Inherited a Colorado Home? Probate, Title and Selling Steps

An inherited home in Colorado sells in one of two ways: through probate, where a court-appointed personal representative signs the deed, or outside probate, where a surviving joint tenant, a successor trustee or a beneficiary-deed grantee signs it. Which path applies is fixed by how the deed was titled on the day the owner died, and it decides whether you close in 6 weeks or 6 months.

This guide covers the probate and title path: the court, the Letters, why the small-estate affidavit does not work for real estate, the personal representative's deed, the 6-month floor, and selling during the process. The money side, from stepped-up basis to fix-or-sell-as-is and splitting proceeds with siblings, is in our companion post on the money math of keeping, renting or selling an inherited Denver home.

Does an inherited home in Colorado have to go through probate?

Only when the deed was in the deceased owner's name alone, or as a tenant in common, with no beneficiary deed on record. Pull the last recorded deed from the county clerk and recorder (Denver, Arapahoe, Jefferson, Douglas, Adams, Larimer, Weld or El Paso) and read the vesting line:

• Joint tenants with right of survivorship. The surviving joint tenant owns the home the moment the other dies. Record a certified death certificate with a supplemental affidavit at the clerk and recorder, and the home is ready to sell. No probate.
• Beneficiary deed on record. Colorado lets an owner record a beneficiary deed during life that names who gets the home at death. The grantee records the death certificate and a supplemental affidavit and takes title. No probate.
• Trustee of a living trust. The successor trustee records a Statement of Authority and a certified death certificate, then sells as trustee. No probate.
• Sole owner or tenant in common. The home is a probate asset. The estate opens in district court and a personal representative is appointed before anyone can sign a listing agreement or a deed.

Can I use the small-estate affidavit for a house?

No. Colorado's small-estate collection by affidavit covers personal property only, when the whole estate is under the state's inflation-adjusted limit (in the $80,000 range) and includes no real estate. Any Colorado home titled in the decedent's name alone goes through probate, even a $250,000 condo. The affidavit still works for the bank account and the car.

Which court, and what are Letters?

Probate is filed in the district court of the county where the owner lived. Denver has its own Denver Probate Court; Arapahoe County files in Centennial, Jefferson in Golden, Douglas in Castle Rock, Adams in Brighton, Larimer in Fort Collins, Weld in Greeley and El Paso in Colorado Springs. The court appoints a personal representative, the Colorado term for executor, and issues Letters: Letters Testamentary when there is a will, Letters of Administration when there is not. The Letters are the one-page document the title company, the bank and the buyer's lender rely on. Nothing about the house moves until they exist.

Informal or formal probate?

Colorado follows the Uniform Probate Code and offers two tracks:

• Informal probate is an application to the court registrar with no hearing. Letters issue in 2 to 4 weeks when the will is valid on its face and no heir objects. Most Colorado estates use it.
• Formal probate is a petition with notice and a hearing. It is required when the will is contested, an original will cannot be found, heirs are unknown or a dispute over who serves needs a judge. Letters take 2 to 4 months.

Either way the estate stays open at least 6 months. The personal representative publishes a notice to creditors, creditors get 4 months from first publication to file claims, and the estate closes after the claims are paid. The house sells during that window; the estate does not have to close first.

Can the personal representative sell during probate?

Yes. Under Colorado law a personal representative holds the same power over estate property as an absolute owner, which includes listing and selling real estate without a court order, unless the will restricts the sale or the court placed the estate under supervised administration. The personal representative signs the listing agreement, the Contract to Buy and Sell Real Estate, the Seller's Property Disclosure and, at closing, a personal representative's deed. The title company records a certified copy of the Letters with the deed. Heirs sign nothing at closing, though a personal representative who sells over the other heirs' objection answers for it when the estate closes, so get written agreement first.

What deed conveys the home?

The buyer's title company runs the chain of title before issuing a commitment. A missing supplemental affidavit, or Letters older than the title company's 60-day cutoff, stalls closing by a week. Our guide to escrow after an offer is accepted shows where the deed lands in the closing sequence.

The owner lived in another state. Now what?

Real estate is governed by the state it sits in. When a parent who lived in Arizona or Texas owned a condo in Lakewood or a cabin near Evergreen, the home-state probate does not reach it. The personal representative opens an ancillary probate in the Colorado county where the home sits, files authenticated copies of the home-state Letters, and receives Colorado Letters in 4 to 8 weeks for $1,500 to $4,000 in fees. Colorado has no estate tax and no inheritance tax, so the filing is a title step, not a tax event.

