How much does probate cost in Colorado?
9 Aug 2026
Colorado publishes no percentage for the attorney and none for the personal representative. What it does fix is the court: $229.00 to open a normal estate, $113.00 where the summary route is open.
Both fees are reasonable compensation, judged against thirteen factors the statute writes out in full — and Colorado says outright that no method of charging is unreasonable in itself, so a percentage, a flat fee and an hourly rate all start level. It also forces the fee basis onto the record: every application to appoint a fiduciary must disclose how the fiduciary and counsel will charge. The newspaper notice has no set price. The bond has no set sum, but anyone holding an interest or claim over $5,000 can demand one.
C.R.S. 13-32-102(1) and (7) — Colorado Revised Statutes 2025, Title 13, published by the Office of Legislative Legal Services · Verified 9 Aug 2026
Informational only, not legal advice. Figures verified on the date stamped. Details: /disclaimer/
Work it out on your own number
Colorado sets no percentage on either professional fee, so there is no schedule to work. What the calculator can give you is the court side, and Colorado charges probate under its own section rather than the general civil one.
| First papers in an estate | $199.00 |
| Equal justice fee, collected on the same filing | $30.00 |
| To open a normal Colorado estate | $229.00 |
| First papers, summary route or small estate of a person under disability, no real property | $83.00 |
| Equal justice fee, collected on the same filing | $30.00 |
| To open on the summary route | $113.00 |
| Petition for supervised administration | $198.00 |
| Claimant, before a hearing on a contested claim | $198.00 |
| Attorney | reasonable |
| Personal representative | reasonable |
Neither total is printed as a single number. The $229.00 is a $199.00 first-papers fee plus the $30.00 equal justice fee the court has collected on behalf of the equal justice authority since 1 January 2025. The $113.00 is the $83.00 summary-route fee plus the same $30.00. The summary route saves $116.00 at the counter and is only open where the estate involves no real property.
The equal justice fee attaches to the first-papers filings and to trust actions, not to every item in the section. Supervised administration is not the default in Colorado, and asking for it costs a further $198.00.
The two professional fees cannot be computed from an estate value in Colorado, because no percentage exists to compute. Anyone quoting you a Colorado executor percentage is quoting another state.
What each part costs
Every row is one figure, one source, one date. Where Colorado fixes no price, the row says so instead of guessing.
| Fee | Amount or formula | Set by | Source | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attorney feeCounsel to the estate | No statutory scheduleColorado repealed its old probate compensation sections and replaced them with one rule covering the fiduciary and the lawyer together: both are entitled to reasonable compensation for services rendered on behalf of an estate. What is unusual is not the standard but the disclosure attached to it. Every application or petition to appoint a fiduciary must include a statement by the applicant disclosing the basis on which compensation is to be charged to the estate by the fiduciary and by counsel, or stating that the basis has not yet been determined — and that statement must specifically describe the hourly rates, any amounts to be charged under a published fee schedule including the rates and basis for extraordinary services, and any other basis on which a fee will be calculated. The duty is continuing, so material changes require supplemental disclosure. Compensation and costs may be paid or reimbursed without a court order, except that once a fiduciary receives notice of removal proceedings nothing may be paid from the estate without an order, and the court shall order anyone who has received excessive compensation to make an appropriate refund. | Agreement, disclosed on the record, reviewed by the court | C.R.S. 15-10-602(1), (5) and (9) Title 15 is served as one file; the section number is the citation | 9 Aug 2026 |
| Personal representativeExecutor or administrator | No percentage scheduleThe personal representative is a fiduciary and takes reasonable compensation on the same footing as the lawyer. Colorado then writes the test out in full: the court weighs thirteen listed factors, among them the time and labour required, the novelty and difficulty of the questions, the compensation customarily charged in the community for similar services, the nature and size of the estate and its liquidity, the results and benefits obtained, the adequacy of the billing statements, and whether the fiduciary charged variable rates reflecting comparable payment standards. The statute also removes an argument before it starts: there is no presumption that any method of charging a fee is unreasonable in itself. And there is a safe harbour — where the will or other governing instrument says the fiduciary is to be compensated in accordance with a published fee schedule in effect when the services are performed, fees charged in accordance with that schedule are presumed reasonable. The absence of such a provision does not stop a fiduciary charging under a published schedule; it only removes the presumption. | The court, on thirteen statutory factors | C.R.S. 15-10-603(2), (3) and (4), read with 15-10-602(1) and (6) 15-12-719, 15-12-720 and 15-12-721 are repealed | 9 Aug 2026 |
