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Probate Attorney Information
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Division 1 setting information
If the hearing you are setting is expected to take more than one hour an initial status conference is required. Settings are done on Tuesdays and Thursdays between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. You may set a non-appearance hearing any day of the week at 8:00 a.m. You do not need to clear the date with the court.
Non-appearance hearings pursuant to C.R.P.P. 8.8
· Matters that are routine and which are expected to be unopposed may be set for a Non-Appearance Hearing.
· A Non-Appearance Hearing is a unique procedural device that facilitates efficient administration of routine matters that require a court ruling with notice to interested persons.
· Routine matters are any Motions, Petitions, Stipulations or other request for relief by any party where the issue is expected to be unopposed.
· Standard forms are available:
· JDF 712 - Notice of Non-Appearance Hearing Pursuant to C.R.P.P. 8.8
· JDF 722 - Objection: To Non-Appearance Hearing
· JDF 963- Notice of Non-Appearance Hearing on Petition for Final Settlement and Distribution
· No additional filing fee is required
· Sample Personal Injury Settlement Case Management Order Who is the "Public Administrator'?
The public administrator is appointed by the District Court to protect and manage the assets of individuals who are unable to manage their own financial affairs. Additionally, the court also appoints the public administrator to administer the estate of a deceased person who has no one willing and/or able to oversee the estate. Weld County's Public Administrator is Patrick Groom, Esq., who is located at 822 7th Street, Suite 760, in Greeley, 970-352-3161.
E-filing tips
To avoid rejection of new cases filed
1. Always attach the application or the petition as the first document. (Unless filing a Petition to Proceed Informa Pauperis which should be first) *Ancillary cases have no specific order required when filing documents.
2. Enter both the decedent and the proposed PR as case parties and attach the attorney name to the proposed PR not the decedent. (Choose pro se for the decedent)
3. Enter both the respondent and the petitioner on protective proceedings.
To avoid rejected documents
1. Do not leave signature lines blank.
2. Fill in all notary information.
3. Make sure that scans of wills do not cut off any of the wording.
4. Proposed Orders need to be sent in editable format.
5. Proposed Orders, Letters, and Decrees must not contain attorney information in the heading. (See C.R.C.P. 10(e)(2) or (f)(2))
6. Do not resend rejected documents with “amended” in the title.
7. File each document separately. Do not attach doctor’s letters or wills to petitions.
8. Do not include social security numbers or account numbers on documents.
Help us get your filings processed quicker
1. Enter suffix information in all caps on party screens. JR goes through but Jr. causes case to hang up in LexisNexis.
2. Use drop down lists properly
· Testate Informal or Intestate Informal for case type…not estate
· Acceptance of appointment for document type…not filing other
· Appl/informal will probate/Inf app of PR for document type on cases with wills… not application
· Application for appointment of PR for document type on cases without a will…not application
· Proposed order for orders to be signed…not order
· Proposed Letters …not letter or filing other ($15.00 fee charged by Lexis will be zeroed out by clerk)
3. When more than one of the same document is filed like receipts, exhibits, acceptances, etc, include detailed information in the document title line.
4. If filing an amended application use that document type instead of application so fees are not added in again. Use Petition for final settlement instead of petition for same reason.
5. To order new certified letters send request with complete name and mailing address of where to be mailed…do not email copy of old letter with a clerk note.
When you can’t find the original Will
If you wish to probate a copy (not the original) of a will without an evidentiary haring the following is required:
First, you must file a Petition for Formal Probate of Will and Appointment of Personal Representative. A sworn statement must accompany the Petition as to why it is believed that the original of the will is merely lost and was not revoked by the decedent (e.g., fire, flood, etc.).
If you believe that there will be no controversy about the admission of the copy, you may set the matter on the non-appearance docket following the guidelines for non-appearance hearings. Notice must be given to all interested persons, including all heirs who would take if the will is not admitted to probate and all devisees who would take if it is. It is HIGHLY advised that all interested persons be advised in writing that under Colorado law a missing will is presumed to have been revoked and, if any heir objects to the admission of the will to probate, there will be an evidentiary hearing focusing on proof that the will was not revoked. (Submitting this advisory letter with your Petition will assist the Court in deciding to grant the nonappearance relief requested).
Second, you must add the following additional language to paragraph 5 of form CPC 10:
Pursuant to Colorado law, Estate of Perry, 33 P.3d 1235 (Colo. App 2001), a copy of a will cannot be admitted to probate without an evidentiary hearing at which time the proponent of the copy must overcome the presumption that the original of the will cannot be found because it was revoked. In this case, in the absence of the original of the will, it appears that the property of the decedent would pass by intestacy to the decedent’s heirs. Nevertheless, because notice was properly given to all interested persons and no objections were timely filed, and not wanting to burden the estate with apparently unwanted litigation, the Court Orders as follows:
The copy of the will dated ______________ is referred to as the will. The dates of all codicils are_____________. There are no known prior wills which have not been expressly revoked by a later instrument. The copy of the will is the decedent’s last will and is admitted to formal probate.
If you know or anticipate that the failure to lodge the original of the will is likely to give rise to an objection or if an objection is actually filed in response to the non-appearance setting, you will have to set an evidentiary hearing.
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