Chapter 9 - § 9.5 • LETTERS

• Jurisdiction: Colorado

§ 9.5 • LETTERS

Upon admission of the foreign will to probate in ancillary proceedings and upon application or petition for appointment of a personal representative, ancillary letters testamentary or of administration may issue to the foreign representative or to another (see § 9.4).³³ The local representative must publish notice to creditors, as in original proceedings, but it should be noted that if the statute of nonclaim at the domicile has barred a claim before the first publication, it is barred here.³⁴ If no notice to creditors is published in Colorado after appointment of the representative, creditors are barred after one year from the decedent's death.³⁵ It would seem that in many cases letters will not be applied for by either the domiciliary representative or another. In the first place, the Code provides a simple way for the domiciliary representative to collect debts from local debtors, etc., without any proceedings in Colorado (see § 9.9).³⁶ In the second place, if the foreign representative files here evidence of appointment and a copy of his or her bond at the domicile, he or she can exercise all of the powers of a local representative, unless and until there is an application for appointment of a local representative, but if the foreign representative feels more secure if he or she also is the local representative, he or she may secure appointment for himself or herself (or nominee) in that capacity, and has priority (see § 9.4). It would appear that the steps to appoint one other than the domiciliary representative with respect to Colorado assets would be by a Colorado creditor, heir, or devisee who seeks additional assurance.

If the domiciliary representative files proof of appointment at the domicile or takes advantage of the provision for collecting personalty, or does anything else to subject himself or herself to the jurisdiction of Colorado courts, the representative becomes subject to the jurisdiction of the Colorado courts, but only in regard to the estate matter in which he or she has acted.³⁷ If the decedent had subjected himself or herself to the jurisdiction of Colorado's courts (by reason of the long-arm statute or otherwise), his or her personal representative likewise is subject to such jurisdiction.³⁸

If it is desired that the Colorado assets be freed from the possible claims of creditors, it is likely that the domiciliary representative will be advised to cause local administration to be commenced, with publication of...