A will is a vital and legal instrument that reflects the final wishes of a testator with regard to their personal property and in what ways they would want it to get distributed among particular heirs.
As a preventative measure, it’s highly suggested to make a last will and testament. Even if you haven’t got a lot of assets, a last will and testament might help your family situation and end up being fundamental to the ones you love after your death.
In case you are interested in a printable and fillable Colorado last will and testament form, you will find one on this page, together with the recommendations on last will writing and answers to commonly asked questions.
Build Your Document
Answer a few simple questions to make your document in minutes
Save and Print
Save progress and finish on any device, download and print anytime
Sign and Use
Your valid, lawyer-approved document is ready
| Requirements | State laws | |
| Statutes | Title 15 – Probate, Trusts and Fiduciaries; Article 11 – Intestate Succession and Wills | |
| Signing requirement | Two witnesses OR a notary public | 15-11-502. Execution – witnessed or notarized wills – holographic wills |
| Age of testator | 18 and older | 15-11-501. Who may make a will |
| Age of witnesses | 15-11-505. Who may witness | |
| Self-proving wills | Allowed | 15-11-504. Self-proved will |
| Handwritten wills | Recognized if meeting certain conditions | 15-11-502. Execution – witnessed or notarized wills – holographic wills |
| Oral wills | Not recognized | |
| Holographic wills | Recognized if meeting certain conditions | |
| Depositing a will | Possible with a Colorado District court A fee is $18 | 15-11-515. Deposit of will with court in testator’s lifetime , 13-32-102. Fees in probate proceedings |
1. Consider your possible choices. Decide whether or not you prefer to seek the services of attorneys or write your will by yourself (either by handwriting it or using a free last will and testament form).
2. Specify your information. Establish the testator and their details: full name and residence (city, county, and state). Go over the remaining part of the passage, including the information you have written along with the “Expenses and Taxes” subsection.
3. Establish the executor. This is the time to decide on the executor of your last will, the person liable for ensuring that all you laid out in this document comes true. To do this, you must indicate the executor’s full legal name, along with their residential details (city, county, and state). Ensure you appoint someone who lives in the same state as you do. Otherwise, there will be extra red tape and avoidable hassle connected with the process because of various special rules every state has with regards to out-of-state executors. While not required, it’s a wise idea to choose an additional person to be your executor in case the first one is unwilling or incapable of executing your will.
4. Determine the guardian (optional). You can choose a trusted person as a guardian in the event that you’ve got minor or dependent children that need to be taken care of. In case there are no directions pertaining to exactly who should look after your children, the guardian will be assigned by the court.
5. Specify your beneficiaries. This is where you indicate people who are going to receive your property. For every named beneficiary, enter the next particulars: full name, address, and how they are related to you.
6. Allocate property. In the event that you have an asset distribution on your mind that is not proportional, you’ll be able to explain it within this part. Assets could include money for unresolved arrears, realty, stocks, company control, cash, and any physical items of commercial worth that count among your possessions. But, joint and living will property and assets, along with your life insurance, cannot go in your will.
7. Ask witnesses to sign the document. Colorado Revised Statutes specify that a minimum of two witnesses have to sign a last will and testament for it to be regarded as legally binding. You can appoint another person as a witness only when they are over the age of 18 years and are uninvolved in your bequest. As a possible extra preventative measure against scenarios when your will is contested or some other problems, it makes sense to name a witness who is younger than you to make sure they will be there after you depart this life. Alternatively, the will can be acknowledged in front of a notary public. After a complete revision of each section in your last will and testament, all parties involved (you and the two witnesses) have to fill out their full names and full addresses and sign the document.
Looking for some other Colorado forms? We provide free templates and simple personalization experience to anybody who hopes for having fewer to none problems when dealing with papers.
A power of attorney is a legal document that assigns a person, often called your agent or proxy (doesn’t need to be a licensed professional), to undertake important things for you when you are alive. There are various types of power of attorney, the two main ones being:
An executor is someone you name in the will to deal with your matters once you pass away. The same individual could be your will’s executor and attorney-in-fact.
