Probate Notice to Creditors and Claim Deadlines in Colorado

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Publish unless the first anniversary has already passed

Colorado Revised Statutes § 15-12-801 requires the representative to publish unless at least one year has elapsed since death. The notice runs at least three times, once in each of three successive calendar weeks, in a county newspaper or an adjoining-county general-circulation newspaper if none is local.

The publication deadline cannot be earlier than four months after first publication and cannot exceed one year after death.

Treat direct notice as optional and deadline-extending only within the year

The representative may mail or otherwise deliver the same or a similar notice to any creditor. That creditor receives the later of the published deadline or 60 days after delivery, but never beyond one year after death. The researched sections prescribe no general known-creditor search or mandatory direct-notice class.

Present the claim through one of the authorized routes

The estate must first be commenced. Colorado Revised Statutes § 15-12-804 then permits the approved court filing, written delivery or mailing to a court-appointed representative, or a qualifying proceeding against the representative.

The written statement demands payment and gives enough information to investigate: basis, claimant name and address, and amount. It states the due date, uncertainty, and security when applicable. Mere representative knowledge is not presentation, and delivery to a person not yet court-appointed is ineffective outside the court-filing route.

Apply the one-year nonclaim bar without tolling

Section 15-12-803 bars every predeath creditor after one year from death and also applies a nonclaim bar from the decedent's domicile. It expressly calls itself a nonclaim statute that cannot be waived or tolled.

Colorado Revised Statutes § 15-12-802 separately allows waiver of an ordinary limitation defense in a solvent estate with affected-successor consent. That does not waive the nonclaim deadlines in § 15-12-803.

Preserve the lien, insurance, and fiduciary-service exceptions

Section 15-12-803 preserves mortgage, pledge, and other lien enforcement; liability proceedings only to the insurance limits; and representative, attorney, and accountant compensation or expense reimbursement. Postdeath claims use separate four-month periods measured from due performance or accrual.

What trips people up

The 60-day written-notice period cannot cross the first anniversary of death.

Knowing about a claim does not replace a written presentation.

Delivery to a proposed or informal helper before court appointment is not valid presentation; court filing remains available after the estate begins.

The ordinary limitation-waiver provision is not authority to waive the nonclaim bar.

Common questions

Is publication still required if probate begins late?

Not under § 15-12-801 once one year or more has elapsed since death.

Can the representative serve only selected creditors?

The statute permits written notice to any creditor and does not state a mandatory recipient class.

Can a lienholder still foreclose?

Yes. The statute preserves an appropriate mortgage, pledge, or lien proceeding.

Statutes and sources

• Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 15-12-801 to -804 — notice, limitations, nonclaim bar, and presentation. Official 2025 Title 15 printout: https://olls.info/crs/crs2025-title-15.pdf (accessed 2026-08-12).