2017 Colorado Revised Statutes
Title 15 - Probate, Trusts, and Fiduciaries
Colorado Probate Code
Article 11 - Intestate Succession and Wills
Part 5 - Wills and Will Contracts and Custody and Deposit of Wills
§ 15-11-502. Execution - witnessed or notarized wills - holographic wills
(1) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (2) of this section and in sections 15-11-503, 15-11-506, and 15-11-513, a will shall be:
(a) In writing;
(b) Signed by the testator, or in the testator's name by some other individual in the testator's conscious presence and by the testator's direction; and
(c) Either:
(I) Signed by at least two individuals, either prior to or after the testator's death, each of whom signed within a reasonable time after he or she witnessed either the testator's signing of the will as described in paragraph (b) of this subsection (1) or the testator's acknowledgment of that signature or acknowledgment of the will; or
(II) Acknowledged by the testator before a notary public or other individual authorized by law to take acknowledgments.
(2) A will that does not comply with subsection (1) of this section is valid as a holographic will, whether or not witnessed, if the signature and material portions of the document are in the testator's handwriting.
(3) Intent that the document constitute the testator's will can be established by extrinsic evidence, including, for holographic wills, portions of the document that are not in the testator's handwriting.
(4) For purposes of this section, "conscious presence" requires physical proximity to the testator but not necessarily within testator's line of sight.
(5) For purposes of this part 5, "will" does not include a designated beneficiary agreement that is executed pursuant to article 22 of this title.
