Transfer-on-Death Deed Requirements in Colorado

At a glance

Colorado lets you leave real estate to someone without probate using a beneficiary deed — Colorado's name for what most states call a transfer-on-death deed. Colorado did not adopt the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act; it has its own statute, C.R.S. §§ 15-15-401 to 15-15-415, one of the oldest beneficiary-deed laws in the country (enacted in 2004). You record a deed now that names a "grantee-beneficiary"; nothing happens while you are alive — you keep full ownership and control — and when you die, the property passes automatically to the person you named.

Two rules matter most. First, the deed is valid only if you record it before you die, with the clerk and recorder of the county where the property sits (§ 15-15-402(1)). Second — and this one is special to Colorado — a recorded beneficiary deed can disqualify you from Medicaid, because the statute treats the property as a countable resource while the deed is in effect (§ 15-15-403).

Requirements one by one

Signing and notarizing it

You sign the deed as "grantor," and it must contain the words "conveys on death" or "transfers on death" (or language that otherwise makes the transfer effective at death) (§ 15-15-404(1)). You acknowledge it before a notary: a beneficiary deed "may be acknowledged in accordance with section 38-35-101" and is subject to the recording requirements of § 38-35-109(2) (§ 15-15-406), and in practice it has to be acknowledged to be recorded. Colorado does not require witnesses. The grantee-beneficiary does not sign, consent, or need to be told about the deed (§ 15-15-402(2)). Note the deed carries no warranties of title — it has the force of a bargain-and-sale deed (§ 15-15-404(2)).

Recording before death — the make-or-break step

Title transfers only "by recording, prior to the owner's death, a beneficiary deed" in the county clerk and recorder's office (§ 15-15-402(1)), and the statutory form spells it out in capital letters: "THIS DEED MUST BE RECORDED PRIOR TO THE DEATH OF THE GRANTOR IN ORDER TO BE EFFECTIVE" (§ 15-15-404(1)). Unlike California (60 days) or Nebraska (30 days), Colorado sets no deadline measured from signing — but the deed must be on record before you die.

Naming beneficiaries, successors, and what happens if one dies first

You can name one grantee-beneficiary or several, and a successor grantee-beneficiary who takes if the primary does not survive you (§ 15-15-401(5)). Colorado has no anti-lapse rule for these deeds: if one of several beneficiaries dies before you and the deed says nothing about it, that share is "proportionately added to, and pass[es] as a part of, the shares of the surviving grantee-beneficiaries" (§ 15-15-407(5)). If your sole beneficiary dies before you and you named no successor, the deed simply does not convey and the property passes through your estate.

Revoking it

You can revoke the deed any time before death (§ 15-15-405(1)). Record an instrument of revocation, or record a new beneficiary deed — a later beneficiary deed "revokes all prior grantee-beneficiary designations by the owner for the described real property in their entirety" (§ 15-15-405(2)). If you record more than one, the most recently executed deed or revocation that is recorded before death controls, regardless of the order of recording (§ 15-15-405(3)). Crucially, a beneficiary deed cannot be revoked by your will (§ 15-15-405(4)).

Co-owners and joint tenancy

A joint tenant can sign a beneficiary deed, but it works only if that joint tenant is the last of the joint tenants to die; if you die before your co-owner, your beneficiary deed is ineffective and the surviving joint tenant takes the whole property. A beneficiary deed also does not sever the joint tenancy (§ 15-15-408). In short, survivorship comes first.

Creditors, your estate, and Medicaid

During your life the beneficiary has no interest and you keep full control (§ 15-15-402(3)). After death, the grantee takes the property subject to all mortgages, liens, and encumbrances of record, whether created before or after the deed (§ 15-15-407(2)). Colorado once had a provision making beneficiaries answer to the owner's creditors, but that section — § 15-15-409 — was repealed in 2006, so Colorado does not impose the personal-liability clawback that Uniform-Act states do. Medicaid is the sharp exception: while a beneficiary deed is in effect, the property is a countable resource and you are "not entitled to" Medicaid (§ 15-15-403), and after death the grantee's interest is subject to the state's Medicaid estate-recovery claim (§ 15-15-407(4)).

What trips people up

• A beneficiary deed can cost you Medicaid eligibility. This is unique to Colorado: recording the deed makes the home a countable resource, so an applicant or recipient "shall [not] be entitled to" Medicaid while the deed is in effect (§ 15-15-403). Talk to an elder-law attorney before recording one if Medicaid matters to you.
• Your will cannot revoke or override a recorded beneficiary deed. A beneficiary deed "may not be revoked, altered, or amended by the provisions of the will of the owner" (§ 15-15-405(4)). Record a new deed or a revocation instead.
• Survivorship beats a beneficiary deed, and the deed does not sever a joint tenancy. If you own as joint tenants, your beneficiary deed works only if you are the last to die (§ 15-15-408).
• The latest deed recorded before death wins — recording order does not matter. The most recently executed instrument that is recorded before death controls (§ 15-15-405(3)), so date your deeds carefully.

Common questions

Is a "beneficiary deed" the same as a transfer-on-death deed? Yes, in substance. Colorado uses the term "beneficiary deed" and its own statute, but it does the same job: a revocable deed that passes real property at death outside probate.

Will a beneficiary deed really affect my Medicaid? It can. Colorado's statute makes the property a countable resource while the deed is in effect and bars Medicaid eligibility on that basis (§ 15-15-403) — a rule most states do not have. Get advice before recording if you rely on Medicaid.

Does my beneficiary get any rights while I'm alive? No. Until you die the grantee-beneficiary has "no right, title, or interest" in the property, and you keep full power to sell, mortgage, or revoke (§ 15-15-402(3)).

Do I need witnesses or a lawyer? No witnesses are required — just your signature and a notary. Because the Medicaid, survivorship, and creditor rules are easy to get wrong, and a mistake surfaces only after death, having a Colorado attorney review the deed is worthwhile.

Statutes and sources

• C.R.S. § 15-15-402 (transfer by recording a signed beneficiary deed before death; owner keeps full control) — https://olls.info/crs/crs2025-title-15.pdf (accessed 2026-07-11)
• C.R.S. § 15-15-403 (Medicaid eligibility exclusion; property is a countable resource) — https://olls.info/crs/crs2025-title-15.pdf (accessed 2026-07-11)
• C.R.S. § 15-15-404 (form; must say "conveys/transfers on death"; record before death; no warranties) — https://olls.info/crs/crs2025-title-15.pdf (accessed 2026-07-11)
• C.R.S. § 15-15-405 (revocation by recorded instrument; later deed revokes prior; not revocable by will) — https://olls.info/crs/crs2025-title-15.pdf (accessed 2026-07-11)
• C.R.S. § 15-15-406 (acknowledgment; subject to recording statute § 38-35-109(2)) — https://olls.info/crs/crs2025-title-15.pdf (accessed 2026-07-11)
• C.R.S. § 15-15-407 (vests at death; subject to liens; Medicaid recovery; no anti-lapse) — https://olls.info/crs/crs2025-title-15.pdf (accessed 2026-07-11)
• C.R.S. § 15-15-408 (joint tenant; effective only if last to die; does not sever joint tenancy) — https://olls.info/crs/crs2025-title-15.pdf (accessed 2026-07-11)
• C.R.S. § 15-15-409 (rights of creditors — repealed 2006) — https://olls.info/crs/crs2025-title-15.pdf (accessed 2026-07-11)