Colorado
Death Laws & End-of-Life Guide

At a Glance

The 72-hour rule.

In Colorado, the person in charge of final disposition (usually the funeral home) must file the death certificate with the state registrar, or as the state registrar directs, within 72 hours of assuming custody of the body. And before the body is buried or cremated. The clock starts at custody, not at death (C.R.S. § 25-2-110(1)(a)). This was changed from five days by SB23-020, effective 2023.

Who files it.

The funeral home, mortuary, or cremation organization typically prepares and files the death certificate. The attending physician, physician assistant, or advanced practice registered nurse must complete the medical certification section within 72 hours of being asked. Physician assistants and advanced practice registered nurses have been able to sign since August 6, 2025 (C.R.S. § 25-2-110, as amended by HB25-1082).

Who can order copies.

Spouses, parents, children, siblings, grandparents, legal representatives, executors, and beneficiaries can all order certified copies. Contact the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment or the county health department where the death occurred.

• -CDPHE Vital Records: cdphe.colorado.gov/vitalrecords
• -Cost since January 1, 2026: $25 for the first copy, $20 for each additional copy of the same record ordered at the same time
• -Order from CDPHE or from a local vital records office; expedited options available online

Who can order a death certificate in Colorado?

Proof of your relationship or of a direct and tangible interest is required under C.R.S. 25-2-118. The state application lists the current spouse, a parent, stepparent, sibling, child or stepchild, the legal representative, the funeral director or informant on the certificate, beneficiaries, creditors, the employer, an insurer, a hospital or physician, an agent with power of attorney, and in-laws, grandparents, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins with proof of interest for a death 25 years old or less. Certified copies come from Colorado's Office of the State Registrar of Vital Statistics, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment; local vital records offices issue birth and death certificates too, online through VitalChek or GoCertificates, by mail with the state application, in person at the state office by appointment, or at a local vital records office.

How do I get a death certificate in Colorado?

Order certified copies from Colorado's vital records office; this section's source link is the official process. The funeral home or cremation provider usually orders the first copies for you. Ask each bank, insurer, court, and agency whether it needs its own certified copy before you decide how many to order.

How much does a death certificate cost in Colorado?

$25 per certified copy in Colorado, as shown above. Additional-copy pricing varies; the official source linked in this section has the current fee schedule.

At a Glance

When probate is required.

Colorado's small estate cutoff moves with inflation every year, and it goes by the year the person died. For a 2026 death it's $88,000, measured on the property of the estate less liens and encumbrances (2025: $86,000. 2024: $82,000. 2023: $80,000). Under that figure a successor can collect with a Collection of Personal Property by Affidavit, form JDF 999, with no court appointment. Two limits matter: you have to wait 10 days from the date of death, and the affidavit can't transfer real estate. If there's a house in the decedent's name alone, you're going to probate court no matter what the total is.

If you die without a will.

Colorado's intestate succession laws decide who gets everything. The state will get it wrong for most blended families and non-traditional relationships. Here's the order:

• -Surviving spouse (if no children from prior relationships) → gets everything
• -Spouse + children all from same relationship → spouse gets everything
• -Spouse + children from a prior relationship → spouse gets a statutory share; children get the rest
• -No spouse, children survive → children inherit equally
• -No spouse or children → parents, then siblings, then more distant relatives
• -No heirs found → estate escheats to the State of Colorado

The 120-hour rule.

An heir must survive the deceased person by at least 120 hours (5 days) to inherit. This matters in accidents or simultaneous deaths.

What goes through probate.

Only assets owned solely by the deceased without beneficiary designations. Joint tenancy property, accounts with named beneficiaries, and life insurance pass outside of probate automatically.

Handwritten wills.

Colorado accepts a handwritten will with no witnesses if the signature and the material portions (the parts that say who gets what and who's in charge) are in the person's own handwriting (C.R.S. § 15-11-502(2)). Printed words on the page can be used as evidence of what the person meant. If a will the person signed misses a formality, a court can still accept it on clear and convincing evidence that they meant it as their will (§ 15-11-503). A typed will needs two witnesses or a notary. A will valid where it was signed, or where the person lived when they signed it or died, is valid here (§ 15-11-506).

Source: Colorado Revised Statutes 2024, Title 15 (C.R.S. §§ 15-11-502, 15-11-503) ↗

How long does probate take in Colorado?

A straightforward Colorado probate typically runs 9 to 24 months, as shown in this section. Contested wills, missing heirs, or real property in other states stretch it well past that.

What is the small-estate limit in Colorado?

