Petition for Letters of Administration - Preparation Worksheet - Colorado

Colorado Estate Planning & Wills Updated August 29, 2026 Free Word and PDF

COLORADO ESTATE-OPENING AND APPOINTMENT PREPARATION PACKET

Important Use Gate

DO NOT FILE OR SIGN THIS PACKET. It does not open an estate, determine
whether a will controls, establish intestacy or heirship, appoint a personal
representative, issue letters, give notice, waive priority, post bond, accept
office, transfer property, satisfy a deadline, or authorize an estate act.

Use current official Colorado law, Judicial Branch forms and instructions,
local and case-specific orders, and qualified counsel to select the correct
route. Transfer only verified facts and attorney-approved requests to the
separate documents the court or registrar currently accepts.

1. Matter and Immediate-Action Control

Item Verified entry
Decedent full legal name [________________________________]
Date and place of death [________________________________]
Last domicile [________________________________]
Proposed applicant / petitioner [________________________________]
Proposed personal representative [________________________________]
Colorado probate attorney [________________________________]
Matter number [________________________________]
Earliest known court, tax, creditor, benefit, property, or preservation date [________________________________]
Deadline owner [________________________________]
Immediate property, dependent, animal, business, digital, funeral, housing, safety, or litigation issue [________________________________]
Existing lawful caretaker, agent, trustee, nominee, custodian, or emergency authority [________________________________]
Current packet status [INTAKE / INVESTIGATION / COUNSEL REVIEW / READY FOR TRANSFER / HOLD]

Do not act for the estate merely because appointment is expected. Counsel must
identify current authority for any action before appointment.

2. Current Official Source and Court Register

Source or instruction Official URL / document Revision or effective date What it controls Checked on
Current Colorado probate law [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________] [__/__/____]
Current statewide estate forms [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________] [__/__/____]
Current Judicial Branch instructions [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________] [__/__/____]
Correct court, county, location, and clerk / registrar [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________] [__/__/____]
Filing fee and waiver process [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________] [__/__/____]
Electronic or paper filing process [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________] [__/__/____]
Notice, service, hearing, confidentiality, and redaction instructions [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________] [__/__/____]
Local administrative or case-specific order [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________] [__/__/____]

3. Estate and Proceeding Classification

Do not select a petition or application from a short “testate” or “intestate”
label. Counsel must classify the documents, timing, disputes, assets,
appointment route, supervision, and any alternative process.

Classification question Facts Current authority / form Attorney conclusion
Will, codicil, trust, or other dispositive document located [________] [________] [________]
Original, copy, lost, disputed, revoked, foreign, or electronic-document issue [________] [________] [________]
Testate, intestate, partial-intestacy, or unresolved posture [________] [________] [________]
Informal, formal, supervised, special, ancillary, reopened, successor, or other route [________] [________] [________]
Appointment contested or uncontested [________] [________] [________]
Small-estate, affidavit, nonprobate, summary, collection, or other alternative [________] [________] [________]
Existing estate, trust, guardianship, conservatorship, divorce, bankruptcy, tax, or civil matter [________] [________] [________]
Out-of-state, tribal, federal, military, immigration, or international issue [________] [________] [________]

Approved route and reason: [____________________________________________]

4. Death, Domicile, and Document Search

Item Verified fact Supporting record / search
Full legal and former names [________________________________] [________________________________]
Date and place of birth [________________________________] [________________________________]
Date and place of death [________________________________] [________________________________]
Domicile at death [________________________________] [________________________________]
Residence and property in other jurisdictions [________________________________] [________________________________]
Marital status and prior marriages [________________________________] [________________________________]
Will, codicil, trust, attorney, custodian, safe-deposit, registry, and digital search [________________________________] [________________________________]
Prior probate or protective filing [________________________________] [________________________________]
Death certificate and confidential identifier handling [________________________________] [________________________________]

Attorney conclusion on controlling documents and route: [________________]

5. Applicant, Nominee, and Appointment Profile

Field Applicant / petitioner Proposed personal representative
Full legal name [________________________________] [________________________________]
Address and contact [________________________________] [________________________________]
Relationship to decedent [________________________________] [________________________________]
Nomination or claimed priority source [________________________________] [________________________________]
Age, residence, capacity, and availability [________________________________] [________________________________]
Equal- or higher-priority person [________________________________] [________________________________]
Renunciation, nomination, consent, or waiver to investigate [________________________________] [________________________________]
Criminal, bankruptcy, insolvency, conflict, debt, litigation, or adverse-interest issue [________________________________] [________________________________]
Fiduciary experience and professional support [________________________________] [________________________________]
Co-representative, special administrator, successor, or professional option [________________________________] [________________________________]

Identity, nomination, and qualification sources: [________________________]

6. Family Tree and Interested-Person Investigation

Do not infer legal status or succession from a short relationship label. Verify
the full family tree, controlling documents, and current law.

