Title 15, Probate, Trusts, and Fiduciaries
0 chapters · 926 sections in this title.
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-507 Revocation by writing or by act
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(1) A will or any part thereof is revoked: (a) By executing a subsequent will that revokes the previous will or part expressly or by inconsistency; or (b) By performing a revocatory act on the will, if the testator performed the act with the intent and for the purpose of revoking…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-508 Revocation by change of circumstances
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Except as provided in sections 15-11-803 and 15-11-804, a change of circumstances does not revoke a will or any part of it. Source: L. 94: Entire part R&RE, p. 1001, � 3, effective July 1, 1995. Editor's note: This section is similar to former � 15-11-508 as it existed prior to 1…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-509 Revival of revoked will
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(1) If a subsequent will that wholly revoked a previous will is thereafter revoked by a revocatory act under section 15-11-507 (1)(b), the previous will remains revoked unless it is revived. The previous will is revived if it is evident from the circumstances of the revocation of…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-510 Incorporation by reference
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A writing in existence when a will is executed may be incorporated by reference if the language of the will manifests this intent and describes the writing sufficiently to permit its identification. Source: L. 94: Entire part R&RE, p. 1001, � 3, effective July 1, 1995. Editor's n…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-511 Testamentary additions to trusts
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(1) A will may validly devise property to the trustee of a trust established or to be established (i) during the testator's lifetime by the testator, by the testator and some other person, or by some other person, including a funded or unfunded life insurance trust, although the …
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-512 Events of independent significance
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A will may dispose of property by reference to acts and events that have significance apart from their effect upon the dispositions made by the will, whether they occur before or after the execution of the will or before or after the testator's death. The execution or revocation …
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-513 Separate writing or memorandum identifying devise of certain types of tangible personal property
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Whether or not the provisions relating to holographic wills apply, a will may refer to a written statement or list to dispose of items of tangible personal property not otherwise specifically disposed of by the will, other than money. To be admissible under this section as eviden…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-514 Contracts concerning succession
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A contract to make a will or devise, or not to revoke a will or devise, or to die intestate, if executed after July 1, 1995, may be established only by (i) provisions of a will stating material provisions of the contract, (ii) an express reference in a will to a contract and extr…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-515 Deposit of will with court in testator's lifetime
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A will may be deposited by the testator or the testator's agent with any court for safekeeping, under rules of the court. The will shall be sealed and kept confidential. During the testator's lifetime, a deposited will shall be delivered only to the testator or to a person author…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-516 Duty of custodian of will; lodging of will after death; transfer of lodged will; liability
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(1) Within ten days after a testator ‘s death or as soon thereafter as the death becomes known to the custodian of an instrument purporting to be the testator ‘s will, the custodian shall deliver the will to the court having probate jurisdiction in the Colorado county where the d…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-517 Penalty clause for contest
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A provision in a will purporting to penalize an interested person for contesting the will or instituting other proceedings relating to the estate is unenforceable if probable cause exists for instituting proceedings. Source: L. 94: Entire part R&RE, p. 1003, � 3, effective July 1…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-601 Scope
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In the absence of a finding of a contrary intention, the rules of construction in this part 6 control the construction of a will. In the absence of a finding of a contrary intention, the provisions of sections 15-11-603 and 15-11-604 shall apply to wills and codicils executed or …
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-602 Will may pass all property and after-acquired property
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A will may provide for the passage of all property the testator owns at death and all property acquired by the estate after the testator's death. Source: L. 94: Entire part R&RE, p. 1003, � 3, effective July 1, 1995. Editor's note: This section is similar to former � 15-11-604 as…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-603 Antilapse; deceased devisee; class gifts
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(1) Definitions. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires: (a) Alternative devise means a devise that is expressly created by the will and, under the terms of the will, can take effect instead of another devise on the happening of one or more events, includi…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-604 Failure of testamentary provision
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(1) Except as provided in section 15-11-603, a devise, other than a residuary devise, that fails for any reason becomes a part of the residue. (2) Except as provided in section 15-11-603, if the residue is devised to two or more persons, the share of a residuary devisee that fail…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-605 Increase in securities; accessions
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(1) If a testator executes a will that devises securities and the testator then owned securities that meet the description in the will, the devise includes additional securities owned by the testator at death to the extent the additional securities were acquired by the testator a…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-606 Nonademption of specified devises - unpaid proceeds of sale, condemnation, or insurance - sale by conservator or agent
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(1) A specific devisee has a right to the specifically devised property in the testator ‘s estate at death and: (a) Any balance of the purchase price, together with any security agreement, owing from a purchaser to the testator at death by reason of sale of the property; (b) Any …
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-607 Nonexoneration
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A specific devise passes subject to any mortgage interest existing at the date of death, without right of exoneration, regardless of a general directive in the will to pay debts. Source: L. 94: Entire part R&RE, p. 1008, � 3, effective July 1, 1995. Editor's note: This section is…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-608 Exercise of power of appointment - repeal. (Repealed)
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Source: L. 94: Entire part R&RE, p. 1008, � 3, effective July 1, 1995. L. 2014: (2) added by revision, (HB 14-1353), ch. 209, pp. 782, 783, �� 2, 5. Editor's note: (1) This section was similar to former � 15-11-610 as it existed prior to 1995. (2) Subsection (2) provided for the …
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-609 Ademption by satisfaction
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(1) Property a testator gave in his or her lifetime to a person is treated as a satisfaction of a devise in whole or in part, only if (i) the will provides for deduction of the gift, (ii) the testator declared in a contemporaneous writing that the gift is in satisfaction of the d…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-701 Scope