What do I do with the house while the estate is open?

The house keeps costing money from the day of death, and the personal representative is responsible for it. On a $600,000 Denver metro home the carry runs $2,500 to $4,500 a month with a mortgage and $900 to $1,800 without one.

• Insurance. Most homeowner policies stop covering a home left vacant 30 to 60 days. Call the carrier in week one and switch to a vacant-home policy. A burst pipe in a January cold snap with no coverage is the most expensive mistake on this list.
• Winterize. Colorado freezes from October to April. Keep the heat at 55 degrees or drain the lines, and have someone check the home weekly.
• Mortgage. Federal law lets a relative who inherits keep paying an existing mortgage without the lender calling the loan, and the servicer must deal with a confirmed successor in interest. Keep the payments current; a missed payment during probate starts foreclosure math. A reverse mortgage is different: the heirs have a short window, 6 months with extensions, to sell or pay the lesser of the balance or 95% of appraised value.
• Property tax, HOA and metro district. These keep accruing and become liens; an HOA in Highlands Ranch or a metro district in Parker files a lien after 60 to 90 days of missed dues.
• Xcel and water. Keep them on. A home with no power fails the buyer's inspection and cannot be shown after 4 pm in winter.

A personal representative who needs the mortgage question answered before listing gets it from Mike Oswald, VP of Mortgage Lending at Rate, NMLS 261003, Equal Housing Lender. You are free to use any lender. The Colorado home financing guide covers payoff statements and successor-in-interest requests.

How do I sell an inherited Colorado home fast?

Two routes, and the right one depends on the home's condition and the estate's need for cash:

• List it on the MLS. A Denver metro home that shows clean goes under contract in 10 to 30 days and closes 30 to 40 days later, at full market value. Estate homes sell as-is on the contract while the buyer still inspects; the personal representative discloses what is known and nothing more. The Smart Pricing Report sets the price from sold comps, and the adding-value guide lists the $2,000 to $8,000 of cleanout, paint and lighting that raises an estate home's price by $15,000 to $30,000.
• Take a cash offer. Closes in 7 to 21 days, no showings, no repairs, at 70% to 85% of market value. It fits a home with a failed roof, a foundation problem on bentonite clay, or a hoarding cleanout, and an estate that has to pay creditors now. Our Denver cash home buyers guide compares the offers, and our distressed homes page covers homes with liens or back taxes.

Either route runs the same paperwork: Letters, personal representative's deed, title commitment. The full sequence is in our Colorado Home Seller's Guide. Property in another state follows that state's rules; a Massachusetts estate, for example, uses a local buyer such as Massachusetts Home Buyers, whose page on how to sell your house in Massachusetts describes that state's process, while the Colorado steps here govern the Colorado house.

What does it cost to sell an inherited home in the Denver metro?

On a $600,000 sale: brokerage commissions of 4% to 5.5% ($24,000 to $33,000), title and closing fees of $1,500 to $3,000, the Colorado documentary fee of $60 (one cent per $100 of price), prorated property tax, and any HOA transfer fee of $150 to $500. Probate itself costs $2,500 to $8,000 in attorney and court fees on an informal estate and more when heirs contest. Net proceeds land in the estate account and pay creditors before heirs; our net proceeds guide runs the math line by line.

What if the heirs disagree?

The personal representative has the legal authority to sell, and a sale at market value backed by a written pricing report holds up when an heir objects later. When two siblings want to keep the home and one wants out, the estate sells to the two at appraised value with the third's share paid in cash, or the personal representative lists it. A co-owner who refuses every option faces a partition action in district court, which forces a sale and costs $10,000 to $30,000 in fees that come out of everyone's share. Read our post on selling an estate home in Colorado without making a hard time harder, and for the keep-or-sell numbers, the companion inherited Denver home money guide.

Where to go next

• Inherited a Denver home: keep, rent or sell? The money math
• What to do with an inherited house in Denver if you do not want to keep it
• Colorado agents for reverse mortgage and probate sales
• How the Kenna Real Estate Group helps sellers
• Estate sales vs donation when clearing a Colorado home
• Meet the Kenna Real Estate Group agents

Talk to the Kenna Real Estate Group

The group has sold estate homes across the Denver metro and the Front Range since 2002. We read the deed, tell you which path the house is on, work with the personal representative and the estate attorney, price the home from sold comps, and close it as-is or after a cleanout, whichever nets the estate more. Call or text 303-955-4220. A live person answers. Not a robot, not a phone tree. When the estate is settled and it is time to buy, search every home for sale in Colorado.