Colorado living trusts & estate documents

Living trust law in Colorado

A revocable living trust holds your home, accounts, and other property during your life, you stay in full control as trustee and can change or revoke it any time, then passes it to your beneficiaries without probate when you're gone. In Colorado, trusts are governed by the Colorado Uniform Trust Code, C.R.S. Title 15, Article 5.

Avoiding probate in Colorado

Probate in Colorado is governed by the Colorado Probate Code, C.R.S. Title 15 and handled by the District Court, or, in Denver, the separate Denver Probate Court. Colorado (UPC) allows informal, unsupervised administration.

Colorado allows collection of personal property by affidavit when the fair market value of the property owned by the decedent and subject to disposition by will or intestate succession, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed twice the exempt property amount in C.R.S. § 15-11-403, as adjusted for the cost of living under § 15-10-112 (C.R.S. § 15-12-1201). The Colorado Department of Revenue publishes the adjusted amounts by year of death: $86,000 for deaths in 2025 and $88,000 for deaths in 2026 (Department of Revenue, Cost of Living Adjustment of Certain Dollar Amounts for Property of Estates in Probate, Probate Index 2026, prepared January 21, 2026). Assets held in a funded living trust pass to your beneficiaries without probate, whatever the size of the estate. Many Colorado homeowners set one up for that reason. Colorado also authorizes a beneficiary deed (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-15-401 et seq.) to pass real estate outside probate. A living trust does the same for every asset, not just real estate.

In Colorado, creditors generally have the notice period (at least 4 months from first publication), with a 1-year outside bar from death to file claims against the estate (C.R.S. § 15-12-803), one reason court probate takes time that a funded trust avoids.

Estate and inheritance tax in Colorado

Colorado has no estate or inheritance tax. The separate federal estate tax reaches only estates above $15 million per person (2026, adjusted yearly), so most families never owe it.

Protecting a surviving spouse in Colorado

A surviving spouse in Colorado who is left out of the will can instead claim an elective share of 50% of the marital-property portion of the augmented estate, a portion that is 10% after one year of marriage, rises by 10% for each further year and reaches 100% at 10 years or more under Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-202 and § 15-11-203(2), a protection the will itself cannot override.

Colorado also sets aside exempt property of $30,000 (inflation-adjusted) plus a reasonable family allowance for the surviving spouse, or if there is none the decedent's dependent children jointly (Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-403), the exempt property having priority over all claims against the estate except the costs and expenses of administration.

Signing your Colorado documents

1. Sign the living trust. Executed and acknowledged before a notary.
2. Sign the will. Two witnesses; notarized self-proving affidavit included (standalone and pour-over wills).
3. Sign the power of attorney. Sign your Durable Power of Attorney before a Notary Public.
4. Sign the health care documents. Sign your Advance Directive for Health Care either before a Notary Public or in the presence of two adult witnesses. The form lists who may not serve as a witness. Follow it exactly.
5. Follow your package instructions. Your package includes page-by-page signing instructions written for Colorado. Follow those as the authoritative guide.

Serving all of Colorado

Answer the questionnaire from anywhere in Colorado and download your completed documents in minutes: Denver, Colorado Springs, Aurora, Fort Collins, Lakewood, Thornton, Arvada, Westminster, Greeley, Pueblo, Centennial, Boulder, and every community in between.