$88,000. Estates under that figure can use the simplified process or affidavit covered above instead of full probate.

Do I need a probate attorney in Colorado?

Not always. If the estate qualifies for the simplified process covered above, many people handle it without a lawyer. Hire one for full probate, a contested will, or property in more than one state. Before you hire anyone, know the fee structures: hourly, flat, and (in a few states) statutory percentages. Our probate attorney cost guide covers what each should run you.

Does Colorado allow transfer-on-death deeds?

Yes. Colorado authorizes the beneficiary deed under Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 15-15-401 to 15-15-415. Record it while you’re alive and the property passes to your named beneficiary at death, outside probate, revocable any time before then. Colorado calls it a beneficiary deed; record it before death with the county clerk and recorder, and note it can affect Medicaid eligibility rules under the statute.

Source: Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 15-15-401 to 15-15-415 ↗

Time off work after a death in Colorado

Colorado is one of nine states that require a private employer to give bereavement leave. The limits matter as much as the entitlement.

Who it covers. All Colorado employers regardless of size and nearly all employees, under the HFWA paid sick leave law. No tenure requirement; accrual starts at hire.

How much. No standalone bereavement allotment. The employee can use whatever paid sick leave they have accrued (HFWA accrual is 1 hour per 30 worked, capped at 48 hours per year).

Paid or unpaid. Paid. It draws on the employee's accrued paid sick leave.

This is a different shape of mandate than California's: Colorado does not create dedicated bereavement days. It requires paid sick leave and, since August 7, 2023, makes grief, funerals, memorials, and post-death financial and legal errands protected uses of it. The source for this is the signed act itself.

Source: Colo. Rev. Stat. § 8-13.3-404(1)(a)(IV), Healthy Families and Workplaces Act as amended by SB23-017 (signed June 2, 2023, effective August 7, 2023) ↗

Can I leave money to care for my pet in Colorado?

Yes. Colorado enforces pet trusts under C.R.S. §§ 15-5-408 and 15-5-409.5, so money you set aside for an animal is legally binding on whoever you put in charge of it. The trust ends when no animal it covers is still alive, unless your trust sets an earlier end. Colorado also covers offspring your animals are already carrying when the trust reaches them, and it puts no year limit on the trust at all. Whoever you name in the trust enforces it. Colorado also lets the person actually keeping your animal, and anyone in line to receive what's left, step in, and if there's nobody a court appoints someone when asked. No Colorado judge can cut a pet trust back for holding more than your animal needs, so write into the trust where anything left over should go; without that it passes under your will's residuary clause, and otherwise to your heirs. Colorado has an older pet trust law at C.R.S. § 15-11-901 that's still in the code and works the same way, so a trust written under either section holds.

Source: C.R.S. §§ 15-5-408 and 15-5-409.5 ↗

How to set one up, and what it costs →

Die without a will in Colorado and this law picks your heirs.

If you die intestate (without a valid will) in Colorado, Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 15-11-101 to 15-11-105 decides who inherits everything a will would have covered. The shares depend on exactly who survives you: spouse, children, parents, siblings. What you told people you wanted doesn't matter. Only a signed will changes these defaults.

What your spouse gets.

What your spouse inherits depends on who else survives you. The four common family shapes:

• -Spouse only (no descendants or parents): entire estate
• -Spouse + parents (no descendants): first $442,000 for a 2026 death plus 3/4 of the balance; parents take the rest
• -Spouse + joint descendants: entire estate, unless the spouse has children from someone else, then first $332,000 for a 2026 death plus 1/2 of the balance
• -Spouse + blended family: first $221,000 for a 2026 death plus 1/2 of the balance; the decedent's other descendants take the rest
• -Source: Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 15-11-102, 15-11-103, 15-11-105, indexed under § 15-10-112

Children's shares.

The descendants take everything per capita at each generation: equal shares at the nearest generation with survivors, with deceased members' shares pooled and split equally at the next generation.

No spouse, no children: the line of succession.

After descendants come the parents (with a deceased parent's descendants stepping in), then descendants of the parents, then grandparents and their descendants; with no takers, the estate passes to the State of Colorado (§ 15-11-105).

At a Glance

That rule is for the living will. The medical durable power of attorney (C.R.S. § 15-14-506) sets no witness or notary requirement.

What Colorado recognizes.

Colorado recognizes three main documents for end-of-life medical wishes. You should have all three.

• -Medical Durable Power of Attorney (MDPOA). Names someone to make medical decisions if you can't
• -Living Will / Advance Directive. Documents your wishes for life-sustaining treatment
• -POLST (Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment). Actual medical orders, completed with your doctor, that travel with you

The Living Will.

