Trustee Notice to Beneficiaries Requirements in Colorado

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Colorado uses two 60-day clocks and a defined knowledge rule

C.R.S. § 15-5-813(2)(b) starts the acceptance clock when the trustee accepts the trusteeship. The acceptance notice is due within 60 days.

Paragraph (2)(c) starts a separate 60-day clock when the trustee acquires knowledge that an irrevocable trust was created or that a formerly revocable trust became irrevocable, whether because the settlor died or otherwise. Under § 15-5-104(1), knowledge includes actual knowledge, receipt of notice, and reason to know from the known circumstances. Subsection (2) supplies a separate employee-responsibility and reasonable-diligence rule for an organization.

The default recipient class and mandatory floor are different

C.R.S. § 15-5-103(16) defines qualified beneficiaries through three distribution horizons: current distributees, those who would take if current interests ended without ending the trust, and those who would take if the trust ended on the determination date. Section 15-5-110(1) adds any other beneficiary who has requested notice.

Trust terms ordinarily control under § 15-5-105(1), but subsection (2)(h) protects a minimum notice duty. The protected recipients are current distributees or permissible distributees at any age and other qualified beneficiaries who have reached age 25.

The two notices require different information

The acceptance notice states the acceptance and gives the trustee's name, address, and telephone number. The creation-or-irrevocability notice instead states the trust's existence and settlor identity and explains the rights to request the trust portions that describe or affect the beneficiary's interest and to receive a trustee's report.

The statute does not require the trustee to attach the complete trust instrument to either initial notice. Section 15-5-813(2)(a) makes the affected portions available on request.

Delivery is functional and reasonable efforts must be documented

C.R.S. § 15-5-109(1) requires a method reasonably suitable under the circumstances and likely to result in receipt. It lists first-class mail, personal delivery, delivery to the last-known residence or business, and a properly directed electronic message.

If identity or location is unknown and not reasonably ascertainable, subsection (2) excuses the notice but requires the trustee to maintain documentation of reasonable efforts to find the person. The section states no newspaper-publication substitute.

Recipient waiver and trust-term override are separate

C.R.S. § 15-5-109(3) permits the person entitled to notice to waive it. Section 15-5-813(4) separately lets a qualified beneficiary waive reports or other information and withdraw the waiver prospectively.

Those recipient choices differ from a trust-term override. Section 15-5-105(2)(h)–(i) protects notice of trust existence, trustee identity, and report rights for the stated recipient floor. C.R.S. § 15-5-813(1)'s request-response duty for an irrevocable trust is also protected by § 15-5-105(2)(i).

What trips people up

• The age-25 line is a mandatory floor, not the whole default recipient rule. The default notice goes to qualified beneficiaries, and § 15-5-110(1) adds another beneficiary who requested notice.
• Annual reports do not automatically go to every qualified beneficiary. Current distributees receive them; other qualified beneficiaries receive them upon request.
• The January 1, 2019 boundary is event-specific. The two notices exclude a trustee acceptance and the specified creation or irrevocability events before that date.
• No sworn service package is prescribed. The initial-notice sections do not require certified mail, an adult process server, a perjury declaration, signature, or proof of service.

Common questions

Does a trustee have to send the complete trust instrument automatically?

No. Under § 15-5-813(2)(a), a qualified beneficiary may request the portions that describe or affect that beneficiary's interest. The initial irrevocability notice must explain that right.

Who has qualified-beneficiary rights for a special-purpose trust?

C.R.S. § 15-5-110(2)–(4) addresses designated charitable organizations, animal or noncharitable-purpose trust enforcers, and the attorney general for a Colorado- administered charitable trust.

While the trust is revocable, to whom are the trustee's duties owed?

C.R.S. § 15-5-603(2) says beneficiary rights are subject to the settlor's control and the trustee's duties are owed exclusively to the settlor to the extent the trust is revocable.

Statutes and sources

• C.R.S. §§ 15-5-103(16), 15-5-104, 15-5-105, 15-5-109, and 15-5-110 — qualified-beneficiary definition, knowledge, mandatory floor, delivery, waiver, and additional recipients. Official Colorado Revised Statutes Title 15 (accessed 2026-07-31).
• C.R.S. §§ 15-5-603(2) and 15-5-813(1)–(6) — revocable-settlor rule, the two notices, contents, reports, waiver, and pre-2019 exclusions. Official Colorado Revised Statutes Title 15 (accessed 2026-07-31).