorado
An executor in Colorado has to work through the District Court (Probate Division) and a long list of tasks that have nothing to do with the court. This page sets out what Colorado law actually requires at each step, with the section it comes from and the date we last read it.
- Probate court
- District Court (Probate Division)
- Small-estate shortcut
- Estates of $88,000 or less may qualify for a simplified small-estate procedure (personal property only — it will not transfer real estate).
- Creditor claim period
- 4 months
- Typical timeline
- 6–12 months
- State death tax
- None — no state estate tax and no state inheritance tax
Immediate
Obtain certified death certificates
Colorado treats vital records as confidential, so you will have to show why you are entitled. Under C.R.S. § 25-2-117 the Department of Public Health and Environment furnishes a certified copy only to an applicant having a direct and tangible interest in the record. In practice that means the immediate family, the personal representative, or someone with a documented legal or property claim that depends on the death — be ready to say which you are and to evidence it. Once issued, a properly certified copy is prima facie evidence in all courts and places of the facts stated in it, which is why banks and registries accept it without further proof. Two practical notes. The funeral director usually orders the first batch as part of their service, so ask them how many they have already requested before you order more — families routinely pay twice. And order more than you think: banks, insurers and transfer agents often keep the copy you give them rather than returning it. Confirm the current fee on the state’s own page at the moment you order, because fees change without notice.
C.R.S. § 25-2-117·last read 2026-08-18
Locate the will (or confirm there is none)
Colorado imposes the strictest duty of any state we have checked, and it runs automatically. Under C.R.S. § 15-11-516 the custodian of anything purporting to be the will must deliver it to the court with probate jurisdiction in the Colorado county where the person lived or was domiciled, for lodging in the court’s records. That is due within ten days after the death, or as soon after that as the death becomes known to them. Nobody has to request it, and the duty applies whether or not anyone intends to open a probate: the will goes to the court regardless. If the person was not a Colorado resident or domiciliary there is a separate delivery rule. Ten days is short, so if you are holding a will, act first and work out the rest afterwards. If you are an heir and you believe someone is sitting on the will, do not wait to see whether the clock starts: here it is already running, and it started with the death or with their knowledge of it, not with anything you do. A written request is therefore not what creates the duty — it is what evidences the breach. Make it in writing anyway and keep a dated copy, because that is what turns a delay into something you can prove.
C.R.S. § 15-11-516·last read 2026-08-19
Short-term
Claim the family allowances you are entitled to
Colorado indexes both of its figures, so the numbers printed in the statute are a 2010 base rather than the answer. Under C.R.S. § 15-11-403 a surviving spouse takes exempt property over and above any security interests, printed as $30,000 with effect from 1 January 2012, and the section requires that figure to be increased or decreased by the cost-of-living adjustment calculated under § 15-10-112. Section 15-11-404 adds a family allowance for the surviving spouse and the minor children the deceased was obliged to support, together with children who were in fact being supported. It is a reasonable sum out of the estate for maintenance during administration, and it may not run beyond a year where the estate cannot discharge its allowed claims. That allowance is not chargeable against any share passing by the will unless the will says otherwise, nor against an intestate share or an elective share. Section 15-11-405 is where the figures live: a lump sum not exceeding a set amount, or periodic instalments not exceeding a monthly amount for one year, both indexed the same way. The Department of Revenue publishes the adjusted figures each year before 1 February, keyed to the year of death. For a 2026 death the exempt property is $44,000 and the family allowance is a lump sum of up to $44,000 or instalments of up to $3,667 a month. For a 2025 death they are $43,000 and $43,000 or $3,583 a month.
C.R.S. §§ 15-11-403, 15-11-404, 15-11-405, 15-10-112·last read 2026-08-26
Notify beneficiaries and keep them informed
Colorado gives you thirty days from appointment and is specific about what the notice must say, which is where people trip. Under C.R.S. § 15-12-705 every personal representative except a special administrator must send information of the appointment by ordinary mail to the heirs and devisees whose addresses are reasonably available — including devisees under any will mentioned in the application, even where you were appointed assuming intestacy. The information must include your name, your address and the date of your appointment. A bare letter saying someone has died is not enough. You need not notify a person already adjudicated in a prior formal testacy proceeding to have no interest. Getting this wrong rarely costs money directly — it stalls the case. An estate that cannot show notice was properly given can be held open, and the appointment itself can be reopened, so keep proof of what you sent, to whom, and on what date.
C.R.S. § 15-12-705·last read 2026-08-18
Determine if probate is required
Colorado’s cap is not a round number and it moves every year. Under C.R.S. § 15-12-1201(1)(a) the test is the fair market value of property owned by the deceased and subject to disposition by will or intestate succession, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances — and it must not exceed twice the exempt-property amount in § 15-11-403 as adjusted by § 15-10-112. That works out at $88,000 for a death in 2026, and the figure is keyed to the date of death rather than to today, so use the year the person died. The wait is ten days, the shortest we have found anywhere. Now the part that is easy to get wrong. Real property is not a disqualifier. It counts toward the valuation, but the affidavit cannot move it: the Judicial Branch’s own guide says the affidavit cannot be used to transfer real estate and may only be used to collect personal property. So a house does not put this route out of reach — it simply will not pass by affidavit, while its value still counts against the cap. One narrow exception is worth knowing: to transfer a document the deceased held that places a lien on real estate, such as a mortgage or deed of trust, the affidavit must be recorded with the clerk and recorder of the county where that real estate sits. Colorado publishes the year-of-death figures through the Department of Revenue, so confirm the number for the right year rather than relying on any figure you read anywhere, including ours.
