Not Every Colorado Estate Must Be Probated
It’s interesting to see how many people come into our office with probate forms in hand that they purchased from the Denver probate court. They come to us for help because the process of filling out the forms is somewhat daunting. More often that not, there was no need to buy the forms or even get started on a probate process since the estate they are dealing with doesn’t need to go through a Colorado probate at all.
Surviving spouses usually think the estate of their deceased spouse must go through a Colorado probate. They don’t understand that jointly titled assets will pass directly to the surviving joint tenant when one spouse dies. All that is necessary to clear title to that property into the name of the surviving spouse is simply the filing of the spouse’s death certificate. Ninety five percent of married couples own their real estate in joint tenancy.
Automobiles are usually owned between spouses as joint tenants. Even when cars or trucks are owned only in the name of the deceased spouse, title can be switched to the surviving spouse at the DMV with only a one page form called a small estate affidavit. This does not involve probate and can be done ten days after the deceased owner’s death.
Credit union and bank accounts held in joint tenancy can be changed to the name of the surviving spouse simply by tendering an original death certificate. The same thing can be done with jointly titled mutual funds or brokerage accounts.
Many estates are more complicated than what I have just described; however, the vast majority of estates that we see are relatively simple and do not involve a probate–particularly between spouses when one spouse survives and most of the property was in joint tenancy.
When the second spouse dies and the property passes down to the children, it’s another story. Proper planning to avoid probate through a Colorado living trust, PODs, TODs and beneficiary designations on life insurance, IRAs and 401(k)s is relatively simple.
Our firm offers FREE guides for anyone who wants to know the basics of probate and how to avoid it…Get your copy of The Colorado Guide to Probate and The Colorado Guide to Living Trusts today!