Colorado probate code · checked October 2026

Colorado Small Estate: The Limit, the Tracks, and the Form

For money and belongings, Colorado's affidavit limit is $88,000 — applied to the estate after the assets that pass automatically are taken out. The Colorado affidavit cannot transfer real estate at all — a solely-owned house needs a court proceeding whatever the accounts do. The affidavit, where one exists, cannot be used until 10 days have passed since the death.

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The Colorado line, in facts

The affidavit limit today: $88,000, judged by the law in force on the date of death.

The paper: JDF 999 - Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property (instructions: JDF 998, Colorado Judicial Branch).

How it moves: presented to whoever holds the property; no court case is opened.

The wait: 10 days after the death before the affidavit can be used.

For a surviving spouse: No different affidavit cap when the claimant is the surviving spouse.

The tracks in Colorado

Track	Limit	How it works
Small-estate affidavit	$88,000	Presented to whoever holds the property; no court case. Form: JDF 999 - Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property (instructions: JDF 998, Colorado Judicial Branch).
Small estates - summary administrative procedure (C.R.S. § 15-12-1203)	—	The summary procedure (§ 15-12-1203) has no fixed cap: it turns on the estate being absorbed by allowances and priority expenses.

What catches families in Colorado

Colorado's cap is twice the exempt-property amount and is adjusted every year — and it keys to the YEAR OF DEATH: $82,000 for 2024 deaths, $86,000 for 2025, $88,000 for 2026 (court forms JDF 998/JDF 999). Web figures of $70,000 or $74,000 are old years, not other opinions.
The wait is only 10 days — the shortest in the country — and the DMV will not accept the court affidavit (JDF 999) for a vehicle title; it requires its own form, DR 2712.

Vehicles in Colorado

The DMV will NOT accept JDF 999 for vehicles - Colorado DMV requires its own affidavit, DR 2712, to transfer title to motor vehicles, motorcycles and motor homes (per JDF 998).

Debts, and the signer's duty

C.R.S. § 15-12-1201(1) requires no statement that debts have been paid; a person collecting by affidavit is answerable and accountable to a later-appointed personal representative or person with a superior right.

Rules checked October 2026 · Sources: C.R.S. § 15-12-1201; C.R.S. § 15-10-112; C.R.S. § 15-11-403; C.R.S. § 15-12-1203; C.R.S. § 15-15-401 to 15-15-415 (beneficiary deed). This page reads the published law; it is not legal advice, and the court is the final word.

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