C.R.S. §§ 15-10-112, 15-11-403, 15-12-1201·last read 2026-08-27
Legal Process
File a petition with the probate court
Colorado handles ordinary estates administratively rather than in front of a judge. Under C.R.S. § 15-12-302 you file an application for informal probate and the Registrar issues a written statement of informal probate once the findings required by § 15-12-303 are made — and one of those findings, § 15-12-303(1)(h), is that at least 120 hours (five days) have elapsed since the death. So there is a short enforced pause at the start, even though you will not find it in § 15-12-302 itself. There is no hearing and no judge in that route. The statute also gives you two protections worth knowing: informal probate is conclusive as to all persons until superseded by an order in a formal testacy proceeding, and no defect in the application or in the procedure leading to informal probate renders that probate void. If someone contests the will, the matter moves into a formal proceeding and a judge does become involved. One practical point: the word your state uses for this office is not decoration — asking for the wrong one wastes a trip and a phone call. And where a registrar or clerk can grant it, no judge is involved and no hearing is set, so nothing in the system will prompt you: the case moves only when you file.
C.R.S. §§ 15-12-302, 15-12-303·last read 2026-08-19
Inventory all assets and debts
Colorado gives you three months and requires you to swear to it. Under C.R.S. § 15-12-706 the personal representative must, within three months of appointment, prepare an inventory of the property owned by the deceased and subject to disposition by will or intestate succession — so non-probate assets are outside it. Each item is listed in reasonable detail, with its fair market value at the date of death and the type and amount of any encumbrance. The inventory must include the personal representative’s oath or affirmation that it is complete and accurate so far as you are informed. Filing is optional: send a copy to interested persons who request one, or file the original with the court. Two things that apply everywhere. Values are as of the date of death, not today — a house that has risen since is still listed at what it was worth then. And the inventory is the document everything else is measured against: fees, bond, and every later distribution. It is also what beneficiaries most often challenge, so take the time to get it right rather than filing a rough figure you intend to fix later.
C.R.S. § 15-12-706·last read 2026-08-18
Publish notice to creditors
Colorado has a rule no other state we cover has: if one year or more has already elapsed since the death, you do not have to publish at all. Otherwise, under C.R.S. § 15-12-801, the personal representative must publish a notice to creditors in a daily or weekly newspaper published in the county where the estate is being administered — or, if there is none, in a newspaper of general circulation in an adjoining county. It must be published not less than three times, at least once during each of three successive calendar weeks, and the statute sets out the wording to use. That wording is where the deadline lives: the notice names a date not earlier than four months from the first publication, or one year from the date of death, whichever comes first, and § 15-12-803 bars a claim not presented by the date the notice set. If the death was more than a year ago, raise the no-publication point with the court rather than paying for notices you may not need. Two things to hold on to. Publication is what starts the clock in most states, so an estate where nobody published can stay exposed to claims far longer than the family expects. And a known creditor usually has to be told directly — publication alone does not bind someone whose name and address you could reasonably have found.
C.R.S. §§ 15-12-801, 15-12-803·last read 2026-08-18
Administration
Identify and close digital accounts
Colorado has adopted the revised uniform act as C.R.S. §§ 15-1-1501 to 15-1-1518, and the content rule sits at § 15-1-1507. The content of electronic communications is disclosed only where the deceased person consented or a court directs it. The personal representative must then supply four things. A written request. A certified copy of the death certificate. A certified copy of the letter of appointment, or a Small-estate Affidavit, or a court order. And, unless the person used the provider’s online tool, a copy of the will, trust or power of attorney evidencing consent. The custodian may additionally require account identifiers — a username, number or address — so have the account details to hand before you write. The small-estate affidavit route means avoiding probate does not shut you out. The rule to hold on to everywhere: without consent you generally get only the catalogue — who was contacted, when, and at what address — not what was actually said. “The executor can get into the accounts“ is not what these laws do. And if you are advising someone still living, the provider’s own online tool is where this should be set, because it beats the will.
C.R.S. § 15-1-1507·last read 2026-08-18
Financial Settlement
Pay valid debts and expenses
Colorado starts from the Uniform Probate Code but adds four classes most states do not have, and they sit low in the order. C.R.S. § 15-12-805 ranks them. First, property the person held as a fiduciary or trustee for someone else — it was never really theirs. Then other costs of administration. Then reasonable funeral and final disposition expenses. Then debts and taxes with federal preference. Then last-illness medical and hospital expenses. Then debts and taxes with Colorado preference. Then the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing’s Medicaid recovery claim. Then a county or state claim for excess public assistance wrongly paid. Then child support that was due and unpaid at death and future support obligations. And then everything else. Paying a lower-ranked debt before a higher-ranked one can leave you personally liable for the difference. So where the estate may not cover everything, stop before paying anything beyond the funeral and administration costs, and take advice.