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For the purposes of this part 7, the term governing instrument shall be as defined in section 15-10-201 (22); except: (1) Governing instrument shall not include a deed that transfers any interest in real property; however, section 15-11-712 shall apply to such deeds. (2) As the a…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-702 Requirement of survival by one hundred twenty hours
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(1) Requirement of survival by one hundred twenty hours under probate code. For the purposes of this code, except as provided in subsection (4) of this section, an individual who is not established by clear and convincing evidence to have survived an event, including the death of…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-703 Choice of law as to meaning and effect of governing instrument
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The meaning and legal effect of a governing instrument is determined by the local law of the state selected by the transferor in the governing instrument, unless the application of that law is contrary to the provisions relating to the elective-share described in part 2 of this a…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-704 Power of appointment; meaning of specific reference requirement - repeal. (Repealed)
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C.R.S. 15-11-704Statutes current through Chapter 65 of the 2026 Regular Session, effective as of April 20, 2026. The text of this section is not final. It will not be final until compared to, and updated from, the text provided by the Colorado Office of Legislative Legal Services…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-705 Class gifts construed to accord with intestate succession
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(1) Definitions. In this section: (a) Adoptee has the meaning set forth in section 15-11-115. (b) Child of assisted reproduction has the meaning set forth in section 15-11-120. (c) Distribution date means the date when an immediate or postponed class gift takes effect in possessi…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-706 Nonprobate transfers - deceased beneficiary
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(1) Definitions. This section shall not apply to wills; beneficiary deeds; insurance or annuity policies; pension, profit sharing, retirement, or similar benefit plans; or a transfer of a vehicle title as described in section 42-6-110.5. As used in this section, unless the contex…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-707 Survivorship with respect to future interests under terms of trust; substitute takers
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(1) Definitions. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires: (a) “Alternative future interest” means an expressly created future interest that can take effect in possession or enjoyment instead of another future interest on the happening of one or more events,…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-708 Class gifts to “descendants”, “issue”, or “heirs of the body”; form of distribution if none specified
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If a class gift in favor of “descendants”, “issue”, or “heirs of the body” does not specify the manner in which the property is to be distributed among the class members, the property is distributed among the class members who are living when the interest is to take effect in pos…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-709 By representation; per capita at each generation; per stirpes
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(1) Definitions. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires: (a) Deceased child or deceased descendant means a child or a descendant who either predeceased the distribution date or is deemed to have predeceased the distribution date under section 15-11-702. (b…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-710 Worthier-title doctrine abolished
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The doctrine of worthier-title is abolished as a rule of law and as a rule of construction. Language in a governing instrument describing the beneficiaries of a disposition as the transferor's heirs, heirs at law, next of kin, distributees, relatives, or family, or language of si…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-711 Interests in heirs and like
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If an applicable statute or a governing instrument calls for a present or future distribution to, or creates a present or future interest in, a designated individual's heirs, heirs at law, next of kin, relatives, or family, or language of similar import, the property passes to th…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-712 Simultaneous death; disposition of property
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The rules of construction in this section shall control in those situations not subject to the control of section 15-11-702. (1) Where the title to property or the devolution thereof depends upon priority of death and there is no clear and convincing evidence that the persons hav…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-713 Construction of wills and trusts containing formula marital clauses
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(1) If a decedent dies leaving a will that was executed or a trust that was created before September 12, 1981, which will or trust contains a formula expressly providing that the decedent’s spouse or a qualifying trust is to receive the maximum amount of property qualifying for t…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-801 Disclaimer of property interests. (Repealed)
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Source: L. 94: Entire part R&RE, p. 1024, � 3, effective July 1, 1995. L. 95: (4) amended, p. 360, � 13, effective July 1. L. 2011: Entire section repealed, (SB 11-166), ch. 203, p. 868, � 2, effective August 10.
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-802 Effect of divorce, annulment, and decree of separation
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(1) An individual who is divorced from the decedent or whose marriage to the decedent has been annulled is not a surviving spouse unless, by virtue of a subsequent marriage, the individual is married to the decedent at the time of death. A decree of separation that does not termi…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-803 Effect of homicide on intestate succession, wills, trusts, joint assets, life insurance, and beneficiary designations
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(1) Definitions. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:(a) “Disposition or appointment of property” includes a transfer of an item of property or any other benefit to a beneficiary designated in a governing instrument. (b) “Felonious killing”, except as p…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-804 Revocation of probate and nonprobate transfers by divorce - no revocation by other changes of circumstances
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(1) Definitions. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:(a) “Disposition or appointment of property” includes a transfer of an item of property or any other benefit to a beneficiary designated in a governing instrument. (b) “Divorce or annulment” means any…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-805 Ownership of personal property between spouses
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(1) For purposes of this article, tangible personal property in the joint possession or control of the decedent and his or her surviving spouse at the time of the decedent's death is presumed to be owned by the decedent and the decedent's spouse in joint tenancy with right of sur…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-806 Reformation to correct mistakes
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The court may reform the terms of a governing instrument other than a trust that is governed by section 15-5-415, even if unambiguous, to conform the terms to the transferor's intention if it is proved by clear and convincing evidence what the transferor's intent was and that the…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-807 Modification to achieve transferor's tax objectives
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To achieve the transferor's tax objectives, the court may modify the terms of a governing instrument other than a trust that is governed by section 15-5-416 in a manner that is not contrary to the transferor's probable intention. The court may provide that the modification has re…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-901 Honorary trusts; trusts for pets
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(1) Honorary trust. Subject to subsection (3) of this section, and except as provided under sections 38-30-110, 38-30-111, and 38-30-112, C.R.S., if (i) a trust is for a specific, lawful, noncharitable purpose or for lawful, noncharitable purposes to be selected by the trustee an…