Estate Planning & Probate in Kit Carson County, Colorado
There are two reasons people look up Kit Carson County probate: to keep a family out of it, or to get a loved one's estate through it. This page points you to the right path—planning ahead, or settling an estate at the Combined Court.
Someone died — settling an estate
Filing probate at the Combined Court, what it costs, transferring property, and local attorneys.
What to do when someone dies in Kit Carson County →Planning ahead as a property owner
Keep a Kit Carson County home out of probate with a transfer-on-death deed or a living trust.
Estate planning in Kit Carson County →The Probate Process in Kit Carson County
Probate is the court-supervised process of settling someone's estate after they die — validating the will, paying debts and taxes, and transferring what's left to the heirs. In Kit Carson County, probate runs through the Combined Court at 1650 Donelan, Suite 301, Burlington. The court sits in the 13th Judicial District.
Full Kit Carson County probate guide: cost, how to file & attorneys →Probate Court Record
Kit Carson County Combined Court
Kit Carson County · 13th Judicial District
Hours
Office
Website
E-filing
Filing in person
Self-represented filing
Self-help forms
How to file probate in Kit Carson County →
Verified October 15, 2026 · Source
Recording Office Record
County Clerk and Recorder
Kit Carson County
Phone
Hours
Office
Website
Recording fee
E-recording
Verified October 16, 2026 · Source
Local Procedures at the Combined Court
The 13th Judicial District's self-represented litigant coordinator helps people without a lawyer with general questions, paperwork and forms in non-criminal cases, by appointment.
A filer without a lawyer files probate papers on paper with the clerk, and court staff scan them into the case record.
Forms for Planning and Settling an Estate in Colorado
Free Colorado forms for planning an estate or settling one: a will, trust, powers of attorney, TOD deed, and the probate forms an executor files.
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.
Revocable Living Trust
Create a revocable living trust to avoid probate, protect privacy, and control asset distribution.
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.
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.
Tools for Planning and Settling an Estate in Colorado
Free calculators and checklists for planning or settling an estate in Colorado: will and trust costs, probate, executor pay, and inheritance taxes.
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.
How Do I Settle a Trust?
Settling a trust in Colorado happens outside court: the trustee acts under the state's Uniform Trust CodeC.R.S. § 15-5-101 et seq.Verified Oct 17, 2026View source, notifies the beneficiaries within 60 daysC.R.S. § 15-5-813Verified Sep 15, 2026View source, then pays the debts and distributes under the trust's terms.
Do I Need Probate?
In Colorado, estates with personal property of $88,000C.R.S. § 15-12-1201Verified Sep 8, 2026View source or less skip probate with the Collection of Personal Property by AffidavitC.R.S. § 15-12-1201Verified Sep 8, 2026View source, 10 daysC.R.S. § 15-12-1201Verified Sep 8, 2026View source after death.
Who Inherits Without a Will?
Without a will in Colorado, a surviving spouse takes the entire estateC.R.S. § 15-11-102Verified Oct 21, 2026View source when every child of either spouse is a child of both, and descendants divide what passes to them per capita at each generationC.R.S. §§ 15-11-103(3), 15-11-106Verified Oct 21, 2026View source.
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.
Colorado Estate Planning Articles
Articles about estate planning, probate, and trusts relevant to families in Kit Carson County.
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