Probate In Colorado: Personal Representative Powers And Duties

If you need legal advice about your Personal Representative powers, call (720) 513-2299 to set up a flat-rate* consult with a probate lawyer.

If someone has died and named you as “executor” or “personal representative” of their Colorado estate in the will, you’ll have a number of responsibilities that relate to probate and settling the estate.

Seldom is this job easy or fun, and not everyone who is named as a personal representative has the organizational skills or financial and legal experience that the probate process requires.

Colorado Probate Process

In the best-case scenario of probate, you’ll spend countless hours (that can span across months) selling or transferring assets, consolidating bank accounts, getting appraisals for assets, identifying and dealing with creditors, and distributing the proceeds beneficiaries named in the will.

In the worst-case scenario of probate, you could get involved in disputes and be tied up in lengthy litigation that could drag out for years.

In either case, the probate process can be quicker, easier, and less emotionally draining if you have an experienced probate attorney at your site.

As a personal representative for an estate, you’re required to act impartially, administer the estate with care, treat each party the same, and put the interests of the estate ahead of your own interests. That might sound simple enough, until you try to actually put it into practice.

The main responsibilities of a personal representative (executor) of a will include:

• Opening probate (within 10 days after death usually)
• Inventorying assets
• Valuing assets
• Liquidating assets
• Identifying all debts and legitimate claims on the estate
• Paying off all debts and legitimate claims on the estate
• Filing final tax returns (federal and Colorado)
• Remit federal estate taxes (only applicable if the estate’s value exceeds $11.4 million for an individual or $22.8 million for a couple)
• Distributing the proceeds of the estate to the beneficiaries in the will
• Losing out probate

We can advise you every step of the way through probate, helping ensure that everything is done properly, from the beginning of probate to the final closing of the estate.

For more information about the duties and powers of a personal representative (executor), or to schedule your flat-rate* legal consultation, please call (720) 513-2299.

Please note: Our law office is in Northglenn (near I-25 and 120^thAvenue), and work with clients throughout the Denver metro area and Colorado. In addition to probate issues, we also assist with all types of estate matters, including wills and trusts.