Colorado § 15-11-502 Execution - witnessed or notarized wills - holographic wills

Colorado Statutes

§ 15-11-502 — Execution - witnessed or notarized wills - holographic wills

Colorado § 15-11-502

Title 15Probate,

Art.Intestate Succession and Wills

This text of Colorado § 15-11-502 (Execution - witnessed or notarized wills - holographic wills) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-502 (2026).

Text

(1)Except as otherwise provided in subsection (2) of this section and in sections 15-11-503, 15-11-506, and 15-11-513, a will shall be:

(a)In writing;

(b)Signed by the testator, or in the testator's name by some other individual in the testator's conscious presence and by the testator's direction; and

(c)Either:

(I)Signed by at least two individuals, either prior to or after the testator's death, each of whom signed within a reasonable time after he or she witnessed either the testator's signing of the will as described in paragraph (b) of this subsection (1) or the testator's acknowledgment of that signature or acknowledgment of the will; or

(II)Acknowledged by the testator before a notary public or other individual authorized by law to take acknowledgments.

(2)A will

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

(1)
Except as otherwise provided in subsection (2) of this section and in sections 15-11-503, 15-11-506, and 15-11-513, a will shall be:

(a) In writing;

(b) Signed by the testator, or in the testator's name by some other individual
in the testator's conscious presence and by the testator's direction; and

(c) Either:

(I) Signed by at least two individuals, either prior to or after the testator's
death, each of whom signed within a reasonable time after he or she witnessed
either the testator's signing of the will as described in paragraph (b) of this
subsection (1) or the testator's acknowledgment of that signature or
acknowledgment of the will; or

(II) Acknowledged by the testator before a notary public or other individual
authorized by law to take acknowledgments.

(2) A will that does not comply with subsection (1) of this section is valid as a
holographic will, whether or not witnessed, if the signature and material portions of
the document are in the testator's handwriting.

(3) Intent that the document constitute the testator's will can be established
by extrinsic evidence, including, for holographic wills, portions of the document that
are not in the testator's handwriting.

(4) For purposes of this section, conscious presence requires physical
proximity to the testator but not necessarily within testator's line of sight.

(5) For purposes of this part 5, will does not include a designated
beneficiary agreement that is executed pursuant to article 22 of this title.

Legislative History

Source: L. 94: Entire part R&RE, p. 997, � 3, effective July 1, 1995. L. 2001: (1)(c) amended, p. 886, � 1, effective June 1. L. 2009: (1) amended, (HB 09-1287), ch. 310, p. 1683, � 12, effective July 1, 2010. L. 2010: (5) added, (SB 10-199), ch. 374, p. 1750, � 9, effective July 1.