Colorado Wills: Seven Facts You Should Know (Pt. 2)

March 15, 2015 Posted In Wills
by Colorado Estate Matters

Resuming Colorado Wills: Seven Facts You Should Know (Pt. 1), here we will continue highlighting some essential information to know about wills in Colorado.

More Important Info about Colorado Wills

Fact 3 – Colorado wills can and sometimes should be revised.

Do you know when Colorado wills should be revised? Or how divorce can impact Colorado wills?  If you would like help answering those questions, please contact us today.

Once you have an authorized will in place, you should be aware that this may not be the final step you need to take in terms of estate planning. In fact, as your life circumstances change, revising and updating your will can be essential to ensuring that:

• New children or other loved ones are included in your will.
• Relatives with whom you have had a falling out are appropriately dealt with in your will.
• Your evolving wishes for your property after your passing are properly disclosed in your will.

Specifically, some of the times that you may want to consider revising your will include when:

• New children are added to a family (through birth, adoption, marriage, etc.).
• You move.
• Your assets significantly change (because, for instance, you have inherited some new real estate).

Here, we also want to note that:

• While certain life events can necessitate changes to Colorado wills, it is also generally advisable that you review your will on a regular basis to make sure it is up-to-date.
• While you can update your will at any time, the updates will only be considered to be legally viable as long as you are considered to be “mentally competent” and acting of your own free will (rather than from the undue influence of another party).
• When it comes time to update a will, it is best to do so with the help of an experienced estate planning attorney who can ensure that the changes you want are properly made to your will (so that there is minimal room for contesting your updated will in the future).

Fact 4 – Colorado wills can be impacted by marriage and/or divorce.

This fact is probably not surprising, given the discussion related to the above fact. However, what we have not yet noted in regards to Colorado wills and marriage/divorce is that, by Colorado law:

• Upon marriage, a new spouse is entitled to the same share of your property as if a will had not been in place (if the new spouse has not been included in the will).
• Upon divorce, a former spouse cannot serve as your personal representative and is automatically disqualified from being a “devisee” (or the recipient of real property from the will).

Call your Denver Estate Planning Attorneys at Colorado Estate Matters, Ltd. to help you prepare a will.

Are you ready to draft or update a will? If so, you can turn to the estate planning lawyers at Colorado Estate Matters, Ltd. We are skilled at using a variety of traditional and innovative approaches to develop solutions that are perfectly tailored to our clients’ needs and objectives. Our goal is to help our clients efficiently navigate the complexities of the law so they can develop effective, prudent solutions that will protect them, their assets and their families in the future.

Contact Us

We can discuss your estate planning needs and different options during our consultation. To schedule this meeting, call us at (303) 713-9147 or email us using the contact form at the top of this page.

From our offices in Denver, we serve clients throughout the southwest and southeast Metro Area, including (but not limited to) people in Highlands Ranch, Littleton, Castle Rock, Parker, Aurora, Greenwood Village, Englewood, Centennial, Wheat Ridge, Golden and Arvada.