How to Write a Will in Colorado (2026 Guide)

This is general legal information for Colorado, not legal advice. Will laws change, and specific situations can have exceptions. For any complex case, consult a licensed attorney in Colorado.

Why Having a Will Matters

A will is the simplest, clearest way to say what happens to your property, your minor children, and your affairs after you die. Without one, you die "intestate" and Colorado’s default inheritance rules (called intestate succession) take over. Those rules are rigid and generic — they do not know your relationships, your intentions, or the people you care about most. They follow a fixed formula.

The cost of skipping a will is not hypothetical. It plays out the same way in Colorado as everywhere else: unmarried partners locked out, stepchildren with nothing, pets in shelters, court-appointed administrators, family disputes over items and money, and a probate process that is slower, messier, and more expensive than it needed to be. Whatever you own — even if you think it’s "not much" — someone will have to deal with it after you’re gone. A will decides whether that someone is you or a judge.

A simple Colorado will takes about ten minutes to draft using a free tool and costs nothing. You can start drafting yours now. The rest of this guide walks you through what makes a will legally valid in Colorado and how to avoid the technical mistakes that most commonly cause wills to be thrown out.

Colorado Will Requirements at a Glance

• Minimum age: 18 years old
• Written form: Must be in writing. Can be typed, printed, or handwritten. Colorado also recognizes electronic wills under the Colorado Uniform Electronic Wills Act (CUEWA)
• Witnesses required: 2
• Notarization: Not required for a standard signed will
• Self-proving affidavit: Yes — recommended, it speeds up probate later
• Holographic (handwritten) wills: Yes
• Electronic wills: Yes

Testamentary Capacity

An individual eighteen or more years of age who is of sound mind may make a will (CRS 15-11-501). Colorado courts interpret 'sound mind' to require a positive showing, at the time of execution, that the testator: (1) understands the nature of the act; (2) knows the extent of their property; (3) understands the proposed testamentary disposition; (4) knows the natural objects of their bounty; and (5) that the proposed will represents their wishes. (Breeden v. Stone, 992 P.2d 1167 (Colo. 2000), applying Cunningham v. Stender, 127 Colo. 293, 255 P.2d 977 (1953).)

Signature Requirements in Colorado

You must personally sign the will. Colorado does allow proxy signing in specific cases: Another individual may sign in the testator's conscious presence and by the testator's direction

Witness Requirements in Colorado

Colorado requires 2 witnesses. An individual generally competent to be a witness may act as a witness to a will (CRS 15-11-505(1)). Note: Colorado uniquely allows a notarized-only will — acknowledged by the testator before a notary public or other individual authorized by law to take acknowledgments — as an alternative to a witnessed will (CRS 15-11-502(1)(c)(II))

Presence rules: Each witness must sign either prior to or after the testator's death, within a reasonable time after witnessing either the testator's signing of the will or the testator's acknowledgment of that signature or acknowledgment of the will (CRS 15-11-502(1)(c)(I))

Interested witnesses: The signing of a will by an interested witness does not invalidate the will or any provision of it (CRS 15-11-505(2)). Colorado has no purging statute — bequests to an interested witness survive intact.

The safest approach in every state, including Colorado, is to use witnesses who are adults, not beneficiaries under the will, and not the person you’ve named as executor. This avoids any question about whether a witness’s inheritance could be "purged" for being an interested party.

Notarization and Self-Proving Affidavits

Colorado does not require a will to be notarized to be valid. A signed and witnessed will is enough. Colorado uniquely allows a will to be valid if either witnessed by two witnesses OR acknowledged before a notary public. A notarized will without witnesses is valid under CRS 15-11-502(1)(c)

Colorado does allow a self-proving affidavit, which is a short notarized document attached to the will where you and your witnesses swear under oath that everything was signed properly. It is optional, but it is strongly recommended — a self-proving affidavit means the probate court can admit the will without having to contact your witnesses later. A will executed with attesting witnesses may be made self-proved either simultaneously with execution or at any time after execution. In both cases, the testator must acknowledge the will and the witnesses must swear by affidavit, each before an officer authorized to administer oaths; the officer must then issue a certificate under official seal attached or annexed to the will. A signature affixed to a self-proving affidavit attached to a will is considered a signature affixed to the will if necessary to prove the will's due execution. (CRS 15-11-504(1)-(3))

Holographic, Electronic, and Oral Wills in Colorado

Holographic (handwritten) wills: Recognized in Colorado. Valid whether or not witnessed if the signature and material portions are in the testator's handwriting. Immaterial parts may be printed, typed, or stamped. A valid holograph can be executed on a printed form if material portions are handwritten (CRS 15-11-502(2))