Person Relationship / lineage Living at death? Descendants / representation issue Adult / minor / capacity Address / location Source
[________] [________] [________] [________] [________] [________] [________]
[________] [________] [________] [________] [________] [________] [________]
[________] [________] [________] [________] [________] [________] [________]

Relationship and status screens

  • ☐ spouse, former spouse, separation, dissolution, or premarital agreement
  • ☐ adopted person, adoption decree, or adult adoption
  • ☐ nonmarital child, parentage, assisted reproduction, or surrogacy
  • ☐ predeceased person and descendants
  • ☐ simultaneous, uncertain, or disclaimed survival
  • ☐ missing or unknown person
  • ☐ minor, incapacitated, unborn, or unascertained interest
  • ☐ slayer, forfeiture, disclaimer, advancement, debt, or settlement issue
  • ☐ tribal, foreign, immigration, or conflict-of-laws issue

Attorney-approved interested-person and succession list: [_______________]

7. Asset, Liability, and Administration-Need Inventory

Asset, right, debt, or obligation Titled owner / obligor Estimated value Probate / nonprobate / disputed Location Record / issue
[________________________________] [________] $[________] [________] [________] [________]
[________________________________] [________] $[________] [________] [________] [________]
[________________________________] [________] $[________] [________] [________] [________]

Screen for real property, financial accounts, business interests, vehicles,
personal property, digital assets, intellectual property, benefits, insurance,
refunds, causes of action, secured debt, taxes, support, liens, claims, and
property held in trust or with another owner.

Administration question Verified answer / source
Why court appointment or estate administration may be needed [________________________________]
Alternative route considered [________________________________]
Property requiring preservation, valuation, insurance, or specialist action [________________________________]
Creditor, tax, benefit, lien, recovery, or litigation issue [________________________________]
Out-of-state property or ancillary proceeding [________________________________]
Estate value used for any form, fee, bond, or procedure [________________________________]

8. Current-Law Appointment and Filing Matrix

Counsel must enter each applicable element and prerequisite. This packet makes
no finding about appointment, priority, qualification, venue, heirs, bond, or
the availability of an informal or formal route.

Required element, finding, or prerequisite Facts supporting it Contrary fact or gap Evidence Current authority Approved?
Correct court and location [________] [________] [________] [________] ☐
Earliest or latest filing date [________] [________] [________] [________] ☐
Controlling will or intestacy posture [________] [________] [________] [________] ☐
Applicant or petitioner eligibility [________] [________] [________] [________] ☐
Appointment priority, nomination, consent, or renunciation [________] [________] [________] [________] ☐
Proposed representative qualification [________] [________] [________] [________] ☐
Interested persons, minors, incapacitated persons, or representatives [________] [________] [________] [________] ☐
Bond, surety, waiver, oath, acceptance, or training [________] [________] [________] [________] ☐
Notice, service, publication, hearing, or objection process [________] [________] [________] [________] ☐
Required verification, attachments, proposed order, or letters [________] [________] [________] [________] ☐

9. Notice, Service, and Hearing Plan

Do not assume who must receive notice, who may waive it, or which method is
effective. Apply current authority to the selected route and each person.

Person / entity Interest or role Address source Notice / service / waiver method Deadline Proof
[________________________________] [________] [________] [________] [________] [________]
[________________________________] [________] [________] [________] [________] [________]
[________________________________] [________] [________] [________] [________] [________]
Hearing-control item Verified entry
Hearing required or discretionary [________________________________]
Date, time, location, or remote method [________________________________]
Objection or response deadline [________________________________]
Evidence, witness, interpreter, accessibility, or technology plan [________________________________]
Guardian ad litem, special representative, or other representative [________________________________]

10. Bond, Oath, and Fiduciary Setup

Potential item Current requirement / selection Source / form Completion owner
Bond required [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]
Amount and calculation [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]
Surety or restricted account [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]
Waiver, reduction, or increase [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]
Oath, acceptance, acknowledgment, or training [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]
Fiduciary account, EIN, insurance, bookkeeping, and controls [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]

