Probate Family Allowance Requirements in Colorado

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Domicile and the supported-child classes

Section 15-11-401 applies Colorado's allowance provisions when the decedent died domiciled in Colorado. For a decedent domiciled elsewhere, exempt-property and family-allowance rights follow the law of the domicile at death.

Section 15-11-404 covers the surviving spouse, minor children whom the decedent was obligated to support, and children whom the decedent was actually supporting. Payment ordinarily goes to the living spouse for the spouse and the minor or dependent children. If a child does not live with that spouse, the allowance may be divided between the spouse and the child, guardian, or custodian according to need. If no spouse is living, payment goes to the children or their caregivers.

The 2026 administrative ceiling and court relief

The allowance is a reasonable amount of money for maintenance during administration. For an estate of a person who dies in 2026, the Department of Revenue's annual index sets the personal representative's ceiling at $44,000 as a lump sum or $3,667 per month for one year.

That figure is not an absolute court cap. C.R.S. § 15-11-405 allows the personal representative to determine and pay the allowance within the indexed ceiling, but an aggrieved personal representative or interested person may petition for appropriate relief. The court may provide an allowance other than one the representative determined or could have determined.

The one-year duration rule is also conditional. Section 15-11-404 says the allowance may not continue longer than one year if the estate is inadequate to discharge allowed claims. Otherwise, the statute describes maintenance during the administration period rather than imposing the same unconditional cutoff.

Request deadline and what the statute requires

An entitlement alone is not enough. Section 15-11-405 makes payment depend on a request by the earlier of:

• six months after the first publication of notice to creditors for predeath claims; or
• one year after the date of death.

Before that deadline expires, the claimant may ask the court for an extension for cause. The extended deadline cannot go beyond two years after death. The request goes to the personal representative or, if none has been appointed, to another person possessing the decedent's assets. A guardian or caregiver may request payment for a minor or dependent child.

Sections 15-11-404 and 15-11-405 prescribe no special petition contents, verification, attachment list, fixed notice period, or mandatory hearing for the ordinary request. Court procedure becomes relevant when an aggrieved personal representative or interested person seeks relief.

Companion exempt property, payment, and priority

Colorado pairs the family allowance with an exempt-property right but expressly does not create a probate homestead allowance. For a 2026 death, the spouse is entitled to $44,000 in cash or net estate-property value as exempt property. If no spouse survives, the dependent children share that amount jointly. If the estate is otherwise sufficient, specifically devised property for someone outside the exempt-property claimant class is protected from being used to satisfy that right.

The family allowance may be paid in a lump sum or installments. It is exempt from and has priority over estate claims except administration costs and reasonable final-disposition and funeral expenses. Exempt property has the same exceptions but abates as necessary to permit payment of the family allowance.

Inheritance effect, death, and waiver

The allowance is not charged against a spouse's or child's benefit under the will, intestacy, or elective share unless the governing provision says otherwise. A recipient's death ends the right for later periods, but the recipient's estate may recover unpaid amounts attributable to earlier periods.

For a waiver made on or after July 1, 2014, § 15-11-213 requires an enforceable premarital or marital agreement. The agreement must be in a record signed by both parties. It can fail enforcement for involuntary consent or duress, lack of access to independent representation, missing rights notice or plain-language explanation for an unrepresented party, or inadequate financial disclosure.

What trips people up

• $44,000 is the 2026 personal-representative ceiling, not a permanent statutory amount. Colorado adjusts the base amounts annually by the year of death.
• The court is not confined to the representative's ceiling. An aggrieved representative or interested person may seek a different allowance.
• One year is conditional for the underlying entitlement. The fixed one-year limit in § 15-11-404 applies when the estate cannot discharge allowed claims.
• The request clock can be shorter than one year after death. Six months from first creditor publication controls if it arrives first.
• Exempt property yields to the family allowance. Both outrank most claims, but § 15-11-403 expressly makes exempt property abate as necessary for the family allowance.

Common questions

Must the family allowance be paid to the surviving spouse?

Usually the spouse receives it for the family. But if a child is not living with the spouse, the allowance may be divided between the spouse and the child, guardian, or caregiver according to their needs. If no spouse is living, it may be paid to the children or their caregivers.

Does a claimant need a court order before receiving an allowance?

Not necessarily. The personal representative may determine and disburse an allowance within the indexed ceiling. A court petition is available when the personal representative or an interested person is aggrieved by a selection, determination, payment, proposed payment, or failure to act.

What if an allowance recipient dies before all installments are paid?

The right ends for periods after that person's death. The recipient's estate may still recover unpaid amounts attributable to periods before death.

Statutes and sources

• C.R.S. §§ 15-11-401 to -405 — domicile, no homestead allowance, exempt property, family-allowance entitlement, amount, payment, priority, request deadline, and court relief. Official Colorado Revised Statutes Title 15 PDF (accessed 2026-08-17).
• C.R.S. § 15-10-112 — annual CPI adjustment and the monthly-installment calculation. Official Colorado Revised Statutes Title 15 PDF (accessed 2026-08-17).
• Colorado Department of Revenue, Probate Index 2026 — $44,000 exempt property, $44,000 lump-sum family allowance, and $3,667 monthly installment for 2026 deaths. Official 2026 probate-index workbook (accessed 2026-08-17).
• C.R.S. § 15-11-213; C.R.S. §§ 14-2-302, 14-2-306, 14-2-309 — post-2014 waiver scope, formation, and enforceability. Official Colorado Revised Statutes Title 14 PDF (accessed 2026-08-03).