In Colorado, it’s not necessary to attest your will. Nevertheless, you will need a notary public if you wish to make your will self-proving by attaching an affidavit to the document. Notarization let’s avoid the need to sign a will by witnesses. A self-proving last will can make probate quicker since the court can recognize it without getting in touch with the witnesses who signed it.
For a holographic will to be legally binding, you have to handwrite the entire document, put the date of writing, and put your signature on it. Such last wills tend to be more normally chosen in emergent situations and/or until more formalized documents can be put in place (either by a legal professional or using a last will template like the one you can easily obtain from our site). Holographic last wills can have unclear directions and might omit vital provisions, so they are harder to put in force and can impede the probate considerably. Therefore, it would be a better choice to go with the second solution that we discuss below.
An attested last will is a typed document that is generally based on a fillable template available online or created with the help of a lawyer. You will need to have two witnesses (18 years or more) sign the last will and testament in your presence so that it is regarded as valid. In some states, you would need to notarize the document as well, but in Colorado, there’s no such requirement.
Testamentary capacity is a term used to describe the testator’s (the individual creating the will) legal and mental capability (sound mind) to write and alter their last will and testament. You might be regarded as missing testamentary capacity in case you’re a minor (under 18 years) or have dementia, senility, insanity, or a similar psychiatric disorder, which doesn’t let you thoroughly understand your property and assets’ cost, heirs, disposal, as well as the interrelationship of the mentioned points.
Based on the Colorado law, there’s no need to include a self-proving affidavit to your last will and testament. Nonetheless, it will serve you well to add this document. At the time of probate, it can serve as an alternative for the witness testimony in court and facilitate the process.
In Colorado, they do not have such a concept as community or marital property. This concept suggests that all belongings gained or increased while in the marriage have to be evenly shared between the two spouses. Consequently, in line with Colorado law, you can disinherit your spouse. Still, your marriage partner is allowed to have a specific minimum amount of your property.
Aside from your marriage partner, Colorado law allows you to disinherit any other members of the family. Your children (18 and older) or other family members can be lawfully disinherited entirely in your last will. To do that, include particular provisions to your last will and testament.
No, it is only you who is permitted to modify your last will and testament. There is one special situation when a 3rd party is allowed to get involved. If you are physically incapable of signing your last will and testament, another person can do so in your stead yet only with you present.
Yes, you can modify it.
As outlined by Colorado law, you are allowed to adjust or annul the last will if you’re not obligated by a lawful agreement indicating the opposite.
Also, it will be a wise decision to amend your last will and testament if you undergo a significant life event such as:
In Colorado, the law implies that the court will admit a last will and testament if it’s destroyed or lost. But, just the original of the will can be accepted by the probate court.
In line with Colorado law, the will’s absence can be assumed as its cancellation. This means the executor must prove the last will’s legality, which in turn may become very complicated.
Things will be far more complicated when it comes to a holographic last will and testament. To prove its credibility, the court will require testimony and sword witnesses. The reason behind not providing the will and its elements is to be demonstrated too.
As outlined by the Colorado Estate Code, it will be possible for an individual to sign his or her will providing that it’s your (as a testator) instruction and in your presence. The person who wrote the will can communicate his or her wishes in a verbal manner by way of responding positively to a question, or with body gestures.
It is possible to get a notary public to sign the name of a testator who is physically unable to do it if the latter guides the notary in the presence of a witness. Such a witness is decided on just like one could decide on a trustee – they can’t have any legal or equitable interest in any assets that are the focus of, or are impacted by, the last will and testament.
| Related documents | When to make it |
| Codicil | Your will needs one or a number of small adjustments. |
| Self-proving affidavit | You would like to save time and legal fees for your witnesses. |
| Living will | You would like to establish precisely what health care you want if you’re unable to communicate that yourself. |
| Living trust | You would like to avoid probate by putting your assets in a trust. |