| Court filing feeFirst papers in a decedent’s estate | $229.00, or $113.00 on the summary routeColorado charges probate under its own section and the general civil docket fee does not apply — 13-32-101(1) expressly carves probate proceedings out of the fee imposed on civil actions. First papers in an estate cost $199.00; first papers in an estate eligible for the summary administrative procedure under 15-12-1203, or in a small estate of a person under disability, where the estate involves no real property, cost $83.00. On top of either, the court has collected a $30.00 equal justice fee since 1 January 2025, so the counter figures are $229.00 and $113.00. Supervised administration costs a further $198.00, and a claimant pays $198.00 before a hearing on a contested claim, taxed as costs. A demand for notice is $36.00 and is not refundable; depositing a will during the testator’s lifetime is $18.00. | Statute, statewide — no county variance | C.R.S. 13-32-102(1) and (7), read with 13-32-101(1) and 13-32-104(1) Totals computed from the printed components | 9 Aug 2026 |
| Newspaper publicationNotice to creditors | Not fixed by statuteNot fixed by statute — the newspaper sets its own rate. The statute sets how often the notice runs and for how long; Colorado sets the schedule and the deadline, not the price. Unless a year or more has already passed since the death, the representative must cause notice to creditors to be published in a daily or weekly newspaper published in the county where the estate is being administered, or if there is none, in a newspaper of general circulation in an adjoining county. It runs not less than three times, at least once during each of three successive calendar weeks. The deadline printed in the notice is the point most summaries get wrong: it is a date not earlier than four months from first publication, or the date one year from the date of death, whichever occurs first. The representative may also give written notice by mail to a known creditor, who then has until the later of the published deadline or sixty days from the mailing — but never later than one year from the death. The representative is not liable to any creditor or successor for giving or failing to give the notice. | The newspaper | C.R.S. 15-12-801(1), (2) and (3) | 9 Aug 2026 |
| BondPersonal representative’s bond | A floor set by sworn estimate
|
A sworn estimate, adjustable by the court | C.R.S. 15-12-604, read with 15-12-605 and 15-12-606 | 9 Aug 2026 |
The $235.00 district court figure circulating for Colorado probate is the wrong number. Section 13-32-101(1) expressly excludes probate proceedings from the general civil docket fee. Probate is charged under 13-32-102, and the figure at the counter is $229.00.
Do not use $60,000 as the Colorado small-estate limit. The Code prints an exempt-property figure of $30,000, and doubling it gives a number that has not been the live ceiling for well over a decade. The figure in force is indexed and published annually — see the small-estate box below.
How the Colorado sources are linked. The Office of Legislative Legal Services publishes the Colorado Revised Statutes a whole title at a time rather than a section at a time, so the links above open the full title and the citation prints the section number you are looking for. The edition year sits in the address, so these links are re-pointed each February when the new edition publishes.
What can change the bill — allowances, waivers and one-off charges
- Demand for notice — $36.00, and it is not refundable.
- Depositing a will with the court during the testator’s lifetime — $18.00.
- Petition for supervised administration — $198.00. Supervised administration is not the Colorado default.
- Claimant fee before a hearing on a contested claim — $198.00, taxed as costs.
- Certifying a copy of a record — $20.00; certificate of exemplification — $20.00; transcript of judgment — $25.00; photographic copies — $0.75 a page.
- These aren’t costs — they’re amounts the law protects for the family before creditors, and they change what an estate actually pays out. For a decedent who dies during 2026 the exempt-property amount is $44,000.00 and the lump sum family allowance is $44,000.00, payable in monthly installments of $3,666.67. Every one of these figures is indexed and republished each January.
- A fiduciary who is a member of a law firm may use the firm’s services and charge the estate the reasonable value of them. Anyone who has received excessive compensation can be ordered to refund it.
