2018 Colorado Revised Statutes
Title 15 - Probate, Trusts, and Fiduciaries
Colorado Probate Code
Article 14 - Persons Under Disability - Protection
Part 1 - General Provisions
§ 15-14-102. Definitions
- In parts 1 to 4 of this article:
(1) "Claim", with respect to a protected person, includes a claim against an individual, whether arising in contract, tort, or otherwise, and a claim against an estate which arises at or after the appointment of a conservator, including expenses of administration.
(2) "Conservator" means a person at least twenty-one years of age, resident or non-resident, who is appointed by a court to manage the estate of a protected person. The term includes a limited conservator.
(3) "Court" means the court or division thereof having jurisdiction in matters relating to the affairs of decedents and protected persons. This court is the district court, except in the city and county of Denver where it is the probate court.
(4) "Guardian" means an individual at least twenty-one years of age, resident or non-resident, who has qualified as a guardian of a minor or incapacitated person pursuant to appointment by a parent or by the court. The term includes a limited, emergency, and temporary substitute guardian but not a guardian ad litem.
(5) "Incapacitated person" means an individual other than a minor, who is unable to effectively receive or evaluate information or both or make or communicate decisions to such an extent that the individual lacks the ability to satisfy essential requirements for physical health, safety, or self-care, even with appropriate and reasonably available technological assistance.
(6) "Legal representative" includes a representative payee, a guardian or conservator acting for a respondent in this state or elsewhere, a trustee or custodian of a trust or custodianship of which the respondent is a beneficiary, or an agent designated under a power of attorney, whether for health care or property, in which the respondent is identified as the principal.
(7) "Letters" includes letters of guardianship or letters of conservatorship.
(8) "Minor" means an unemancipated individual who has not attained eighteen years of age.
(9) "Parent" means a parent whose parental rights have not been terminated.
(10) "Person" means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, government, governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, or any other legal or commercial entity.
(10.5) "Post-adjudication" means after appointment of a permanent guardian or special or permanent conservator after a hearing for which a respondent was provided notice pursuant to section 15-14-309 or section 15-14-404, or both, and at which the respondent had an opportunity to present evidence and be heard.
(11) "Protected person" means a minor or other individual for whom a conservator has been appointed or other protective order has been made.
(12) "Respondent" means an individual for whom the appointment of a guardian or conservator or other protective order is sought.
(13) "State" means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.
(14) "Tribe" means an Indian tribe or band, or Alaskan Native village, which is recognized by federal law or formally acknowledged by a state.
(15) "Ward" means an individual for whom a guardian has been appointed.
