Title 15, Probate, Trusts, and Fiduciaries
0 chapters · 926 sections in this title.
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-12-605 Demand for bond by interested person
1.2K chars
Subject to the provisions of sections 15-12-603 and 15-12-604, and to a determination by the court that bond is desirable, any person apparently having an interest worth in excess of five thousand dollars, or any creditor having a claim in excess of five thousand dollars, may mak…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-12-606 Terms and conditions of bonds
2.0K chars
(1) The following requirements and provisions apply to any bond required by sections 15-12-604 and 15-12-605: (a) Bonds shall name the people of the state of Colorado as obligee for the benefit of the persons interested in the estate and shall be conditioned upon the faithful dis…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-12-607 Order restraining personal representative
0.4K chars
(1) On petition of any person who appears to have an interest in the estate, or on its own motion, a court by temporary order may restrain a personal representative pursuant to section 15-10-503. (2) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2008, p. 482, � 3, effective July 1, 2008.) Source: L.…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-12-608 Termination of appointment - general
1.1K chars
Termination of appointment of a personal representative occurs as indicated in sections 15-12-609 to 15-12-612. Termination ends the right and power pertaining to the office of personal representative as conferred by this code or any will; except that a personal representative, a…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-12-609 Termination of appointment - death or disability
0.9K chars
The death of a personal representative or the appointment of a conservator for the estate of a personal representative terminates his appointment. Until a duly appointed and qualified successor personal representative or corepresentative has taken possession of the estate possess…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-12-610 Termination of appointment - voluntary
1.2K chars
(1) An appointment of a personal representative terminates as provided in section 15-12-1003 one year after the filing of a closing statement. (2) An order closing an estate as provided in section 15-12-1001 or 15-12-1002 terminates an appointment of a personal representative. (3…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-12-611 Termination of appointment by removal - cause - procedure
0.6K chars
(1) The court shall have the power to remove a personal representative for cause at any time. Removal proceedings shall be governed by the provisions of section 15-10-503. (2) Unless the decedent's will directs otherwise, a personal representative appointed at the decedent's domi…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-12-612 Termination of appointment - change of testacy status
1.1K chars
Except as otherwise ordered in formal proceedings, the probate of a will subsequent to the appointment of a personal representative in intestacy or under a will which is superseded by formal probate of another will, or the vacation of an informal probate of a will subsequent to t…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-12-613 Successor personal representative
1.0K chars
Parts 3 and 4 of this article govern proceedings for appointment of a personal representative to succeed one whose appointment has been terminated. After appointment and qualification, a successor personal representative may be substituted in all actions and proceedings to which …
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-12-614 Special administrator - appointment
0.9K chars
(1) A special administrator may be appointed: (a) Informally by the registrar on the application of any interested person when necessary to protect the estate of a decedent prior to the appointment of a general personal representative, or if a prior appointment has been terminate…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-12-615 Special administrator - who may be appointed
0.9K chars
(1) If a special administrator is to be appointed pending the probate of a will which is the subject of a pending application or petition for probate, the person named executor in the will shall be appointed if available and qualified. (2) In other cases, any proper person may be…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-12-616 Special administrator - appointed informally - powers and duties
0.4K chars
A special administrator appointed by the registrar in informal proceedings pursuant to section 15-12-614 (1) has the duty to collect and manage the assets of the estate, to preserve them, to account therefor, and to deliver them to the general personal representative upon his qua…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-12-617 Special administrator - formal proceedings - power and duties
0.4K chars
A special administrator appointed by order of the court in any formal proceeding has the power of a general personal representative except as limited in the appointment and duties as prescribed in the order. The appointment may be for a specified time, to perform particular acts,…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-12-618 Termination of appointment - special administrator
0.4K chars
The appointment of a special administrator terminates in accordance with the provisions of the order of appointment or on the appointment of a general personal representative. In other cases, the appointment of a special administrator is subject to termination as provided in sect…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-12-619 Public administrator - appointment - oath - bond - deputy
18.2K chars
(1) The district or probate court in each judicial district may appoint a person who shall be known as the public administrator. The appointee shall be a qualified elector over twenty-one years of age and shall be a resident of or maintain a principal place of business in the jud…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-12-620 Public administrator - responsibility for protecting decedent ‘s estate - duty of persons holding property
3.8K chars
(1) Upon notification of the death of any person who was either a resident of Colorado, or a nonresident who died owning real or personal property located in Colorado, it shall be the responsibility of the public administrator of the judicial district of the decedent ‘s residence…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-12-621 Public administrator - decedents ‘ estates - areas of responsibility
