Boulder Estate Planning Legal Blog

Last updated 2026-09-17 · Reviewed by Diedre Wachbrit Braverman Being named the successor trustee of a family member’s trust in Colorado comes with a set of legal duties that begin the moment the job does, and one of them carries a 60-day deadline most new trustees never hear about until it has passed. When a…

A Colorado law effective August 12, 2026 gives adults under guardianship a bill of rights. It is also a clear picture of the court process that good incapacity planning is built to avoid.

Many of us have loved ones with significant disabilities. For those of us who do, an important part of the estate-planning process can be deciding how to leave behind assets to benefit those friends or family members. In many cases, a stand-alone special needs trust (SNT) is the best choice. Also known as an “inter…

House Bill 26-1189 extends Colorado’s community property death act to Colorado real estate regardless of the decedent’s domicile, a change carrying real basis-planning stakes for relocating families.

Directed trusts allow Colorado families to divide authority among trustees, investment directors, distribution advisors, and other fiduciaries. This post explains when that structure can improve administration, where it creates risk, and how careful drafting helps prevent accountability gaps.

An irrevocable trust can last far longer than the assumptions that shaped it. A trust created ten, twenty, or thirty years ago may reflect a different tax regime, a different family structure, a different investment environment, and a very different understanding of fiduciary administration. For Colorado families, the practical question is not always whether an…

For years, high-net-worth estate planning centered on one dominant question: how do you move appreciating assets out of the taxable estate before the federal estate tax takes a large bite? That question has not disappeared, but the 2026 increase in the federal basic exclusion amount to $15 million per person changes the balance of the…

A new savings vehicle for children is moving from headline to reality, and Colorado families should start paying attention now. Internal Revenue Code Section 530A created a new type of custodial account for minors that is scheduled to become operational on July 4, 2026. These accounts have drawn national attention because they combine limited annual…

Estate planning attorneys see the same pattern again and again. A client arrives with a will that does not match the asset titles, beneficiary designations that were never updated after life events, and a “trust” that exists only as a binder on a shelf. Braverman Law Group works with Boulder Estate Planning Lawyers Serving Colorado…

Conflicts between estate planning documents rarely start with a dramatic dispute. A surviving spouse brings in a will signed years ago, a child produces a later trust amendment, and a financial institution points to a beneficiary designation that does not match either instrument. The real problem often involves uncertainty about which document controls,what was revoked,…