Do I Need a Vehicle Transfer on Death Designation in Colorado?
Colorado allows a transfer-on-death beneficiary designation on a vehicle titleColo. Rev. Stat. 42-6-110.5Verified Aug 25, 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.
Yes. Colorado allows a transfer of title upon death designated beneficiary (beneficiary designation form) on a vehicle titleColo. Rev. Stat. 42-6-110.5Verified Aug 25, 2026View source. It passes the vehicle to the named beneficiary at death without probate.
Colorado allows a transfer of title upon death designated beneficiary (beneficiary designation form) on motor vehicle, motorcycle, motor home, and trailerColo. Rev. Stat. 42-6-110.5Verified Aug 25, 2026View source. Covers any "vehicle" for which the Division issues a certificate of title (motor vehicle, motorcycle, motor home, trailer, or other titled item).
Add the designation through the Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles, Department of Revenue (title transfers are processed through county motor vehicle offices)Colo. Rev. Stat. 42-6-110.5View source using State of Colorado Transfer of Title Upon Death Designated Beneficiary Form (Form DR 2009)Colo. Rev. Stat. 42-6-110.5View source. Notarization is not requiredColo. Rev. Stat. 42-6-110.5View source.
Yes. The designation can be changed or cancelled at any time during the owner's life; in Colorado: Sell the vehicle with proper assignment and delivery of the certificate of title to another person; Properly execute a subsequent beneficiary designation form (DR 2009) that designates a new beneficiary. Colorado allows more than one beneficiaryColo. Rev. Stat. 42-6-110.5Verified Aug 25, 2026View source.
The beneficiary retitles the vehicle with the Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles, Department of Revenue (title transfers are processed through county motor vehicle offices)Colo. Rev. Stat. 42-6-110.5View source by submitting: Completed DR 2009 Transfer of Title Upon Death Designated Beneficiary form; Death certificate of the owner (or of the last surviving joint owner) as proof of death; DR 2395 Application for Title and/or Registration; Payment of the application-for-certificate-of-title fee (C.R.S. 42-6-137(1)). The designation covers that vehicle alone; a revocable trust set up with SimplyTrust keeps the home, the accounts and everything else out of probate in one document.
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New Baby or Adoption
Your family is growing. Your protection should too. Guardian nominations, trusts for minors, beneficiary updates, and the documents new parents need in place.
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Marriage
What married couples need in place: one joint trust or two, wills, beneficiary updates, and the spousal rights your state grants you automatically.
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New Home
How to put your house in a revocable trust: the deed you record, what it does to your mortgage and property taxes, and when a TOD deed is simpler.
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Retirement
Retirement changes your financial picture. Healthcare directives, beneficiary reviews, long-term care planning, and protecting what you've built.
Learn moreForms for Planning Your Estate in Colorado
Free forms for planning your estate in Colorado: a will, living trust, pour-over will, both powers of attorney, living will, and TOD deed.
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.
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.
Vehicle Transfer on Death
Name a beneficiary to inherit your vehicle at death without probate. Available in 26 states and the District of Columbia.
Living Will
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.
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.
Tools for Planning Your Estate in Colorado
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.
Do I Need a TOD Deed?
Colorado authorizes transfer on death deedsC.R.S. 15-15-401 to 15-15-415Verified Oct 17, 2026View source: a recorded, revocable deed that passes real property at death outside probate.
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.
How Much Life Insurance Do I Need?
In Colorado, four years at a public university cost about $95,372NCES Digest of Education Statistics 2023, Table 330.20, public 4-year in-state tuition, fees, room and board, academic year 2022-23Verified Oct 17, 2026View source and the cost of living is near the U.S. averageBEA Regional Price Parities, all items, by state, 2024Verified Oct 17, 2026View source; no state estate or inheritance tax appliesNo Colorado estate or inheritance tax is payable. The Colorado Estate Tax Law (C.R.S. § 39-23.5-103) imposes a tax equal to the federal credit for state death taxes under IRC § 2011 (C.R.S. § 39-23.5-102(6)); that federal credit was eliminated, so the tax computes to $0 and no Colorado estate tax filing is required for deaths after December 31, 2004 — and independently, C.R.S. § 39-23.5-107(3) provides that "[n]o Colorado return need be filed if the gross estate or generation-skipping transfer does not require the filing of a federal return." The statute remains on the books rather than repealed — a "pick-up" tax that would revive if Congress restored the federal credit. Colorado replaced its 1927 inheritance tax with the estate tax in 1980 and has no inheritance tax.Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
Are My Beneficiary Designations Protected?
Colorado automatically revokes an ex-spouse as beneficiary at divorceC.R.S. § 15-11-804Verified Sep 15, 2026View source; employer plans under ERISA follow federal rules either way, so a 401(k) beneficiary changes only by a new designation.
How Do I Sign Estate Documents?
Find witness, notary, and remote signing requirements for all 50 states.
Will My Estate Documents Transfer?
Check if estate planning documents signed in one state are valid in another.
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%C.R.S. § 15-10-602 (reasonable compensation; no statutory percentage)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source to 3.1%C.R.S. § 15-10-602 (reasonable compensation; no statutory percentage)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate under a reasonable-compensation standard.
Who Inherits Without a Will?
Without a will in Colorado, a surviving spouse takes the entire estateC.R.S. § 15-11-102Verified Sep 10, 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 Sep 10, 2026View source.
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Colorado Estate Planning Resources
In-depth guides covering Colorado probate laws, trust requirements, and estate planning strategies.