Serves Broomfield, Arvada, and Denver from a Westminster office. Attorney Charles E. Longtine handles probate and trust administration, including managing financial accounts, paying bills, preparing tax returns, and distributing the estate, plus guardianships and conservatorships. Offers a free consultation.
Probate in Denver County
Probate Court Record
Denver Probate Court
Denver County · 2nd Judicial District
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How to file probate in Denver County →
Verified October 15, 2026 · Source
Do I need a lawyer for probate in Denver County? →Settling an estate in Denver County →
Estate Law Firms Serving Denver County
Serves Centennial, Castle Rock, Highlands Ranch, and Denver from an office near the Arapahoe County Courthouse. Attorney Carolyn Duncan guides personal representatives through informal and formal probate and handles trust administration, guardianships, and conservatorships, alongside wills, revocable trusts, and special needs trusts.
Serves Douglas, Elbert, Arapahoe, Denver, Adams, Lincoln, and Jefferson counties from Castle Rock. Attorney Martina Ellmann focuses on probate matters, and the firm drafts wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and living wills and handles guardianships and conservatorships, alongside criminal defense and family law.
Serves Arapahoe, Denver, and Douglas counties from Aurora, with location pages for Aurora, Centennial, Parker, and Denver. Supports executors and administrators through probate inventories, notices, and petitions, and guides trustees through trust administration, conservatorships, and guardianships. Plans for blended families, unmarried partners, and families with special-needs children.
Serves Denver and Northern Colorado communities including Boulder, Fort Collins, and Greeley from Littleton. Handles informal and formal probate, from appointing a personal representative through inventory, creditor claims, distribution, and closing, plus will contests, guardianships, and conservatorships. A litigation-based practice since its founding in 1959.
Serves the Denver area from an Englewood office just south of the city. Handles probate and estate administration, intestate estates, will contests, trust and estate disputes, and guardianship and conservatorship proceedings. Founded in 1990, the firm also does Medicaid applications and appeals and special needs trusts.
Forms for Planning and Settling an Estate in Colorado
Free Colorado forms to plan or settle an estate: a will, trust, powers of attorney, TOD deed and the probate forms. Prepare each form for Colorado.
Revocable Living Trust
Create a revocable living trust to avoid probate, protect privacy, and control asset distribution.
Last Will and Testament
In Colorado, a will is signed before 2C.R.S. § 15-11-502Verified Oct 18, 2026View source witnesses, and a self-proving affidavit signed with it lets the court admit it without witness testimonyC.R.S. § 15-11-502Verified Oct 18, 2026View source.
Healthcare Power of Attorney
Colorado allows a choice for a healthcare power of attorney: 2C.R.S. § 15-18-106 (no separate statutory form; execution requirements only)Verified Oct 15, 2026View source witnesses or a notary.
Financial Power of Attorney
Colorado treats a power of attorney as durable by defaultC.R.S. § 15-14-705 (execution); § 15-14-704 (durability); § 15-14-706 (validity/choice of law); § 15-14-707 (choice of law); § 15-14-709 (springing); § 15-14-713 (agent acceptance); § 15-14-719-720 (third-party protections); § 15-14-724 (hot powers); § 15-14-741 (statutory form); § 15-14-742 (agent certification); § 38-30-123 (mandatory recording of POA used to convey real property); § 38-30-124 (acknowledgment of real-property POA, permissive); § 38-35-109(1) (race-notice recording); § 13-22-101 (age of majority 18)Verified Sep 18, 2026View source, and it is signed with no witness or notary requirementC.R.S. § 15-14-705 (execution); § 15-14-704 (durability); § 15-14-706 (validity/choice of law); § 15-14-707 (choice of law); § 15-14-709 (springing); § 15-14-713 (agent acceptance); § 15-14-719-720 (third-party protections); § 15-14-724 (hot powers); § 15-14-741 (statutory form); § 15-14-742 (agent certification); § 38-30-123 (mandatory recording of POA used to convey real property); § 38-30-124 (acknowledgment of real-property POA, permissive); § 38-35-109(1) (race-notice recording); § 13-22-101 (age of majority 18)Verified Sep 18, 2026View source.
Pour-Over Will
In Colorado, a pour-over will is signed before 2C.R.S. § 15-11-502Verified Oct 18, 2026View source witnesses and moves anything left outside the trust into it through probate.
Transfer on Death Deed
In Colorado, a beneficiary deed is signed before a notaryC.R.S. 15-15-401 to 15-15-415Verified Oct 18, 2026View source, then recorded with the county before the owner's deathC.R.S. 15-15-401 to 15-15-415Verified Oct 18, 2026View source. Colorado does not recognize a Lady Bird deed.
Tools for Planning and Settling an Estate in Colorado
Free calculators and checklists to plan or settle an estate in Colorado: will and trust costs, probate, executor pay and taxes. Run each tool for Colorado.
Trust or Will: Which Costs Less?
In Colorado, a will-based plan pays probate attorney fees of typically 2%Modeled estimate under C.R.S. § 15-10-602 (reasonable compensation; no statutory percentage): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source to 3.1%Modeled estimate under C.R.S. § 15-10-602 (reasonable compensation; no statutory percentage): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate; a funded revocable trust keeps those assets out of probate and off that fee.
Do I Need a Revocable Trust?
Probate in Colorado takes 4 months to 6 months for a simple estate and charges attorney fees of typically 2%Modeled estimate under C.R.S. § 15-10-602 (reasonable compensation; no statutory percentage): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source to 3.1%Modeled estimate under C.R.S. § 15-10-602 (reasonable compensation; no statutory percentage): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate; assets held in a revocable trust skip both.
How Much Does Probate Cost?
Probate on a $500,000 estate in Colorado costs an estimated $26,082C.R.S. § 15-10-602 (reasonable compensation; no statutory percentage)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source. Attorney fees run 2%Modeled estimate under C.R.S. § 15-10-602 (reasonable compensation; no statutory percentage): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source to 3.1%Modeled estimate under C.R.S. § 15-10-602 (reasonable compensation; no statutory percentage): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate under a reasonable-compensation standard.
What Are the Estate Laws in My State?
Probate on a $500,000 estate in Colorado costs an estimated $26,082C.R.S. § 15-10-602 (reasonable compensation; no statutory percentage)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source and takes 4 months to 6 months for a simple estate, with attorney fees of typically 2%Modeled estimate under C.R.S. § 15-10-602 (reasonable compensation; no statutory percentage): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source to 3.1%Modeled estimate under C.R.S. § 15-10-602 (reasonable compensation; no statutory percentage): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate. Estates under $88,000C.R.S. § 15-12-1201Verified Sep 8, 2026View source can use a small-estate procedure instead.
How Do I Settle an Estate?
Settling an estate in Colorado: the personal representative files the estate inventory within 90 daysC.R.S. § 15-12-706Verified Sep 15, 2026View source of appointment; creditors have 4 monthsC.R.S. §§ 15-12-801, 15-12-803, 15-12-805, 15-12-806Verified Oct 18, 2026View source to present claims; a simple estate closes in 4 months to 6 months.
What Does Estate Planning Actually Cost?
An attorney-prepared revocable trust in Colorado runs $3,390Estimate: 10 hours at $339, Clio's Colorado Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $5,085Estimate: 15 hours at $339, Clio's Colorado Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source and a simple will $1,044Estimate: 3 hours at $348, Clio's Colorado Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $2,088Estimate: 6 hours at $348, Clio's Colorado Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source, against $0 to $549 up front plus a subscription with an online service.
