Kenna Real Estate Group · Estates and probate
You can list an inherited home 30 to 60 days after the court issues Letters, and close while probate keeps running. Here is the whole sequence, what it costs, how siblings split it, and the tax rule that protects most heirs.
A live person answers. Not a robot, not a phone tree.
In Colorado you do not have to wait for probate to close before selling a parent's home. Once the court appoints a personal representative and issues Letters, which takes about three to six weeks after filing, the home can be listed and sold like any other, within 30 to 60 days in most cases. Informal probate for a straightforward estate runs six to twelve months in total; the sale closes in the middle of it, and the proceeds sit in the estate account until distribution. The tax rule most heirs miss: the home's basis steps up to its value on the date of death, so a sale near that value owes little or no capital gains tax.
Letters issued
3 to 6 weeks
The personal representative can then sign a listing.
List and sell
30 to 60 days
Close while probate continues.
Whole probate
6 to 12 months
Executor deadline: 1 year, extendable 6 months.
Capital gains
Stepped up
Sell near that value and the gain is close to zero.
| Item | Typical |
|---|---|
| Court filing | about $200 |
| Probate attorney (optional, informal) | $2,500 to $6,000 |
| Clean-out and estate sale | $1,500 to $6,000, offset by sale proceeds |
| Repairs to make the home show | $0 to $15,000; paint, carpet, yard |
| Commission and title | set in the listing agreement |
| Holding costs while it sits | taxes, insurance, utilities, HOA; $800 to $2,500 a month |
The will controls; without one, Colorado intestacy splits the estate among the heirs equally. The fights come from three places: one sibling living in the home rent-free, one sibling wanting to keep it, and disagreement on price. Solutions that work: charge fair rent from the date of death, let the sibling who wants it buy the others out at the written valuation, and set the list price from the same valuation so nobody is guessing. If one heir refuses to sign, the personal representative still has authority to sell.
The basis steps up to the fair market value on the date of death. A home bought in 1985 for $90,000 and worth $650,000 at death has a $650,000 basis; sell it for $660,000 and the taxable gain is $10,000, not $570,000. Colorado taxes the gain as ordinary income at the flat rate; there is no state inheritance tax. If a sibling lives in the home for two years first, the primary-residence exclusion applies to their share. Get the date-of-death value in writing; it is the number the return is built on.
If your parent is alive and moving to assisted living, the rules change: no probate, but Medicaid look-back and estate recovery matter. Read selling a home to pay for assisted living in Colorado.
Kenna Real Estate Group lists estate and inherited homes across the Front Range. What we do on a probate listing, the timeline, and who signs:
kennarealestate.com · free guide
The documents, the filing steps, the sibling agreement, the clean-out plan and the tax worksheet
Once the court issues Letters, three to six weeks after filing, a parent's home can be listed and sold in Colorado. The basis steps up to the date-of-death value, so a sale near that value owes little or no capital gains tax.
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KENNA REAL ESTATE GROUP
Call or text 303-955-4220 · A live person answers.
Call or text 303-955-4220. A live person answers, sends the date-of-death valuation, and coordinates clean-out, repairs, listing and closing with the personal representative.
Call or text 303-955-4220Get the home valueYes. Once the court issues Letters to the personal representative, about three to six weeks after filing, the home can be listed and sold. The sale closes while probate continues and the proceeds are held in the estate.
Six to twelve months for an informal, uncontested estate. The personal representative has one year from appointment to finish, extendable by six months.
Rarely much. The basis steps up to the value on the date of death, so a sale near that value produces little or no gain. Get the date-of-death value in writing.
They buy the others out at the written valuation, or the personal representative sells and splits the proceeds under the will. Charge fair rent to anyone living there from the date of death.
Fix the cheap, visible things and list it. As-is investor offers close fast but pay 70% to 85% of value. Most heirs net far more with a cleaned, staged listing.
Not for informal probate of a simple estate, but hire one when the will is contested, an heir is missing, or the estate has debts or property in other states.