Estate Planning & Administration in Colorado
Estate planning is how you decide who receives your property, who acts for you if you become incapacitated, and how to spare your family the cost and delay of probate. This hub covers Colorado wills, revocable living trusts, powers of attorney, advance directives, and ways to keep assets out of probate — in plain English, with the Colorado law behind each.
By Find Local Law Editorial Team · Last reviewed: May 26, 2026
Researched and drafted with AI assistance and verified against primary sources (statutes, Judicial Council forms, and official court websites). This is general information, not legal advice.
This is general information, not legal advice. Colorado estate planning turns on your specific facts — talk to a Colorado attorney about your situation.
A complete Colorado estate plan usually combines a few documents — a will, often a revocable living trust, a financial power of attorney, and advance directives for health care. Colorado is a Uniform Probate Code (UPC) state, which shapes how wills are made and how property passes when there’s no will. Here are the statewide essentials.
Will formalities — witnessed, notarized, or handwritten
A valid Colorado will must be in writing and signed by the testator, and then either signed by at least two witnesses or acknowledged before a notary — Colorado treats a notarized will as a full alternative to two witnesses (C.R.S. § 15-11-502(1)). Colorado also recognizes holographic (handwritten) wills: a will is valid even without witnesses if the signature and the material portions are in the testator’s own handwriting (§ 15-11-502(2)).
Revocable trusts to avoid probate
Trusts are governed by the Colorado Uniform Trust Code (Title 15, Article 5; § 15-5-101). A funded revocable living trust lets assets pass outside probate.
Durable power of attorney
Under the Colorado Uniform Power of Attorney Act, a financial POA created on or after January 1, 2010 is durable by default — it survives your incapacity unless the document expressly says otherwise (C.R.S. § 15-14-704).
Advance directives
A medical durable power of attorney names someone to make health-care decisions for you, and a living will (a Declaration as to Medical Treatment) states your end-of-life wishes (C.R.S. §§ 15-14-506, 15-18-104). Colorado also recognizes CPR directives and MOST forms.
Beneficiary deeds and no estate tax
Colorado allows a beneficiary deed (a transfer-on-death deed) that passes real property to a named beneficiary at death and stays revocable during life (C.R.S. § 15-15-401). Colorado has no state estate or inheritance tax — only the federal estate tax applies, and only above the federal exemption.
The guides
Pick your topic below. To get matched with a local Colorado estate-planning attorney, connect with a lawyer.
A common goal ties them together: sparing your family the cost and delay of probate.
Guides
- Colorado Advance Directives: Medical POA & Living Wills
A medical durable power of attorney lets an agent make health-care decisions if you can't (C.R.S. § 15-14-506). A living will — formally a Declaration as to Medical Treatment — lets an adult direct that life-sustaining procedures be withheld or withdrawn in a terminal condition or persistent vegetative state (C.R.S. § 15-18-104). Colorado also recognizes CPR directives and MOST forms.
- Avoiding Probate in Colorado
Many Colorado assets pass outside probate: beneficiary designations, payable-on-death/transfer-on-death accounts, joint tenancy with right of survivorship, and a funded revocable trust. Colorado also allows a beneficiary deed (a transfer-on-death deed) that conveys real property to a named beneficiary at the owner's death and is revocable during life (C.R.S. § 15-15-401).
- Colorado Intestate Succession: Dying Without a Will
If you die without a will, Colorado's Uniform Probate Code rules decide who inherits (C.R.S. § 15-11-102). A surviving spouse takes the entire estate in some situations; in others the spouse takes a base amount plus a share, with the rest passing to descendants, then parents, then more remote kin (§ 15-11-103).
- Colorado Living Trusts: How Revocable Trusts Work
Trusts in Colorado are governed by the Colorado Uniform Trust Code (Title 15, Article 5; C.R.S. § 15-5-101). A funded revocable living trust lets your assets pass outside probate while you keep control during life — but only assets actually retitled into the trust avoid probate.
- Colorado Power of Attorney: Durable by Default
Under the Colorado Uniform Power of Attorney Act, a financial power of attorney created on or after January 1, 2010 is durable by default — it survives the principal's incapacity unless the document expressly says it terminates on incapacity (C.R.S. § 15-14-704).
- Colorado Wills: Requirements & How They Work
Colorado follows the Uniform Probate Code. A valid will must be in writing and signed by the testator, and then either signed by at least two witnesses or acknowledged before a notary (C.R.S. § 15-11-502(1)). Colorado also recognizes holographic wills — a will is valid without witnesses if the signature and material portions are in the testator's own handwriting (§ 15-11-502(2)).
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