What is a Colorado Beneficiary Deed?

A beneficiary deed is a document a property owner signs and records during their lifetime that names one or more grantee-beneficiaries to receive the property automatically at the owner's death. It is authorized by §§ 15-15-401 et seq. of the Colorado Revised Statutes. Colorado uses the terms "beneficiary deed" and "grantee-beneficiary" for what other states call a transfer on death deed and a transfer on death beneficiary. The property stays entirely under the owner's control while they are alive — the owner can sell it, mortgage it, or change or cancel the deed — and nothing passes to the beneficiary until death. Because the transfer happens through the recorded deed rather than a will, the property covered by it generally passes outside probate. The deed takes effect only if it is recorded in the county where the property is located before the owner dies; one that is never recorded, or recorded only after death, has no effect.

When People Use It?

• When a Colorado property owner wants their home or land to pass to a specific person at death without that property going through probate.
• When someone is doing estate planning and wants a simple, revocable way to direct a single piece of real estate.
• When an owner wants to keep complete control during life, including the ability to sell the property or revoke the deed at any time before death.
• When a person wants to name more than one beneficiary to share a property, and optionally a successor to take if the first-named beneficiaries do not survive.

Why People Use It?

• The property it covers generally passes outside probate.
• It can be revoked or changed at any time before death.
• The owner keeps full control during life — the beneficiary has no rights, no say, and does not need to be notified that the deed exists.
• It is a relatively simple, low-cost way to direct a single property compared with arrangements like a living trust.

What the Template Gives You?

• A complete Colorado beneficiary deed structured around §§ 15-15-401 et seq., with sections for the grantor, the grantee-beneficiary or beneficiaries, an optional successor, the property, and revocation.
• A property section prompting the legal description as it appears on the current deed, which is the part that identifies the parcel for recording.
• Language that handles one beneficiary or several, including how the property is shared and what happens if a named beneficiary or successor is involved.
• The statutory notices Colorado requires on the face of the deed, including the revocability notice
• A documentary-fee notation, a recording caution, and a notary acknowledgment block, so the steps that make the deed effective are built in.