About Probate in Colorado
What exactly is Probate? Probate is a legal process whereby assets owned by one
person are distributed when the person dies. The probate process dictates how
the person's creditors are dealth with and how the assets are distributed. When
an official Notice of Creditors is printed in a local newspaper and Notice of
Administration is sent to other involved parties. Creditors then have a set
amount of time to file their claims from the first date of publication. Then the
personal representative can pay the debt and distribute the remaining estate.
Finally, a petition for discharge is filed, and the estate is closed.
While on one hand, this may sound simple, probate
law and the handling of estates is in fact a complex
system, which presents you with multiple
requirements and tasks to be performed by the
personal representative, an experienced attorney and
a tax consultant. For example, an estate including
only a single house and single bank account that has
been left to a single beneficiary will probably be a
far easier and quicker process to deal with than an
estate containing multiple houses that are located
in various states, and that are left to multiple
beneficiaries. This becomes especially difficult if
an estate includes leaving assets to a minor.
Resources
"Changes
to Colorado's Uniform Probate Code," The
Colorado Lawyer, Vol. 39, No.12, December 2010,
pg. 41-46.
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