Chapter 1 - § 1.13 • JURISDICTION OVER NON-PROBATE ASSETS

• Jurisdiction: Colorado

§ 1.13 • JURISDICTION OVER NON-PROBATE ASSETS

Although most of our probate statutes and case law focus on wills, the great bulk of wealth transferred at death outside the will should be acknowledged, such as by joint tenancy, life insurance beneficiary designation, retirement beneficiary designation, payable on death (POD) registration, transfer on death (TOD) designations, and the like. This has been characterized as the non-probate revolution.

To account for this, there are several statutory provisions that allow third parties with interests in or claims against the estate to reach non-probate transfers, particularly where the probate assets are insufficient. These include creditor's rights statutes (C.R.S. §§ 15-12-710, 15-15-103); family and exempt property allowance statutes (C.R.S. §§ 15-11-405, 15-15-103)...