Chapter 20 - § 20.5 • TERMINATION OF JOINT TENANCY OR LIFE ESTATE

• Jurisdiction: Colorado

§ 20.5 • TERMINATION OF JOINT TENANCY OR LIFE ESTATE

§ 20.5.1—Proof of Death of Joint Tenant

A death certificate for a death occurring in Colorado must be filed with the state registrar of vital statistics within five days after the death occurs.¹⁶¹

A certificate of death, a verification of death document, or a certified copy thereof¹⁶² of a person who is a joint tenant may be placed of record with the clerk and recorder of the county in which the real property affected by the joint tenancy is located, together with a supplementary affidavit. The supplementary affidavit, which must be properly sworn to or affirmed by a person of legal age having personal knowledge of the facts, must include the legal description of the real property and a statement that the person referred to in the certificate is the same person who is named in a specific recorded deed or similar instrument creating the joint tenancy. When recorded, the original certificate or verification document and supplementary affidavit, or certified copies thereof, must be accepted in all courts of the state of Colorado as prima facie proof of the death of the joint tenant.¹⁶³ The foregoing is not the exclusive method of proving the death of a joint tenant, but is merely an alternative that may, but need not, be adopted.¹⁶⁴

If a certificate of death or a certified copy thereof cannot be procured, an affidavit properly sworn to or affirmed by two or more persons of legal age having personal knowledge of the facts and having no record interest in the real property affected by the joint tenancy may be placed or record in the office of the county clerk and recorder of the county in which the real property is located. The affidavit must include a statement that a certificate of death or a certified copy thereof cannot be procured, the reason therefor, the legal description of the real property, the date and place of death of the deceased person, and a statement that the person referred to in the affidavit was at the time of death an owner of a joint tenancy interest in the real property. When recorded, the original affidavit, or a certified copy thereof, will be accepted in all Colorado courts as prima facie proof of the death of the joint tenant.¹⁶⁵

For the survivorship aspects of joint tenancy, see § 7.2.4.

§ 20.5.2—Proof of Death of Life Tenant

The procedures for proving the death of a joint tenant discussed in the foregoing § 20.5.1 may also be used to provide proof of the death of a life tenant...