Questions about probate, opinions are welcome.

[th3w01f]

My mother in law passed away in January and my wife had full POA and a will naming her as personal representivie that has been filled and accepted by Douglas County.

The entire estate is small and getting split between the grand-kids (~$8K total after bills) but the last $2500 is proving to be a PITA. It's in a 401k for Home Depot and they require Letters Testamentary from the County to release the money. This is a hard and fast rule with them and they will not budge.

My question is about filling formally or informally. Based on this doc - https://www.courts.state.co.us/Forms...20a%20Will.pdf it seems like we can go the informal route, she was not married, has two children (my wife and her brother) and both are in agreement with her will that splits the $ between the grand-kids. My wife is specifically named as the PR in the will.

I've also read - https://codes.findlaw.com/co/title-1...15-12-203.html

From the instructions

By Application to the Registrar (Informal Proceeding). The Registrar may appoint a Nominee as PersonalRepresentative without prior notice to any Interested Persons, if the Nominee has priority for appointment.The Applicant must provide the Registrar with proof of priority for appointment, which may includedocuments in addition to the Application such as JDF 912 ? Renunciation and/or Nomination of PersonalRepresentative. See ?15-12-203, C.R.S.

This seems to say that we're good with an informal probate. Has anyone been through something similar and have any advice? We're happy to pay a reasonable fee for legal advice but the couple of lawyers I've contacted haven't really seemed interested in something this small.

[spqrzilla]

This does not make a lot of sense. First of all, you said you "filed" a will with Douglas County. Why? Where?
Secondly, 401K accounts should have a beneficiary. Did she not supply a beneficiary?

If there is no beneficiary, and you have not yet opened a probate, and the estate has no real estate and is less than approx $65,000 then it is illegal for Home Depot 401K administrator not to accept a small estate affidavit. Under CRS 15-12-1202(3) They are liable for all attorney's fees and costs required to obtain an order to compel them. Tell them your attorney charges $300 / hour for this kind of work.

If you decide to open a probate, the difference between "Formal" and "Informal" is whether or not a Judge is required to exercise discretion to make a decision on accepting a will into probate and appointing a PR. So long as there is no question of the validity of the will (ie., its not a copy, its not holographic, etc.) and there is no dispute over the choice of PR, then the probate can be opened informally. Informal means that a court clerk called "Registrar" will actually sign the order and Letters Testamentary.

Note that this is completely separate from whether or not administration is supervised (ie., court approval is required for every action).

If you need more, message me for a phone number and I'll talk to you.

[th3w01f]

Thanks for the CRS link, per our PM conversation she did not have a beneficiary but this is definitely a small estate (for anyone who's curious).