11. Official-Form and Filing Map

Required document or step Current form / revision Information source Prepared / reviewed
Petition or application [________________________________] [________________________________] [____]
Will, codicil, statement, or document-status filing [________________________________] [________________________________] [____]
Death certificate or confidential-information filing [________________________________] [________________________________] [____]
Family, heir, devisee, or interested-person information [________________________________] [________________________________] [____]
Renunciation, nomination, consent, demand, or waiver [________________________________] [________________________________] [____]
Bond, surety, oath, acceptance, or training [________________________________] [________________________________] [____]
Notice, service, publication, or hearing document [________________________________] [________________________________] [____]
Proposed order or letters [________________________________] [________________________________] [____]
Cover sheet, fee, waiver, or filing envelope [________________________________] [________________________________] [____]
Other [________________________________] [________________________________] [____]

Filing-text transfer

Allegation, field, or request Verified facts Current authority / form instruction Final approved wording
Decedent identity, death, and domicile [________] [________] [________]
Will or intestacy posture [________] [________] [________]
Court and location [________] [________] [________]
Applicant and appointment priority [________] [________] [________]
Proposed representative and qualification [________] [________] [________]
Interested persons and succession [________] [________] [________]
Assets and administration need [________] [________] [________]
Bond, notice, hearing, and requested appointment [________] [________] [________]

12. Filing and Post-Appointment Calendar

Event Trigger Due date Responsible person Current authority / order Proof
Petition or application filing [________] [________] [________] [________] [________]
Notice, service, publication, or waiver [________] [________] [________] [________] [________]
Objection or response [________] [________] [________] [________] [________]
Hearing [________] [________] [________] [________] [________]
Bond, oath, acceptance, order, or letters [________] [________] [________] [________] [________]
Creditor, allowance, benefit, tax, or recovery action [________] [________] [________] [________] [________]
Inventory, information, accounting, or report [________] [________] [________] [________] [________]
Property, business, litigation, distribution, closing, or discharge event [________] [________] [________] [________] [________]

Do not calendar a generic deadline. Enter only a date derived from current
authority, an accepted form or instruction, a court order, or a controlling
transaction event reviewed by counsel.

13. Final Attorney Approval

☐ The controlling documents, estate route, court, official forms, and current
authority were identified.

☐ Domicile, family tree, interested persons, appointment priority,
qualification, assets, debts, alternatives, and administration need were
independently verified.

☐ Bond, oath, notice, service, publication, hearing, confidentiality, filing,
and post-appointment controls were resolved for the exact case.

☐ The actual filing documents—not this packet—were reviewed and approved.

Approved by: [________________________________]

Role: [COLORADO PROBATE ATTORNEY / AUTHORIZED REVIEWER]

Date: [__/__/____]

Notes: [____________________________________________________________]

Insert Image

Insert Table

Watch Ezel in action (sample case)Choose a plan

All changes saved
Save
Export
Export as DOCX
Export as PDF
Generating PDF...
petition_for_letters_of_administration_co.pdf
Ready to export as PDF or Word
AI is editing...
Chat
Review

Draft it in the editor

The AI drafts each section from your answers and you review every word. Drafting from scratch takes hours; finish yours for $99 one time.

  • Built on this template
    Uses the Colorado version and the statutes it cites.
  • Formatted like the template
    Captions, numbering and layout stay intact.
  • AI editing
    Rewrite any section from your own notes.
  • Export as PDF and Word
    Yours to review, sign, or file.
Secure checkout via Stripe
Need to customize this document?

Related legal templates

The same document for another state, and more Estate Planning & Wills forms.

Available in other states

All states Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Connecticut Delaware View all 51 states

More Estate Planning & Wills templates

Annual Trust Accounting (Colorado Uniform Trust Code, C.R.S. § 15-5-813(3)) CO Beneficiary Deed (Transfer on Death) CO Certification of Trust CO Codicil to Last Will & Testament CO Colorado Adult Guardianship and Conservatorship Petition Packet CO Colorado Declaration of Disposition of Last Remains and Appointment of Designee CO Browse all

About this template

Last updated
August 29, 2026
Last reviewed
August 29, 2026
Jurisdiction
Colorado
Category
Estate Planning & Wills

Estate planning documents decide what happens to your property, your children, and your medical care when you cannot make those decisions yourself. Wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and health care directives each serve different purposes and each have to meet state law requirements for signing, witnessing, and notarization. A document that looks fine on the page but was not executed correctly can be rejected in probate, which is exactly when it is too late to fix.

Not legal advice

This template is provided for informational purposes. We recommend having an attorney review any legal document before signing, especially for high-value or complex matters.

Checked against the law it cites

A reviewer verified this template's legal citations against the official source on August 29, 2026.

Draft your Petition for Letters of Administration - Preparation Worksheet in the editor

Answer a few questions, let the AI editor draft each section from your answers, review it, and download Word and PDF. $99 one time, or $249 per month for every document and every Ezel app.