Colorado's 'Declaration as to Medical or Surgical Treatment' (Living Will) covers what you want if you're in a terminal condition or persistent vegetative state. Under C.R.S. § 15-18-106 you sign it either in front of two witnesses or before a notary. One or the other, not both. Whoever witnesses or notarizes it can't be your attending physician or any other physician, can't work for your attending physician or for the facility where you're a patient, and can't be someone who'd inherit from you or has a claim against your estate (§ 15-18-105).

The POLST form.

A POLST is different from an advance directive. It's an actual physician's order. It specifies whether you want CPR, ventilators, and other interventions. It must be signed by a physician or advanced practice nurse. It's most relevant for people with serious illness or advanced age.

Where to get the forms.

Colorado's advance directive forms are available free from the Colorado Bar Association (cobar.org/advanceMedicalDirectives). Give copies to your physician, your healthcare agent, and your hospital.

Where do I get Colorado's advance directive form?

Start with C.R.S. §§ 15-18-105, 15-18-106 & CDPHE, linked as this section's source. Use the current form or sample that the official source provides or identifies. Form authority and execution requirements vary by state, so confirm the source before signing and get legal help if your situation or the instructions are unclear.

Does Colorado require a notary or witnesses for an advance directive?

Colorado accepts either 2 adult witnesses or a notary, as shown in the requirements above; you don't need both. That rule is for the living will. The medical durable power of attorney (C.R.S. § 15-14-506) sets no witness or notary requirement. Anyone 18 or older of sound mind can make one.

At a Glance

The 24-hour rule.

Colorado funeral establishments must embalm, refrigerate, cremate, bury, or entomb human remains within 24 hours of taking custody. If cremation or burial won't happen within 24 hours, embalming or refrigeration is required. Once remains are refrigerated or embalmed, burial, freezing, or cremation has to follow within 60 days of death, or natural reduction has to begin within 60 days. The director of the Division of Professions and Occupations or a coroner can approve a longer wait in writing, but only for unforeseen circumstances or a criminal investigation (C.R.S. § 12-135-109(2)(b)). The limit was 30 days until August 12, 2026.

Unclaimed ashes.

A funeral establishment or cremationist can dispose of cremated remains one year after cremation, at the expense of the person who has the right to direct disposition. Before August 12, 2026 the wait was 180 days. It can do that only if the cremation authorization carried clear notice of the rule, the person had a reasonable opportunity to collect the remains, the establishment made a documented effort to reach them, and it recorded the exact location of the final disposition and the cost. Naturally reduced remains still follow a 180 day wait (C.R.S. § 12-135-109(5)).

Source: Colorado HB26-1258, Changes to Practices Relating to Death (signed act, effective August 12, 2026) ↗

Authorization for cremation.

Two separate authorizations are required before cremation can proceed in Colorado: (1) state authorization for final disposition from the county vital records office, and (2) written cremation authorization from the person with legal right to control disposition.

Who controls disposition.

Colorado's right-of-disposition law (C.R.S. § 15-19-106) sets the order of who decides. If you want to control your own disposition, you must document it in a Declaration for Disposition of Last Remains. Otherwise, your family decides in this order:

• -1. Decedent (via a valid Declaration for Disposition of Last Remains)
• -2. Appointed personal representative or estate nominee
• -3. Surviving spouse (if not legally separated)
• -4. Person with rights under a designated beneficiary agreement
• -5. Majority of surviving adult children
• -6. Majority of surviving parents or legal guardians
• -7. Majority of surviving adult siblings
• -8. Any person willing to assume legal and financial responsibility

Caskets aren't required.

No Colorado law requires a casket for burial or cremation. Federal law requires funeral homes to accept caskets purchased elsewhere and to offer alternative containers. You can build your own casket.

Water cremation and human composting are both available in Colorado.

Colorado never had to pass a separate law for water cremation. The statute defines cremation by result rather than by method, as 'the reduction of human remains to essential elements' (C.R.S. § 12-135-102(4)), which covers alkaline hydrolysis, and providers have offered it here for years. Human composting is named in the statute on its own terms as 'natural reduction' and is regulated separately from cremation. Availability of both varies by provider, so ask.

Scattering ashes.

Colorado has no specific state law restricting where you can scatter ashes. On private land, you need the landowner's permission. On federal land (national parks, national forests), check with the specific agency. Many allow it with a simple permit or notification. No scattering in bodies of water without checking federal and local regulations.

Green burial.

