We do the legwork, not just the advising.

Documents and records

Almost nothing else can start until this is done, and it's where most people lose their first two weeks.

• Ordering certified death certificates from Colorado Vital Records — and working out how many you actually need, since most institutions want an original and won't return it
• Locating the will, if there is one, and determining whether it needs to be filed
• Gathering deeds, vehicle titles, account statements, insurance policies, retirement plan documents, and beneficiary designations
• Building one organized digital file, indexed so you can find any document in seconds a year from now
• Setting up mail forwarding and sorting the incoming stack into "act on," "cancel," and "ignore"

Small estate paperwork

Many Colorado estates never need to go through probate at all. If the estate qualifies, a Collection of Personal Property by Affidavit is dramatically faster and cheaper than opening a court case.

We help you inventory and value what's there, work out whether the estate fits under the cap, prepare the affidavit packet (form JDF 999), get it notarized, and present it to each bank, credit union, or transfer agent that's holding assets.

If the estate is too large for the affidavit, or includes real property, we'll tell you that early — and walk you through what probate would actually involve before you commit to anything.

Vehicle titles

Cars are the single most common thing people get stuck on, partly because the process is different depending on what the decedent had set up.

• Transfer-on-death beneficiary already named on the title — the simplest path, handled directly at the county motor vehicle office
• Vehicle passing under a small estate affidavit
• Vehicle passing through a probate estate, using letters testamentary or letters of administration
• Missing, lost, or incorrectly signed titles, which may require the bonding process
• Trailers, RVs, boats, and motorcycles, which each have their own quirks

Colorado title transfers happen at the county motor vehicle office, not a central DMV branch, and requirements vary a little county to county. We find out what your county wants before you drive there.

Accounts and asset transfers

This is the long grind — the part that takes months if nobody is chasing it.

• Notifying banks and credit unions, and closing or retitling accounts
• Brokerages and transfer agents, including stock held in certificate form
• Retirement accounts — 401(k), IRA, 403(b) — and coordinating with named beneficiaries
• Life insurance and annuity claims, including tracking down policies nobody was sure existed
• Pensions, union benefits, and employer death benefits
• Following each one to actual completion, rather than leaving it "submitted"

Benefits and notifications

• Social Security — reporting the death, the lump-sum death payment, and survivor benefits
• Veterans Affairs benefits and burial allowances, where the decedent served
• Medicare and Medicaid, including notice requirements
• Credit bureaus, to flag the file against identity theft — which genuinely does happen to the recently deceased
• Utilities, phone and internet plans, insurance policies, and subscriptions
• The long tail: gym memberships, storage units, memberships, auto-renewals, and the streaming services that quietly keep charging

Personal representative and fiduciary service

Sometimes there isn't a family member who can serve — they live out of state, they're overwhelmed, they're in conflict with each other, or the person who was named has died first. We can step into that role.

We've served in this capacity in prior estates. Read more about what that involves, including how we handle the obvious question of trust and accountability.

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What we don't do

Being clear about this is part of doing the job honestly.

• Legal advice. We can't tell you what your rights are, what a will means, who should inherit, or whether to contest something.
• Choosing your legal strategy. We can explain what the options generally are; deciding which applies to your situation is a lawyer's job.
• Court representation. We don't appear in court on anyone's behalf.
• Tax advice or preparation. Estates often need a final personal return and sometimes an estate return. We'll flag that and coordinate with your CPA, but we don't prepare them.
• Contested matters. If heirs are in dispute, that needs a lawyer from the start.