For most Chaffee County homeowners, the house is what drags an estate into probate. A transfer-on-death deed or a living trust keeps it out—here is how to set up either one and record it locally.
For a Chaffee County property owner, the biggest probate risk is the home itself. Real estate is what forces most families into the Combined Court. The two tools that keep a Chaffee County home out of probate are a transfer-on-death deed recorded with the County Clerk and Recorder, and a revocable living trust that holds title to the property.
Without a recorded beneficiary designation or a trust, Chaffee County property passes through the Combined Court — even simple Colorado probates run 4+ months and start with $229 in filing fees. Colorado also lets owners name a transfer-on-death beneficiary on vehicle titles, which keeps cars out of the same process.
A beneficiary deed names a beneficiary who receives Chaffee County property automatically at the owner's death, without probate. It is recorded with the County Clerk and Recorder during the owner's lifetime and can be revoked at any time.
Before recording, a Colorado beneficiary deed is signed with notary acknowledgmentC.R.S. 15-15-401 to 15-15-415Verified Oct 18, 2026View source. The deed takes effect only if it is recorded before the owner's deathC.R.S. 15-15-401 to 15-15-415Verified Oct 18, 2026View source.
Deeds and other real property documents for Chaffee County are recorded with the County Clerk and Recorder at 104 Crestone Avenue, Room 100, Salida, CO 81201. Phone: 1-719-530-5602. Hours: Monday-Thursday 7:30 AM-5:00 PM (closed Friday).
Documents submitted by mail go to P.O. Box 699, Salida, CO 81201.
The County Clerk and Recorder charges $43 flat, regardless of page count. Recording a 2-page beneficiary deed in Chaffee County comes to $43. A beneficiary deed is exempt from transfer tax.
Recording Office Record
Chaffee County
Phone
Hours
Office
Website
Recording fees
| Flat fee (any length) | $43 |
| Transfer tax on a TOD deed | TOD deeds are exempt from transfer tax |
CRS 30-1-103(1) (recording fee, $40 flat); CRS 30-10-421(1)(b) (filing surcharge, $1); CRS 24-21-403(2) (electronic recording technology board surcharge, up to $2); CRS 39-13-102 (documentary fee); HB24-1269 (flat fee amendment)
Verified October 16, 2026 · Source
FirmSalida, CO
Serves Chaffee County from Salida and the Denver area from a Blake Street office. Attorney David K. Johns, a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, handles estate administration and probate cases alongside wills, trusts, and powers of attorney. Initial consultations are free.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateCivil LitigationCriminal Defenseand 2 more
Solo PracticeSalida, CO
Serves Chaffee County from Salida. Attorney Ryan Drengler focuses on estate planning and the estate documents a family needs, and also drafts contracts, easements, business formation and real estate documents and handles criminal matters. Offers a free phone consultation.
PracticesEstate PlanningBusiness LawCriminal DefenseReal Estate
FirmCanon City, CO
Serves Fremont, Custer, Pueblo, Chaffee, and El Paso counties from Canon City, in practice since 1959. Handles formal and informal probate, small estate affidavits, will contests, creditor claims, and guardianships and conservatorships, and drafts wills, living and irrevocable trusts, and powers of attorney. The initial consultation is a paid $120 meeting.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateProbate LitigationConservatorshipand 7 more
Solo PracticeSalida, CO
Serves Salida and Chaffee County from an office on West 2nd Street. Guides executors, administrators, and beneficiaries through probate, from asset inventory and debt settlement to final distribution, and drafts wills, revocable living trusts, powers of attorney, and healthcare directives. Attorney Dustin Hughes also prepares deeds and structures property for trusts.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateAsset ProtectionReal Estate
FirmBuena Vista, CO
Serves Chaffee, Pitkin, Garfield, Delta, and Grand counties from seven offices in Buena Vista, Salida, Aspen, Basalt, Glenwood Springs, Paonia, and Winter Park. Handles probate and trust administration and probate litigation for beneficiaries, personal representatives, and trustees, and builds wills, trusts, and succession plans. Managing partner Ann Jefferson leads the estate practice.
PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate Litigationand 4 more
FirmSalida, CO
Serves central Colorado from Salida. Handles estate administration and probate, and prepares wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and advance directives, alongside business, employment, and real estate work. Attorneys Michael and Lacey Scott both previously served as Assistant Attorneys General.
PracticesEstate PlanningProbateBusiness LawReal Estate
Firm listings are for informational purposes only. SimplyTrust does not endorse or recommend any specific firm or attorney. Contact firms directly to verify their current practice areas and availability.
Data sourced from Colorado statutes and official state code. How we research.
Free forms for planning your estate in Colorado: a will, living trust, pour-over will, both powers of attorney, living will, and TOD deed.
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.
In Colorado, a codicil is signed before 2C.R.S. § 15-11-502Verified Oct 18, 2026View source witnesses, like a will, and the self-proving affidavit signed with it lets the court admit it without witness testimonyC.R.S. §§ 15-10-201(59), 15-11-504Verified Oct 25, 2026View source.
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.
In Colorado, a HIPAA release names who may receive your records; the state regulates mental health recordsColo. Rev. Stat. § 27-65-123(1)(b) (L. 2022: HB 22-1256, ch. 451, p. 3198, § 1)Verified Jun 20, 2026View source above the federal rule, and the document carries each rule.
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.
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.
Colorado allows a transfer-on-death beneficiary designation on a vehicle titleColo. Rev. Stat. 42-6-110.5Verified Oct 21, 2026View source, filed through the Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles, Department of Revenue (title transfers are processed through county motor vehicle offices) using Form DR 2009.
In Colorado, the living will is the Declaration as to Medical TreatmentC.R.S. Title 15, Article 18 (§§ 15-18-101 to 15-18-113), Colorado Medical Treatment Decision ActVerified Sep 27, 2026View source, a document of its own, apart from the healthcare power of attorney.
Free tools for planning your estate in Colorado: what a will or trust costs, whether you need a trust or TOD deed, and how documents are signed.
In Colorado, a will is signed before 2C.R.S. § 15-11-502Verified Oct 18, 2026View source witnesses, and notarization is not requiredC.R.S. § 15-11-502Verified Oct 18, 2026View source.
Colorado recognizes a will signed under the law of the place where it was signedC.R.S. § 15-11-506Verified Oct 18, 2026View source; a will signed in Colorado itself needs 2C.R.S. § 15-11-502Verified Oct 18, 2026View source witnesses, and notarization is not requiredC.R.S. § 15-11-502Verified Oct 18, 2026View source.
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.
An attorney-prepared revocable living 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 for an individual, against $0 to $549 up front plus a subscription with an online service.
An attorney-prepared will in Colorado runs $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 $299 up front with an online service, and probate on a $500,000 estate adds about $26,082C.R.S. § 15-10-602 (reasonable compensation; no statutory percentage)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source.
Compare what it costs to make a trust official across SimplyTrust, LegalZoom, Trust & Will, Rocket Lawyer, and Quicken WillMaker.
In Colorado, a parent names a guardian for a minor child in a will or a separate signed writingColo. Rev. Stat. §§ 15-14-202, 15-14-203, 15-14-204, 15-14-206; § 15-14-413 (conservator priority, estate side)Verified Sep 15, 2026View source, and the nomination covers the child until the age of majority, 18Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-10-201(32) ("Minor" means a person who is under eighteen years of age)Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
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.
Estate planning articles for Colorado.
Estate planning articles for Colorado.