C.R.S. 13-32-102(1); 15-11-403; 15-11-405; 15-10-112; 15-10-602(9) — Colorado Revised Statutes 2025, read with the Department of Revenue cost-of-living table prepared 21 January 2026 · Verified 9 Aug 2026
What changes YOUR number in Colorado
- Thirteen factors, and no method is presumed unreasonable
- Colorado is the only state in this database that writes the reasonableness test out in full. The court weighs the time and labour required, the novelty and difficulty of the questions, the skill needed, the compensation customarily charged in the community for similar services, the nature and size of the estate and its liquidity, the results and benefits obtained, the adequacy of the billing statements, and whether variable rates reflecting comparable payment standards were charged. The statute then says plainly that no method of charging a fee is unreasonable in itself — a percentage, a flat fee and an hourly rate all begin on equal footing and are judged on the facts.
- The fee basis goes on the record at the start
- Every application or petition to appoint a fiduciary must disclose the basis on which the fiduciary and counsel will charge the estate — hourly rates, any published fee schedule including the rates for extraordinary services, or any other basis — or state that the basis has not yet been determined. The obligation continues, so a material change means a supplemental disclosure. If you are the applicant, this is a document you sign at the outset, not a bill you receive at the end.
- A published fee schedule can be presumed reasonable
- Where the will or other governing instrument says the fiduciary is to be compensated in accordance with a published fee schedule in effect when the services are performed, fees charged in accordance with that schedule are presumed reasonable. This is the closest thing Colorado has to a rate. Without such a clause a fiduciary may still charge under a published schedule — it simply loses the presumption.
- Four months, or one year from the death — whichever comes first
- The creditor deadline in a Colorado notice is not simply four months. It is a date not earlier than four months from first publication, or one year from the date of death, whichever occurs first. On an estate opened late, the one-year date can arrive before the four months are up and cut the period short. Where a year or more has already passed since the death, publication is not required at all.
- A $5,000 interest can put a bond on an estate that had none
- Any person apparently having an interest worth more than $5,000, or any creditor with a claim of more than $5,000, may demand in writing that the representative give bond. From the moment notice of that demand is received the representative must stop exercising any powers except those needed to preserve the estate, and failing to give suitable bond within thirty days is cause for removal.
- The summary route saves $116.00, but not with a house in the estate
- First papers on the summary administrative procedure cost $83.00 rather than $199.00, and the same $30.00 equal justice fee applies to both. The route is only open where the estate involves no real property.
Colorado prints no small-estate number — the limit is indexed, and it is $88,000 for a 2026 death
The limit depends on the date of death, not on when you file. For deaths in 2026, the limit is $88,000.00. The statute sets the ceiling at twice the exempt-property amount as adjusted for cost of living, and the Colorado Department of Revenue publishes the adjusted amounts each January in a table running by year of death. $88,000.00 — set by the Colorado Department of Revenue, updated each January. The statute sets the formula; the Department publishes the current number, and that is the number shown.
- For a 2025 death the limit was $86,000.00; for 2024, $82,000.00. The year that counts is the year the decedent died, not the year the affidavit is signed or the probate opened.
- The test is the fair market value of property owned by the decedent and subject to disposition by will or intestate succession, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances.
- Ten or more days must have passed since the death, no application or petition for a personal representative may be pending or granted in any jurisdiction, and each person claiming must be entitled to what the affidavit says.
- The route reaches funds on deposit, the contents of a safe deposit box, tangible personal property, and instruments evidencing a debt, obligation, stock or chose in action. It does not reach real property itself.
- Where the property is an instrument secured by real property, a copy of the affidavit and the death certificate must be recorded with the clerk and recorder of the county where that real property sits.
- A separate summary administrative procedure exists under 15-12-1203 and carries its own reduced court fee — see the fee table above.
The $60,000 figure printed on many Colorado pages is wrong. It comes from doubling the $30,000 exempt-property amount as it appears in the Code, ignoring the cost-of-living adjustment that section 15-10-112 requires. That number has not been the live ceiling for well over a decade.
C.R.S. 15-12-1201(1), read with 15-11-403(1)(b) and (2) and 15-10-112 — Colorado Revised Statutes 2025 · Verified 9 Aug 2026
Cost of Living Adjustment of Certain Dollar Amounts for Property of Estates in Probate, Nominal and Indexed Amounts by Year of Death — Colorado Department of Revenue, Office of Research and Analysis, prepared 21 January 2026 · Verified 9 Aug 2026
Check your own estate against the Colorado route →
Three tools, in the order most people need them
Colorado probate cost questions
How much does an executor get paid in Colorado?
