Chapter 20 - § 20.26 • RENT AND REPAIR OF REAL ESTATE

• Jurisdiction: Colorado

§ 20.26 • RENT AND REPAIR OF REAL ESTATE

The representative is under a duty to take possession of real estate if it is vacant; to rent it; to keep it rented if occupied; and to treat the avails as assets to pay charges and devises (C.R.S. § 15-12-709; Estate of Clayton, 259 P.2d 617 (Colo. 1953)) and sue for possession, if necessary. Gailligan v. Thomas S. Hayden Realty Co., 163 P. 295 (Colo. 1917).

While the representative is in control of real property belonging to the estate, there is a duty to keep it in reasonable repair so that its value may be preserved and it can earn a reasonable return, but in the absence of power in the instrument or a court order, he or she should not improve the property or erect a new structure, except with the approval of the interested persons. C.R.S. § 15-12-709.

A power to lease real estate has been implied by reason of a duty to make it productive of income. Estate of Clayton, 259 P.2d 617. The Fiduciaries' Powers Act expressly authorizes fiduciaries to lease real and personal property. C.R.S. §§ 15-1-804(g) and (h).

Where a widow was given a life estate in timberland for her support, it was proper for her to follow a regular practice of cutting mature timber each year for her own benefit, under the guidance of a professional forester, it being found that such a practice constitutes sound timber management.⁴³

The administrator of a deceased tenant in common is not liable to the surviving tenant in common for a share of the rent that he or she did not collect...