2022 Colorado Code
Title 15 - Probate, Trusts, and Fiduciaries
Article 12 - Probate of Wills and Administration
Part 7 - Duties and Powers of Personal Representatives
§ 15-12-705. Duty of Personal Representative - Information to Heirs and Devisees

1. Not later than thirty days after appointment, every personal representative, except any special administrator, shall give information of his or her appointment to the heirs and devisees, including, if there has been no formal testacy proceeding and if the personal representative was appointed on the assumption that the decedent died intestate, the devisees in any will mentioned in the application for appointment of a personal representative. The information shall be delivered or sent by ordinary mail to each of the heirs and devisees whose address is reasonably available to the personal representative. The duty does not extend to require information to persons who have been adjudicated in a prior formal testacy proceeding to have no interest in the estate. The information shall:
   1. Include the name, address, and date of appointment of the personal representative;
   2. Include the date of death of the decedent;
   3. Indicate whether the decedent died intestate or testate and, if the decedent died testate, the dates of the will and any codicils thereto, the date of admission to probate, and whether the probate was formal or informal;
   4. Indicate that it is being sent to persons who have or may have some interest in the estate being administered;
   5. Indicate whether bond has been filed;
   6. Indicate whether administration is supervised and, if administration is unsupervised, that the court will consider ordering supervised administration if requested by an interested person;
   7. Indicate that papers relating to the estate, including an inventory of estate assets, as described in section 15-12-706, are either on file with the court or available to be obtained by interested persons from the personal representative;
   8. Indicate that interested persons are entitled to receive an accounting;
   9. Indicate that the surviving spouse, minor children, and dependent children may be entitled to exempt property and a family allowance if a request for payment is made in the manner and within the time limits prescribed by statutes;
   10. Indicate that the surviving spouse may have a right of election to take a portion of the augmented estate if a petition is filed within the time limits prescribed by statute;
   11. Indicate that, because a court will not routinely review or adjudicate matters unless it is specifically requested to do so by a beneficiary, creditor, or other interested person, all interested persons, including beneficiaries and creditors, have the responsibility to protect their own rights and interests in the estate in the manner provided by the provisions of this code by filing an appropriate pleading with the court by which the estate is being administered and serving it on all interested persons pursuant to section 15-10-401;
   12. Indicate that all interested parties have the right to obtain information about the estate by filing a demand for notice pursuant to section 15-12-204;
   13. Indicate that any individual who has knowledge that there is or may be an intention to use an individual's genetic material to create a child and that the birth of the child could affect the distribution of the decedent's estate should give written notice of such knowledge to the personal representative of the decedent's estate; and
   14. Indicate that any individual who has knowledge that there is a valid, unrevoked designated beneficiary agreement in which the decedent granted the right of intestate succession should give written notice of such knowledge to the personal representative of the decedent's estate.

2. The personal representative's failure to give the information required by this section is a breach of his or her duty to the persons concerned but does not affect the validity of the personal representative's appointment, powers, or other duties. A personal representative may inform other persons of his or her appointment by delivery or ordinary first-class mail.
3. The personal representative shall file with the court a copy of the information provided and a statement of when, to whom, and at which address or addresses it was provided.

Source: L. 73: R&RE, p. 1588, § 1. C.R.S. 1963: § 153-3-705. L. 96: Entire section amended, p. 659, § 11, effective July 1. L. 2008: (1) amended, p. 483, § 5, effective July 1. L. 2010: (1)(g) and (1)(h) amended and (1)(i) added, (SB 10-199), ch. 374, p. 1752, § 15, effective July 1. L. 2011: (1)(i) amended, (SB 11-083), ch. 101, p. 304, § 6, effective August 10. L. 2013: (1) amended and (3) added, (SB 13-077), ch. 190, p. 769, § 4, effective August 7. L. 2015: (1)(i) amended, (SB 15-264), ch. 259, p. 951, § 38, effective August 5.

Cross references: For provisions relating to the time of taking effect or the provisions for transition of this code, see § 15-17-101.

COMMENT

This section requires the personal representative to inform persons who appear to have an interest in the estate as it is being administered, of his appointment. Also, it requires the personal representative to give notice to persons who appear to be disinherited by the assumption concerning testacy under which the personal representative was appointed. The communication involved is not to be confused with the notice requirements relating to litigation. The duty applies even though there may have been a prior testacy proceeding after notice, except that persons who have been adjudicated to be without interest in the estate are excluded. The rights, if any, of persons in regard to estates cannot be cut off completely except by the running of the three year statute of limitations provided in Section 3-108, or by a formal judicial proceeding which will include full notice to all interested persons. The interests of some persons may be shifted from rights to specific property of the decedent to the proceeds from sale thereof, or to rights to values received by distributees. However, such a shift of protected interest from one thing to another, or to funds or obligations, is not new in relation to trust beneficiaries. A personal representative may initiate formal proceedings to determine whether persons, other than those appearing to have interests, may be interested in the estate, under Section 3-401 or, in connection with a formal closing, as provided by Section 3-1001.

No information or notice is required by this section if no personal representative is appointed.

In any circumstance in which a fiduciary accounting is to be prepared, preparation of an accounting in conformity with the Uniform Principles and Model Account Formats promulgated by the National Fiduciary Accounting Project shall be considered as an appropriate manner of presenting a fiduciary account. See ALI-ABA Monograph, Whitman, Brown and Kramer, Fiduciary Accounting Guide (2nd edition 1990).