There is no percentage. The personal representative is entitled to reasonable compensation, and Colorado writes the test out in full: thirteen factors including the time and labour required, the difficulty of the questions, what is customarily charged in the community, the size and liquidity of the estate, the results obtained, and the adequacy of the billing statements. The statute adds that no method of charging is unreasonable in itself, so a percentage, a flat fee and an hourly rate all start level.
Does Colorado set probate attorney fees by statute?
No. Counsel and the fiduciary are both entitled to reasonable compensation under one section. What Colorado does instead is force the basis onto the record: every application to appoint a fiduciary must disclose how the fiduciary and counsel will charge the estate, describing hourly rates, any published fee schedule and the rates for extraordinary services, or stating that the basis has not yet been determined. The duty continues, so material changes require a supplemental disclosure.
What does it cost to file for probate in Colorado?
Two hundred and twenty-nine dollars to open a normal estate, or one hundred and thirteen dollars on the summary route where the estate involves no real property. Each is a first-papers fee of one hundred and ninety-nine or eighty-three dollars plus a thirty dollar equal justice fee the court has collected since the first of January 2025. The two hundred and thirty-five dollar district court figure often quoted for Colorado is the wrong number, because probate proceedings are expressly excluded from the general civil docket fee.
Does an executor need a bond in Colorado?
Only where the will or the court requires one, or where somebody demands it. Where a bond is required and neither the will nor the order fixes the amount, the person qualifying files a sworn estimate of the personal estate and of the income expected over the coming year and bonds for not less than that. Any person with an interest worth more than five thousand dollars, or any creditor with a claim of more than five thousand dollars, can demand a bond in writing, and failure to give one within thirty days is cause for removal.
Does Colorado have a small estate affidavit?
Yes, and the limit is indexed rather than printed in the statute. For a decedent who died during 2026 the ceiling is eighty-eight thousand dollars. It is twice the exempt-property amount as adjusted for cost of living, and the Department of Revenue publishes the adjusted figures each January in a table running by year of death. The year of death is what counts, not the year you file. The route reaches personal property, bank deposits and securities but not real property, and ten days must have passed since the death.
Sources & verification
Every figure on this page was checked against the official source on the date shown. The Office of Legislative Legal Services publishes the Colorado Revised Statutes a whole title at a time, so each citation below prints the section number to look for within the title.
- Attorney fee, and the compulsory fee-basis disclosure — C.R.S. 15-10-602(1), (5) and (9) olls.infoVerified 9 Aug 2026 · Colorado Revised Statutes 2025 edition, current as at that date · re-check each February
- Personal representative’s compensation and the thirteen factors — C.R.S. 15-10-603(2), (3) and (4) olls.infoVerified 9 Aug 2026 · last amended L. 2013 · 15-12-719, 15-12-720 and 15-12-721 are repealed and are not cited here
- Court filing fees and the equal justice fee — C.R.S. 13-32-102(1) and (7), read with 13-32-101(1) and 13-32-104(1) olls.infoVerified 9 Aug 2026 · fee levels set by HB 19-1045 effective 1 Jul 2019; equal justice fee added by HB 24-1286, collected from 1 Jan 2025 · totals computed from the printed components
- Publication, and the four-months-or-one-year rule — C.R.S. 15-12-801(1), (2) and (3) olls.infoVerified 9 Aug 2026 · last amended L. 90 · annual statutory re-check
- Bond, and the $5,000 demand right — C.R.S. 15-12-604, 15-12-605 and 15-12-606 olls.infoVerified 9 Aug 2026 · 15-12-604 last amended L. 90 · annual statutory re-check
- Small-estate ceiling, the statutory rule — C.R.S. 15-12-1201(1), 15-11-403 and 15-10-112 olls.infoVerified 9 Aug 2026 · the statute prints no ceiling; it prints the formula
- Small-estate ceiling, the figure in force — Cost of Living Adjustment of Certain Dollar Amounts for Property of Estates in Probate, Colorado Department of Revenue, Office of Research and Analysis tax.colorado.govVerified 9 Aug 2026 · table prepared 21 Jan 2026 and running to 2026 · re-read every February and re-stamped
Researched and verified by John Terra · Methodology
This page is information, not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws and fee schedules change; every figure here was verified on the date stamped beside it. For advice about your own situation, consult an attorney licensed in Colorado. Full terms: /disclaimer/ · Privacy
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