Colorado Estate Checklist | Small Estate Map

Which procedure

Your name (optional)

Papers most holders ask for Certified copies of the death certificate Your photo ID The will, if there is one Recent statements for each account, car and property

Papers for this procedure: Collection of Personal Property by Affidavit (JDF 999) Copy of the death certificate (some holders ask for a certified copy) A copy of the court's instructions (JDF 998), if you want to show the holder the legal authority

Other formats

Your checklist

Collection of Personal Property by Affidavit (JDF 999)

A sworn statement you give to a bank, company or person holding the property, so they pay or deliver it to you. It is not filed with the court.

Limit

Up to $88,000 (deaths from January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026) Counted after subtracting liens (what is owed on the property).

Date of death	Limit
January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026	$88,000
January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2025	$86,000
January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024	$82,000
January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023	$80,000
January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022	$74,000
January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2021	$70,000

The limit depends on the year of death: $88,000 for 2026, $86,000 for 2025, $82,000 for 2024, $80,000 for 2023, $74,000 for 2022, and $70,000 for 2020 and 2021. The limit is twice the exempt property amount, which is adjusted for the cost of living.

What counts

The fair market value of everything the person owned that passes by will or by state inheritance law, wherever it is (including real estate), minus liens and encumbrances. Property that passes another way, such as joint, pay-on-death or beneficiary property, is left out.

Waiting period

At least 10 days must have passed since the death.

Who can use it

Any successor (a person, other than a creditor, who inherits under the will or under state law), or a person acting for one or more successors. The person signing must be 18 or older. A person who collects for other successors has the legal duties of an agent to them.

Court or where to file

Not filed with a court. You give it to the person or company holding the property.

Notary

Sign the affidavit before a notary. Each holder keeps a copy, so you may want several notarized copies.

Papers to attach

Copy of the death certificate (some holders ask for a certified copy)
A copy of the court's instructions (JDF 998), if you want to show the holder the legal authority

Steps

Wait until at least 10 days after the death.
Check that no one has applied to be personal representative in any state.
Fill in JDF 999 and list each successor and what each is entitled to.
Sign it before a notary.
Give the affidavit and a death certificate to the bank or other holder.
Give each successor their share of what you collect.

Fee

No filing fee, because the affidavit is not filed with the court (JDF 998).

Debts and responsibility

Anyone who receives property under the affidavit must answer for it to a personal representative appointed later or to anyone with a better right to the estate.

What the bank or holder must do

On the affidavit, the holder must pay or deliver the property; a transfer agent must re-register securities; a public official must change registered title. The holder is released from liability as if it dealt with a personal representative and does not have to check the truth of the affidavit. If the holder refuses, the people entitled can go to court; if they prove their right and the refusal was without reasonable cause, the holder pays all their costs, including reasonable attorney fees.

Forms

Law: C.R.S. 15-12-1201, 15-12-1202, 15-11-403, 15-10-112

Source: Official page

Death certificates in Colorado

A request must include a photocopy of your ID. Extra copies of the same record ordered at the same time are $13 each.

Where to get it: Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), Vital Records Section
Official page: Official page

Car or vehicle title after a death in Colorado

The DMV does not accept the court form JDF 999; it uses its own small estate affidavit, DR 2712. Take the signed and notarized DR 2712 and the death certificate to your county motor vehicle office. All title transfers are done at the county motor vehicle office. If the title is in joint tenancy with right of survivorship, the surviving owner brings a copy of the death certificate. If the owner completed form DR 2009 naming a beneficiary, the beneficiary brings the death certificate, DR 2009 and an application for title (DR 2395).

Law: C.R.S. 15-12-1201(3), 42-6-110.5; DMV forms DR 2712, DR 2009

Agency: Colorado Department of Revenue, Division of Motor Vehicles (title work at the county motor vehicle office)
Form: DR 2712 State of Colorado Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property Pursuant to Small Estate Proceeding (04/30/26)
Waiting period: 10 days after the death
Fee: The county motor vehicle office charges title fees.
Transfer-on-death title: An owner can name a transfer-on-death beneficiary for a vehicle with form DR 2009. After the death, the beneficiary presents the death certificate, DR 2009 and form DR 2395.

Source: Official page

Surviving spouse in Colorado

Colorado has no separate small estate procedure for a spouse. In a probate case, the surviving spouse (or, if none, dependent children) is entitled to exempt property (a base of $30,000, adjusted for the cost of living) and a family allowance. Property the spouse receives as a joint owner or named beneficiary passes outside the estate.

Law: C.R.S. 15-11-403, 15-11-404

Related pages

Free help in Colorado

A court self-help center or a legal aid office can check whether the estate qualifies, free of charge or at low cost.