Colorado allows green burial (no embalming, biodegradable container). Several green burial grounds operate in Colorado. Check the Green Burial Council (<a href='https://www.greenburialcouncil.org/' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer'>greenburialcouncil.org</a>) for certified providers.

Who decides what happens to the body in Colorado

Colorado sets this order by statute. The first person on the list who is available and willing decides, and a funeral home takes its instructions from them.

1. the decedent, acting through a declaration of disposition of last remains under § 15-19-104
2. appointed personal representative or special administrator of the estate, if one has been appointed
3. nominee for personal representative under the will, if none has been appointed
4. surviving spouse, if not legally separated from the decedent
5. person with the right to direct disposition under a designated beneficiary agreement (article 22)
6. a majority of the surviving adult children
7. a majority of the surviving parents or legal guardians, acting in writing
8. a majority of the surviving adult siblings
9. any person willing to assume legal and financial responsibility for final disposition

Naming someone in advance. A "declaration of disposition of last remains" under C.R.S. § 15-19-104, with a statutory form printed at § 15-19-107. It can name the disposition to be made, the person appointed to direct it, the ceremonial arrangements, and the person appointed to direct those. It has to be signed and dated by the declarant and may be notarized or witnessed in writing by at least one adult, so it's lighter than most states. The most recent declaration controls over any other document. Colorado also recognizes a designated beneficiary agreement under article 22 as a way to hand someone this right. For service members, § 15-19-104(3)(a)(II) makes a valid federal record of emergency data (DD Form 93) control over any declaration as to who directs disposition, even if the declaration is newer, though the declaration still governs how the disposition and ceremony are carried out.

When the same tier disagrees. § 15-19-106(3): disputes among the listed persons are resolved by the probate court. A third party isn't liable for refusing to accept or dispose of the remains until it receives a court order or other reasonable confirmation that the dispute is resolved or settled.

Colorado writes the abandonment case into the statute. Under § 15-19-106(4) a person is presumed unable or unwilling if they haven't made or delegated arrangements within five days of learning of the death or ten days after the death, whichever is earlier, and the right then passes first to the rest of their own class and then to the next class. A person who's unable or unwilling isn't counted when you work out what a majority of that class is, which matters because Colorado uses flat majority rule with no less-than-majority carve-out. If nobody in the list will act, the public administrator or the county official responsible for indigent disposition arranges it. The source link is the 2024 edition of Title 15. The 2025 edition (olls.info/crs/crs2025-title-15.pdf) was compared with it on October 3, 2026, and these sections didn't change.

Source: Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-19-106 (Right of final disposition), Disposition of Last Remains, C.R.S. §§ 15-19-101 to 15-19-110 ↗

If you can't afford the funeral in Colorado

Three separate pots of money, on three different agencies' websites, collected nowhere. A family that qualifies for all three usually claims none of them.

1. When nobody can pay. Burial Assistance Program, a state burial benefit paid through the county human services department. Separately, counties handle unclaimed bodies at county expense. The county department of human services. For an unclaimed body, the county coroner, with the board of county commissioners approving the bill.

What it pays. $1,500. The rule reads: 'Effective March 1, 2020, the burial benefit shall not exceed one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500).' There's a hard shut-off above it: no burial benefit at all if the total cost of all burial services runs over $2,500. A burial plot is left out of that $2,500 test when the person prepaid a plot valued at $2,000 or less at the time of purchase, or when someone else bought a plot and donated it. The reimbursement rate can be adjusted by the State Department to stay inside its appropriation, with no appeal.

What disqualifies you. Three things all have to be true, per 9 CCR 2503-5, section 3.570.43(A). The person who died was receiving Old Age Pension (OAP), Aid to the Needy Disabled (AND-SO or AND-CS), Home Care Allowance, or Colorado Medicaid at the time of death. Their estate can't pay all or part of the burial services. And the resources of the legally responsible person, meaning the spouse, or the parent of an unemancipated minor, aren't enough to pay, even counting contributions from the estate. Ask within 30 days of the death. A later request gets evaluated by the county and can be extended for good cause up to one year from the date of death. The county reduces the grant by insurance proceeds first, then the estate, then the responsible person's resources. Social Security lump sum death benefits paid to a legally responsible person are exempt, and resources below the SSI limits of $2,000 for an individual or $3,000 for a couple don't reduce the grant.

