If a person has a will, their beneficiaries often need to go through probate proceedings to receive the property allotted to them in the will. In probate proceedings, a court appoints a personal representative to administer the person’s estate to the intended beneficiaries. As a result, before receiving a single asset, the beneficiaries must participate in a long, complex, and confusing process. Thankfully, Colorado provides a few steps people can take while they are alive to spare their beneficiaries from probate procedures.
How Can You Avoid Probate in Colorado?
One way to prevent your beneficiaries from going to probate court is by creating a living trust. This document allows you to designate a succeeding trustee to transfer assets to your beneficiaries after death. Colorado law allows you to make living trusts for nearly any type of asset, including houses and vehicles, as well as bank accounts. To make a living trust, you can transfer ownership of your property to yourself as the living trustee of your estate. Then, with the help of an attorney, you can create a document that designates another person to take over as trustee after death. That succeeding trustee can then transfer your property to the trust beneficiaries without going through probate court.