Chapter 42 - § 42.24 • HEARSAY RULE — COMMON EXCEPTIONS

• Jurisdiction: Colorado

§ 42.24 • HEARSAY RULE — COMMON EXCEPTIONS

Exceptions to the evidentiary rule against hearsay evidence encountered in probate cases may include:

1) Matters of personal or family history (including fact of birth, death, and parentage) under CRE 804(b)(4).¹⁶¹
2) The declarant's state of mind under CRE 803(3). In a wrongful death case, testimony was allowed to introduce the hearsay statement of the decedent's father (of father's intent to help plaintiff with his education and assistance in business) under this exception.¹⁶² The exception was also applied in a breach of fiduciary duty case.¹⁶³

See also Jeffrey D. Whitney, "Admissibility of Hearsay Under The Dying Declaration and Excited Utterance Exceptions," 34 Colo. Law. 89 (Nov. 2005).

--------

Notes:

^[161] People v. Raffaelli, 701 P.2d 881 (Colo. App. 1985).

^[162] Morrison v. Bradley, 655 P.2d 385 (Colo. 1982).

^[163] Boettcher DTC Bldg. Joint Venture v. Falcon Ventures, 762 P.2d 788 (Colo. App. 1988); Murphy v. Glenn, 964 P.2d 581 (Colo. App. 1998).