UNDERWRITING Q&A: I have a Colorado property wherein the property owner is deceased. The owner did not live in Colorado and the owner’s probate is being administered in another state. Is an ancillary probate proceeding going to have to be opened in Colorado to deal with the Colorado property? (CO)

A.  In most cases, no.  C.R.S 15-13-204 provides a very simple process for authenticating an out-of-state personal representative’s authority to dispose of property located in Colorado.  A certified copy of the personal representative’s appointment documents (letters testamentary) may be filed in any Colorado court in which the property is located.  Preferably the certified copy of the appointment documents will be filed with the local probate court but it is recognized that not all counties in Colorado have separate probate courts.  In practice, what often happens is that a certified copy of the out-of-state letters testamentary are filed stamped by a Colorado court and that is all that is required.  C.R.S. 15-13-205 provides that upon compliance with C.R.S. 15-13-204, a foreign personal representative has all of the powers of a local personal representative.

As always, feel free to reach out to your FNTI underwriting counsel for questions involving probate.