The official page ↗

2. If the death was caused by a crime. No funeral cap is published statewide. C.R.S. 24-4.1-109(1)(e) makes funeral and burial expenses compensable, and 24-4.1-109(1)(i) adds reasonable travel expenses related to the funeral or burial. The only statutory ceiling is in 24-4.1-109(2)(b): compensable losses don't include 'Aggregate damages to the victim or to the dependents of a victim exceeding thirty thousand dollars.' Colorado runs one crime victim compensation board per judicial district under C.R.S. 24-4.1-103, now 23 of them after a board was created for the 23rd judicial district effective November 1, 2024, and each board sets its own policy limits for individual categories. So the funeral number comes from the district, not from the state.

Colorado crime victim compensation ↗

3. Money the person was already owed. Search Colorado's unclaimed property before you borrow anything. Searching and claiming are free.

Colorado unclaimed property ↗

Colorado has a real burial benefit, and it has a 30 day clock. Start there. Call the county department of human services and ask for a burial benefit application. The benefit is up to $1,500. To get it, the person who died has to have been on Old Age Pension, Aid to the Needy Disabled, Home Care Allowance, or Colorado Medicaid at the time of death, the estate has to be short, and the legally responsible person's money has to be short too. Ask within 30 days of the death. After 30 days the county evaluates the request and can extend for good cause up to a year from the date of death, but don't rely on that. The trap in this rule is the ceiling above the benefit. If the total charges for all burial services come to more than $2,500, no burial grant gets paid at all. So tell the funeral home about the burial benefit before you sign anything, and keep the total at or under $2,500. A burial plot doesn't count toward that $2,500 when the person prepaid a plot worth $2,000 or less at purchase, or when someone else bought a plot and gave it to them. Insurance, the estate, and the responsible person's resources get subtracted before the county pays. Two things are protected: a Social Security lump sum death benefit paid to the legally responsible person is exempt, and resources below $2,000 for one person or $3,000 for a couple don't reduce the grant. Say so if either applies to you. Write down what the person wanted. The county has to honor a written choice of burial or cremation if there is one, on their most recent benefits application, in a will, or any document the county finds credible. Where there's no written choice, the spouse, then adult children, then parents, then siblings decide. If nobody claims the body, the county still handles it. C.R.S. 30-10-618 says the coroner delivers the body to friends if there are any, and if not, causes decent burial, paid from any property found with the body, or from the county treasury on a certified account approved by the county commissioners. C.R.S. 15-19-302 requires the person with custody of an unclaimed body to spend 24 hours trying to find a relative, friend, or representative who will take charge before public expense procedures start, and a relative who claims the body gets it. If the death was a violent crime, apply to the crime victim compensation program in the judicial district where the crime happened, not where you live. There are 23 of them, one per judicial district, and each sets its own limit for funeral costs. The state statute doesn't publish a funeral figure. What it does say is that total compensation to the victim and dependents can't exceed $30,000. Nobody was arrested or convicted? Apply anyway, the program doesn't require it. The state's Division of Criminal Justice keeps the contact list for every district. Then search unclaimedproperty.colorado.gov, the Great Colorado Payback run by the State Treasury, for money owed to the person who died.

At a Glance

Colorado has no estate tax.

Colorado doesn't impose a state estate tax or inheritance tax. The state estate tax was repealed in 2005.

Income tax on inherited assets.

Inherited assets generally receive a stepped-up cost basis for federal income tax purposes, meaning you don't pay capital gains tax on appreciation that occurred before you inherited the asset. Colorado follows federal treatment for most purposes.

Does Colorado have an estate tax?

No. Colorado has no state estate tax. Only the federal estate tax applies, and only to estates over $15 million per person (2026), $30 million for a married couple.

Does Colorado have an inheritance tax?

No. Colorado doesn’t tax inheritances. Heirs owe no state tax on what they receive.

What is the federal estate tax exemption for 2026?

$15 million per person, $30 million for a married couple, indexed for inflation. The Working Families Tax Cuts Bill (Public Law 119-21, 2025) made the higher exemption permanent. Estates below the threshold owe no federal estate tax.

At a Glance

How to register in Colorado.

Register with Donor Alliance (donoralliance.org), Colorado's organ procurement organization. You can also register when you get or renew your driver's license.

Your family can't override an adult donor's decision.

Under Colorado law, a registered donor's decision is legally binding. Nobody else can make, amend, or revoke the gift after your death (C.R.S. § 15-19-208(a)). One exception: if the donor is an unemancipated minor, a parent who is reasonably available can revoke or amend the gift (C.R.S. § 15-19-208(g)). Organ procurement organizations still consult families in practice, so register AND tell your family what you decided.

Source: Colorado Revised Statutes 2024, Title 15 (C.R.S. § 15-19-208) ↗