C.R.S. § 15-12-805·last read 2026-08-27
File required tax returns
Colorado has no estate tax you will actually pay, and the reason is worth knowing, because the chapter is still sitting in the Code. Section 39-23.5-103 imposes a tax “in the amount of the federal credit” — the old IRC § 2011 credit for state death taxes — and Congress replaced that credit with a deduction, so the figure computes to zero. The income tax is the real obligation. Under § 39-22-601(3) a fiduciary files a Colorado return for every resident estate that must file a federal return, and also for any estate that has incurred Colorado tax liability — so a Colorado return can be due in a year when no federal one is.
Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 39-22-601(3), 39-23.5-103·last read 2026-09-09
Distribution
Distribute assets to heirs
Colorado uses the Uniform Probate Code tiers, indexes them for inflation, and adds a rule that works in the spouse’s favour. C.R.S. § 15-11-102 sets four shares. The spouse takes the entire estate if no descendant or parent survives, or if every descendant is also the spouse’s and the spouse has no other children. They take a first fixed sum plus three quarters of the balance if there is no descendant but a parent survives. A smaller first sum plus half if all the descendants are shared but the spouse has other children of their own. And a smaller one again plus half if one or more of the deceased’s descendants are not the spouse’s. The statute prints those sums as $300,000, $225,000 and $150,000, and then says they are increased or decreased by the cost-of-living adjustment calculated under § 15-10-112 — so the printed figures are a 2010 base, not the answer. The Department of Revenue publishes a cumulative table before 1 February each year, keyed to the year of death. For a 2026 death the three sums are $442,000, $332,000 and $221,000. For a 2025 death they are $431,000, $323,000 and $215,000. The unusual part of the section: where more than one circumstance applies, the one producing the largest share for the spouse governs. Colorado also bars an absent parent, and it does it by asking a hypothetical question rather than counting years. Under C.R.S. § 15-11-114 a parent cannot inherit from or through their child where the parent’s rights were terminated and the relationship was not judicially reestablished. The second limb is the one to read carefully. Where the child died before turning eighteen, the parent is barred if there is clear and convincing evidence that immediately before the death their rights COULD HAVE BEEN terminated under Colorado law for nonsupport, abandonment, abuse, neglect or other acts or omissions toward the child. A parent caught by the section is deemed to have predeceased the child for intestate succession from or through them. Colorado also spells out who counts as a child, in a subpart most summaries skip. Under § 15-11-119 an adoption ordinarily ends the relationship with the genetic parents. Subsection (2) keeps two things alive where a stepparent adopts: the relationship with the genetic parent married to that stepparent, and the relationship with the other genetic parent — the second of those only so that the child or the child’s descendants may inherit from or through them. Subsection (2.5) does the same for a second-parent adoption, and subsection (3) for adoption by a relative of a genetic parent. Section 15-11-118(2) catches an adoption still in progress when the adopting spouse died: the child is treated as adopted by that spouse if the adoption is afterwards granted to the survivor, or, where a stepparent was adopting, if the genetic parent outlives the deceased spouse by 120 hours. And § 15-11-122 leaves the door open for a child never formally adopted at all — “This subpart 2 does not affect the doctrine of equitable adoption.” These shares apply only where there is no valid will — a will overrides all of it. And do not distribute anything until the creditor period has run and the debts are settled: a representative who pays the family early can be personally liable for what is still owing.
C.R.S. §§ 15-11-102, 15-10-112, 15-11-114, 15-11-118, 15-11-119, 15-11-122·last read 2026-09-09
Close Estate
File a final accounting and close the estate
Colorado’s waiting period has two triggers and you take whichever arrives first, which can let you close sooner than in neighbouring states. Under C.R.S. § 15-12-1003 a personal representative may close by filing a verified statement no earlier than six months after the original appointment or one year after the date of death, whichever occurs first. So where probate started late — say the family waited eight months to open the estate — the one-year-from-death trigger can already have passed. The statement must confirm the estate is fully administered: lawful claims, administration expenses and death taxes paid or settled, and the assets distributed to the persons entitled, with any undischarged claim described. Closing is what ends your exposure, so do not simply stop when the money runs out — an estate left open leaves the representative personally on the hook. And filing a closing statement is not the same as being discharged. In several states the appointment only terminates some months later, if nobody objects. Keep the file, the receipts and the proof of what you sent until then.
C.R.S. § 15-12-1003·last read 2026-08-18
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EstateMate is not a law firm and this is not legal advice. Every note above cites the section it came from and the date it was last read, so you can check it yourself. Statutes change, and the right answer can turn on facts specific to your family — when something looks close to the line, talk to a Colorado probate attorney.