10.0K chars
(1) The public administrator of each judicial district shall be responsible for handling the administration of decedents ‘ estates within such judicial district under the following circumstances: (a) (I) Where the decedent died a resident of that judicial district; or (II) Where …
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-12-622 Public administrator - acting as conservator or trustee
3.8K chars
(1) When appointed by a court of appropriate jurisdiction, the public administrator may act as a conservator, temporary conservator, special conservator, trustee, or other fiduciary of any estate that has assets requiring protection. Each county department of human or social serv…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-12-623 Public administrator - administration - reports - fees
4.4K chars
(1) The following court docket fees shall be charged: (a) Public administrator statements of account in small estates, as small estates is defined in section 15-12-1201, having gross assets: Fee Tax Total (I) Less than $500.00 fee waived (II) $500.00 or more, but less than $2,000…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-12-701 Time of accrual of duties and powers
0.9K chars
The duties and powers of a personal representative commence upon his or her appointment. The powers of a personal representative relate back in time to give acts by the person appointed that are beneficial to the estate occurring prior to appointment the same effect as those occu…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-12-702 Priority among different letters
14.0K chars
A person to whom general letters are issued first has exclusive authority under the letters until his appointment is terminated or modified. If, through error, general letters are afterwards issued to another, the first appointed representative may recover any property of the est…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-12-703 General duties - relation and liability to persons interested in estate - duty to search for a designated beneficiary agreement - standing to sue
12.2K chars
(1) A personal representative is a fiduciary who shall observe the standards of care applicable to trustees as described by part 8 of article 5 of this title 15. A personal representative is under a duty to settle and distribute the estate of the decedent in accordance with the t…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-12-704 Personal representative to proceed without court order - exception
0.4K chars
A personal representative shall proceed expeditiously with the settlement and distribution of a decedent ‘s estate and, except as otherwise specified or ordered in regard to a supervised personal representative, do so without adjudication, order, or direction of the court, but he…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-12-705 Duty of personal representative - information to heirs and devisees
6.9K chars
(1) Not later than thirty days after appointment, every personal representative, except any special administrator, shall give information of his or her appointment to the heirs and devisees, including, if there has been no formal testacy proceeding and if the personal representat…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-12-706 Duty of personal representative - inventory and appraisement
1.3K chars
(1) Within three months after his appointment, a personal representative who is not a successor to another representative who has previously discharged this duty shall prepare an inventory of property owned by the decedent and subject to disposition by will or intestate successio…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-12-707 Employment of appraisers
0.5K chars
The personal representative may employ qualified and disinterested appraisers to assist him in ascertaining the fair market value as of the date of the decedent's death of any asset the value of which may be subject to reasonable doubt. Different persons may be employed to apprai…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-12-708 Duty of personal representative - supplementary inventory
0.7K chars
If any property not included in the original inventory comes to the knowledge of a personal representative or if the personal representative learns that the value or description indicated in the original inventory for any item is erroneous or misleading, he shall make a supplemen…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-12-709 Duty of personal representative - possession of estate
1.8K chars
Except as otherwise provided by a decedent's will, every personal representative has a right to, and shall take possession or control of, the decedent's property; except that any real property or tangible personal property may be left with or surrendered to the person presumptive…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-12-710 Power to avoid transfers
0.4K chars
The property liable for the payment of unsecured debts of a decedent includes all property transferred by him by any means which is in law void or voidable as against his creditors, and, subject to prior liens, the right to recover this property, so far as necessary for the payme…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-12-711 Powers of personal representatives - in general
0.4K chars
Until termination of his appointment a personal representative has the same power over the title to property of the estate that an absolute owner would have, in trust however, for the benefit of the creditors and others interested in the estate. This power may be exercised withou…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-12-712 Improper exercise of power - breach of fiduciary duty
1.7K chars
If the exercise of power concerning the estate is improper, the personal representative is subject to the provisions of section 15-10-504 and is liable to interested persons for damage or loss resulting from breach of his or her fiduciary duty to the same extent as a trustee of a…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-12-713 Sale, encumbrance, or transaction involving conflict of interest - voidable - exceptions
1.1K chars
(1) Any sale or encumbrance to the personal representative, his spouse, agent, or attorney, or any corporation or trust in which he has a beneficial interest, or any transaction which is affected by a conflict of interest on the part of the personal representative, is voidable by…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-12-714 Persons dealing with personal representative - protection