Electronic wills: Recognized in Colorado under specific conditions. Colorado adopted the Uniform Electronic Wills Act (CUEWA), effective January 21, 2021 (CRS 15-11-1301 et seq.). An electronic will must be: (1) a record readable as text at the time of signing; (2) signed by the testator (or by another individual in the testator's name, in the testator's physical presence, and by the testator's direction); and (3) EITHER (a) signed in the physical or electronic presence of the testator by at least two individuals, each of whom is a resident of a state and physically located in a state at the time of signing, OR (b) acknowledged by the testator before and in the physical or electronic presence of a notary public or other individual authorized by Colorado law to notarize records, who is located in Colorado at the time of the notarial act (CRS 15-11-1305(1)). Colorado-specific signature restriction: any electronic symbol used to 'sign' an electronic will — by the testator or any witness — must be an electronic image of that person's signature in their own handwriting affixed to the electronic will; a typed name or other non-handwritten electronic mark is not sufficient (CRS 15-11-1302(5)(b)). This is a Colorado departure from the model Uniform Act, which permits any electronic symbol or process. 'Electronic presence' means the relationship of two or more individuals in different locations communicating in real time to the same extent as if the individuals were physically present in the same location (CRS 15-11-1302). Electronic holographic wills are not recognized under the CUEWA — Part 13 requires witnesses or notarization and provides no holographic path.

Nuncupative (oral) wills: Not recognized in Colorado.

How to Revoke or Update a Colorado Will

If you already have a will and want to change it, Colorado recognizes these revocation methods: Executing a subsequent will that revokes the previous will or part expressly or by inconsistency, Performing a revocatory act on the will (burning, tearing, canceling, obliterating, or destroying the will or any part of it), if the testator performed the act with the intent and for the purpose of revoking the will or part of it, Another individual may perform a revocatory act in the testator's conscious presence and by the testator's direction, If a subsequent will does not expressly revoke a previous will, execution of the subsequent will wholly revokes the previous will by inconsistency if the testator intended the subsequent will to replace rather than supplement the previous will; testator is presumed to intend replacement if the subsequent will makes a complete disposition of the estate (CRS 15-11-507(3)); presumed to intend supplementation if it does not make a complete disposition (CRS 15-11-507(4)). CRS 15-11-507. For electronic wills, revocation by physical act is governed by CRS 15-11-1307(2)(b) — not 15-11-507 — and requires clear and convincing evidence that the testator, with the intent of revoking all or part of the will, performed the act or directed another individual who performed the act in the testator's physical presence. Distinction: electronic wills require 'physical presence' for third-party-directed acts; paper wills under CRS 15-11-507(1)(b) require only 'conscious presence'

The cleanest approach is to draft a new will that starts with the sentence "I revoke all previous wills and codicils," then sign it with the proper witnesses. Destroy old copies when you do. Small updates can technically be done by codicil (a formal amendment), but a fresh will is usually easier to read and harder to contest.

Special Provisions in Colorado

Colorado is a separate property (equitable distribution) state. Provides an elective share for the surviving spouse under CRS 15-11-201 et seq. Colorado is one of the few states that allows a notarized-only will (without witnesses) as an alternative to a witnessed will

Step-by-Step: Writing a Valid Colorado Will

1. Take inventory. Bank accounts, vehicles, property, valuables, digital assets, pets.
2. Decide who gets what. Be specific for items that matter (names, addresses, account identifiers). Use a residuary clause ("everything else goes to...") to catch anything you forget.
3. Name an executor. The person who handles your estate. Pick someone trustworthy, organized, and likely to outlive you. Name a backup too.
4. Name a guardian for minor children if you have kids under 18. This is the single most important reason for a will if you’re a parent.
5. Draft the document. Our free drafting tool generates a Colorado-specific will in about 10 minutes, with all the correct clauses in the correct order.
6. Print the will. Don’t rely on a digital copy for signing.
7. Sign in front of 2 adult witnesses who are not named as beneficiaries. You all need to be in the same room at the same time. You sign first, they sign while watching.
8. Sign the self-proving affidavit in front of a notary. This is optional but speeds up probate later.
9. Store it somewhere findable. A fireproof home safe is the standard choice. Tell your executor where it is.
10. Review every few years and after major life events (marriage, divorce, new child, moving out of Colorado, major asset changes).

Common Colorado Will Mistakes to Avoid

• Wrong number of witnesses. Colorado requires 2. More is fine; fewer invalidates the will.
• Using a beneficiary as a witness. Can cause the beneficiary’s share to be "purged" (forfeited).
• Not signing in the witnesses’ presence. The signing has to happen as a ceremony, with everyone in the same room.
• Forgetting a residuary clause. Without it, anything you didn’t specifically mention falls into intestate succession.
• Storing the will where nobody can find it. An unfindable will is the same as no will.
• Not updating after major life events. An ex-spouse named in an old will can still inherit in some situations.

Need to Check Details?

You can also read the full Colorado will requirements and the Colorado estate planning guide for background on intestate succession, probate, and related topics.

Start Your Colorado Will Now

The easiest way to get a valid Colorado will done today is our free drafting tool. It walks you through the questions, generates a Colorado-specific document with the correct clauses, and gives you signing instructions tailored to Colorado’s requirements. No account, no cost, nothing stored on our servers. You’ll have a draft ready in about ten minutes.

Whatever you decide, decide. A simple will is one of the most meaningful things you can leave the people you love — and it’s one of the easiest things to put off until it’s too late.