Estate Inventory and Appraisement Requirements in Colorado

At a glance

Requirements one by one

The three-month duty usually does not begin with a court filing

Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-12-706 requires the personal representative to prepare the inventory within three months after appointment. A successor does not repeat the task if the prior representative already discharged it. The statute requires an oath or affirmation that the inventory is complete and accurate so far as the representative is informed; current JDF 941 uses a declaration under penalty of perjury and signature lines for the representative and any corepresentative.

The representative sends a copy to interested persons who request one and may file the original with the court. Under § 15-12-705, the appointment information sent to heirs and devisees must explain that estate papers, including the inventory, are on file or available from the representative.

The inventory covers probate property and death-date values

Section 15-12-706 describes the property as that owned by the decedent at death and subject to disposition by will or intestate succession. Each item must be listed with reasonable detail, its fair market value as of death, and the type and amount of any encumbrance. Current JDF 941 also asks for the name in which title is held, last-four-digit account identifiers, gross values, secured debts, and a gross-to-net summary.

The form limits life insurance, pension, profit-sharing, annuity, and retirement entries to amounts payable to the estate. That reflects the statutory focus on property passing through the estate, rather than every asset associated with the decedent.

An outside appraiser is optional, not routine

Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-12-707 permits a qualified and disinterested appraiser when an asset's value may be reasonably doubtful. Different people may value different asset classes. The inventory must identify each appraiser's name and address with the items that person appraised.

The statute does not make an outside appraisal mandatory for every asset and does not prescribe a separate appraisal deadline. The governing measure remains fair market value as of death.

Unknown heirs can trigger Attorney General delivery

The ordinary access rule is request-based delivery to interested persons. A separate branch applies when intestate heirs or testate devisees are unknown, or when they are known but nobody is qualified to receive their distributive share. Section 15-12-706(3) then requires the representative, within the same three months, to deliver or mail a copy to the Colorado Attorney General.

Omissions and bad values require a supplement

Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-12-708 applies when the representative learns of omitted property or learns that an item's value or description is erroneous or misleading. The representative must make a supplementary inventory or appraisement showing the new or revised death-date value or description and any appraisers or other data relied on.

The correction follows the original disclosure route: file it if the original was filed, or furnish copies or information to interested persons who request the inventory. Section 15-12-708 states no separate number of days for that supplement.

What trips people up

Court filing is an option, not the default statutory command. Preparing the inventory within three months and sending it to a requesting interested person are distinct from choosing to file the original.

Encumbrances do not change the valuation date. The inventory separately states the death-date fair market value and the type and amount of the secured claim; JDF 941 then calculates a net total.

Failure can reach general fiduciary remedies. Sections 15-10-503 and 15-10-504 allow court restraints and, after the required process and findings, removal for failure to perform a duty, surcharge for resulting loss, or other sanctions. Those provisions do not create an automatic inventory fine.

Common questions

Does every heir automatically receive the inventory?

No. Section 15-12-706 requires a copy for an interested person who requests it. The separate Attorney General rule applies only in the specified unknown-or- unqualified heir or devisee circumstances.

Must every asset be professionally appraised?

No. The representative may use a qualified and disinterested appraiser when a value is reasonably doubtful. The statute does not require one for routine values.

What if the original value turns out to be wrong?

Section 15-12-708 requires a supplementary inventory or appraisement when the representative learns that the stated value or description was erroneous or misleading. The revised value is still measured as of the date of death.

Statutes and sources

• Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 15-12-704 to -708 — administration without routine court direction, initial information, inventory content and delivery, appraisers, and supplementation: https://olls.info/crs/crs2025-title-15.pdf (accessed 2026-08-10).
• Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 15-10-503 to -504 — court restraints, removal, surcharge, and sanctions for fiduciary-duty failures: https://olls.info/crs/crs2025-title-15.pdf (accessed 2026-08-10).
• Colorado Judicial Department Form JDF 941 — current statewide decedent's estate inventory, asset schedules, verification, and service certificate: https://www.coloradojudicial.gov/sites/default/files/2026-03/JDF941.docx (accessed 2026-08-10).