2.5K chars
(1) A person who in good faith either assists a personal representative or deals with him for value is protected as if the personal representative properly exercised his power. The fact that a person knowingly deals with a personal representative does not alone require the person…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-12-715 Transactions authorized for personal representatives - exceptions
1.1K chars
(1) Except as restricted or otherwise provided by the will or by an order in a formal proceeding and subject to the priorities stated in section 15-12-902, a personal representative, acting reasonably for the benefit of the interested persons, may properly: (a) Exercise any of th…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-12-716 Powers and duties of successor personal representative
0.4K chars
A successor personal representative has the same power and duty as the original personal representative to complete the administration and distribution of the estate, as expeditiously as possible, but he shall not exercise any power expressly made personal to the executor named i…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-12-717 Corepresentatives - when joint action required
0.9K chars
If two or more persons are appointed corepresentatives and unless the will provides otherwise, the concurrence of all is required on all acts connected with the administration and distribution of the estate. This restriction does not apply when any corepresentative receives and r…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-12-718 Powers of surviving personal representative
0.4K chars
Unless the terms of the will otherwise provide, every power exercisable by personal corepresentatives may be exercised by the one or more remaining after the appointment of one or more is terminated, and if one of two or more nominated as personal corepresentatives is not appoint…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-12-719 Compensation of personal representative. (Repealed)
0.2K chars
Source: L. 73: R&RE, p. 1591, � 1. C.R.S. 1963: � 153-3-719. L. 2001: Entire section amended, p. 888, � 5, effective June 1. L. 2011: Entire section repealed, (SB 11-083), ch. 101, p. 317, � 27, effective August 10.
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-12-720 Expenses in estate litigation. (Repealed)
0.6K chars
Source: L. 73: R&RE, p. 1591, � 1. C.R.S. 1963: � 153-3-720. L. 2001: Entire section amended, p. 888, � 6, effective June 1. L. 2011: Entire section repealed, (SB 11-083), ch. 101, p. 317, � 27, effective August 10. 15-12-721. Proceedings for review of employment of agents and co…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-12-721 Proceedings for review of employment of agents and compensation of personal representatives and employees of estate. (Repealed)
0.6K chars
C.R.S. 15-12-721Statutes 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. § 15-12-722 Failure to comply with court orders - penalty. (Repealed)
0.1K chars
Source: L. 75: Entire section added, p. 597, � 31, effective July 1. L. 2008: Entire section repealed, p. 484, � 7, effective July 1.
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-12-723 Assets concealed or embezzled
1.3K chars
If any personal representative, heir, legatee, creditor, guardian, or conservator or other person interested in the estate of any deceased person or protected person complains to the court, in writing, that any person is suspected to have concealed, embezzled, carried away, or di…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-12-801 Notice to creditors
2.2K chars
(1) Unless one year or more has elapsed since the death of the decedent, a personal representative shall cause a notice to creditors to be published in some daily or weekly newspaper published in the county in which the estate is being administered, or if there is no such newspap…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-12-802 Statutes of limitations
1.1K chars
(1) Unless an estate is insolvent, or would thereby be rendered insolvent, the personal representative, with the consent of all successors whose interests would be affected, may waive any defense of limitations available to the estate. If the defense is not waived, no claim which…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-12-803 Limitations on presentation of claims
3.0K chars
(1) (a) All claims against a decedent's estate that arose before the death of the decedent, including claims of the state of Colorado and any subdivision thereof, whether due or to become due, absolute or contingent, liquidated or unliquidated, founded on contract, tort, or other…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-12-804 Manner of presentation of claims
4.7K chars
(1) Before a claim may be presented, the decedent's estate must first have been commenced in a court of appropriate jurisdiction by the filing of an application or petition pursuant to part 3 or 4 of this article. A claimant may thereafter present a claim only by: (a) Filing a wr…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-12-805 Classification of claims
3.2K chars
(1) The personal representative shall pay allowed claims against the estate of a decedent in the following order: (a) Property held by or in the possession of the deceased person as fiduciary or trustee of a trust, which shall include a resulting trust, as long as the reasonable …
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-12-806 Allowance of claims
2.5K chars
(1) The personal representative may mail a notice to any claimant stating that the claim has been disallowed. If the personal representative fails to mail notice to a claimant of action on his or her claim within sixty-three days after the time for original presentation of the cl…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-12-807 Payment of claims
1.6K chars
(1) One year after the decedent's death, the personal representative shall proceed to pay the claims allowed against the estate in the order of priority prescribed, after making provision for family and exempt property allowances, for claims already presented which have not yet b…
Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-12-808 Individual liability of personal representative
2.9K chars
(1) Unless otherwise provided in the contract, a personal representative is not individually liable on a contract properly entered into in his fiduciary capacity in the course of administration of the estate unless he fails to reveal his representative capacity and identify the e…