Chapter 1 - § 1.10 • OTHER JURISDICTIONAL MATTERS

• Jurisdiction: Colorado

§ 1.10 • OTHER JURISDICTIONAL MATTERS

Prior to 1965, Colorado appellate courts rendered a number of decisions having to do with the powers of the county court as a court of probate that seem relevant to the powers of a probate court under the Code, namely that the county court has the power to determine a surviving spouse's interest in an estate and to determine the validity of an antenuptial agreement;⁴³ to determine whether a person is or is not an heir and the effect of a postnuptial agreement;⁴⁴ to appoint a conservator, settle his or her accounts, and authorize the filing of a voluntary petition in bankruptcy;⁴⁵ to determine a contest of a foreign will affecting Colorado real estate, prior to the admission of the will here;⁴⁶ to determine the status of an objectant to probate as an heir;⁴⁷ to reopen the estate of an insane person and to revoke orders which were induced by fraud;⁴⁸ to set aside at any time the probate of a will that was brought about by fraud;⁴⁹ to enforce its proper orders by contempt proceeding;⁵⁰ to remove a fiduciary for failure to comply with law;⁵¹ to appoint a successor executor;⁵² to determine the claim of a surety who has discharged an obligation of a decedent's estate;⁵³ to authorize the continuation of a decedent's business;⁵⁴ to exercise full jurisdiction in probate matters and to set aside its own orders when procured by fraud;⁵⁵ to determine whether or not a person is the widow of the decedent;⁵⁶ and to determine the effect of a spendthrift clause.⁵⁷

On the other hand, it had been held that a pre-1965 county court could as a probate court enforce a contract to make a will,⁵⁸ try title to property as between the estate and a third party,⁵⁹ and determine the existence or nonexistence of a partnership (since that involves a determination of title),⁶⁰ but nevertheless such matters could probably be disposed of under the Code in a probate proceeding.⁶¹ It has been held that a district court, while dealing with a divorce action, has no power to classify alimony as a claim against the estate of the husband, effective in the event he should die before payment in full during his life. The classification of claims against a decedent's estate is a probate matter and jurisdiction for doing so arises only after death.⁶²

Since 1965, jurisdiction at probate courts has been determined to include the following: to set aside divorce decrees ordered by another court on the basis of extrinsic fraud in connection with a determination of the standing of a former spouse to bring a will contest;⁶³ to authorize a trustee...