Settling Small Estates (CO)

Updated Apr 17, 2024
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In Colorado, small estates can avoid full probate through a small estate affidavit approach, or through a simplified summary probate. Regardless of estate size, probate is not required if an estate contains only assets exempt from probate.

Small Estate Affidavit

If a Colorado estate contains personal property worth <$82,000, you can use the small estate process to settle an estate with no court involvement.

Requirements

To use the small estate process, the following conditions must be true:

  • The estate must have a gross value <$82K (for years prior to 2024, see Adjusted CO Estate Limits)
  • At least 10 days have passed since the death
  • No petition has already been made to the court to officially appoint a personal representative

In determining the gross value of the estate, you should value assets as of the date of death, and ignore any unsecured debts. Do not include any assets that would not normally go through probate, such as community property with right of survivorship, assets with named beneficiaries (e.g., 401Ks, life insurance policies), and other standard probate exclusions.

Process

To use the small estate process:

  1. Prepare a Small Estate Affidavit (Form JDF-999), have it notarized, and attach a copy of the death certificate
  2. Obtain possession of estate assets by presenting the affidavit to the current custodians
  3. Settle the estate in the normal way (pay debts, distribute remaining assets)
  4. If you are distributing real estate, submit a copy of the affidavit to the county clerk and recorder

Estate Settlement Considerations

Before paying any debts or making any distributions, be sure to account for any CO Family Entitlements, which typically have priority over everything except expenses of the last illness, funeral charges, and any estate administrations expenses.

Estate debts have priority over most distributions in turn, so you should arrange to have all debts resolved before distributing assets. Unpaid estate creditors have the right to sue heirs for the value of any distributions received using the approaches described on this page.

If estate solvency is uncertain, an executor should consider going through official probate for the increased creditor protection it offers. Alternately, such uncertainty can sometimes persuade creditors to forgive a portion of debts, since they will want to avoid legal expenses as well, and may prefer to get something rather than nothing.

See also Making Distributions.

See CRS § 15-12-1201.

Summary Administration

Summary Administration (also known as simplified probate) can be used when there is little to distribute, and you want court involvement so that enforcement and protection are a bit more formalized.

Requirements

You can use summary administration (also known as simplified probate) if it appears that the value of the entire estate does not exceed the sum total of the following:

  • Estate personal property (i.e., everything except real estate)
  • Family and exempt property allowances
  • Estate administration expenses
  • Reasonable funeral expenses
  • Reasonable and necessary medical expenses of the last illness

In determining the value of the estate, you should value assets as of the date of death. Ignore any unsecured debts (such as credit cards), but do account for secured debts such as mortgages (i.e., if a house is worth $150K and has a $130K mortgage, the house would contribute $20K to the estate value). Do not include any assets that would not normally go through probate, such as community property with right of survivorship, assets with named beneficiaries (e.g., 401Ks, life insurance policies), and other standard probate exclusions.

Process

To settle an estate via summary administration:

  1. Submit an Application for Informal Probate (Form JDF-910) to the court
  2. Upon approval, the court will issue your "Letters", which you can use to obtain possession of estate assets
  3. Settle the estate in the normal way, allocating resources to the list above in priority order
  4. File a Closing Statement (Form JDF-966 SC) with the court, and send required notices (see form)

See CRS § 15-12-1203.

Estate Settlement Considerations

Before paying any debts or making any distributions, be sure to account for any Family Entitlements in CO, which typically have priority over everything except expenses of the last illness, funeral charges, and any estate administrations expenses.

Even if the estate does not go through probate, you may still be entitled to CO Executor Compensation, and this compensation also has priority over most estate debts.

Estate debts have priority over most distributions in turn, so before distributing assets you should resolve any estate debts. If the estate makes any distributions beyond amounts set aside for family entitlements, unpaid creditors have the right to sue the recipients for repayment using those excess distributions. Consequently, even if the settlement process does not require you to publish a Notice to Creditors, you may want to follow CO probate rules for finding estate debts, since doing so may limit the time creditors have to pursue repayment.

If estate solvency is uncertain, an executor should consider going through official probate for the increased creditor protection it offers. Alternately, such uncertainty can sometimes persuade creditors to forgive a portion of debts, since they will want to avoid legal expenses as well, and may prefer to get something rather than nothing.

See also Making Distributions.

Court

In CO, district courts handle probate. In Denver County, use the specialized probate court.

Additional Information

If your estate doesn't qualify for a small estate approach, or you're simply interested in exploring standard probate, take a look at Probate in CO.

And since probate is just the court-supervised subset of winding up a person's affairs after death, you'll probably want to check out our Complete Guide to Estate Settlement in CO.

Finally, in case you're interested, details about handling small estates in other states can be found here:

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