You were named successor trustee. What does Colorado law expect?

Accepting the office

A person named as trustee becomes trustee by accepting. C.R.S. §15-5-701 provides that acceptance happens by substantially complying with a method of acceptance the trust provides or — where the trust provides none, or its method is not expressly exclusive — by accepting delivery of the trust property, exercising powers or performing duties as trustee, or otherwise indicating acceptance. A named trustee who does not accept within a reasonable time after knowing of the designation is treated as having rejected it.

Before accepting, a named trustee may act to preserve the trust property if a rejection follows within a reasonable time, and may inspect the property to assess environmental or other liability (C.R.S. §15-5-701(3)). Many named trustees write down when and how they accepted, because the date starts one of Colorado's notice clocks.

The duties that apply from the first day

C.R.S. §15-5-801 provides that, on accepting, a trustee administers the trust in good faith, in accordance with its terms and purposes and the interests of the beneficiaries. The duties that follow are each stated in their own section: loyalty (§15-5-802), impartiality (§15-5-803), prudent administration (§15-5-804), taking control of and protecting the property (§15-5-809), and keeping adequate records with trust property kept separate (§15-5-810).

Within a reasonable time after accepting or receiving trust assets, a trustee reviews them and decides what to keep and what to dispose of under the prudent investor rule (C.R.S. §15-1.1-104). The statute sets no fixed number of days for that review.

The two 60-day notices

Colorado's statute provides for two notices to the qualified beneficiaries. Within 60 days after accepting, the trustee notifies them of the acceptance and of the trustee's name, address and telephone number (C.R.S. §15-5-813(2)(b)); within 60 days after learning that the trust has become irrevocable, the trustee notifies them of the trust's existence, the settlor's identity, and their rights to request the relevant portions of the instrument and a trustee's report (§15-5-813(2)(c)).

The statute qualifies both: neither applies to a trustee who accepted, or a trust that became irrevocable, before January 1, 2019 (C.R.S. §15-5-813(5)), and while a trust's terms may narrow some duties, they cannot remove these notices for current distributees at any age or other qualified beneficiaries who are 25 or older (§15-5-105(2)(h)). Who the qualified beneficiaries are depends on the trust's own terms (§15-5-103(16)).

The estate beside the trust

A revocable trust rarely holds everything. Property left outside it passes by beneficiary designation, by joint ownership, by a beneficiary deed recorded during life (C.R.S. §15-15-402), or through the probate estate — whoever holds the decedent's will delivers it to the court within ten days after the death, or as soon after as the death becomes known to them (§15-11-516).

The estate's clocks often reach the trustee's timing: a revocable trust's property can answer for the estate's allowed claims and allowances to the extent the probate estate cannot (C.R.S. §15-15-103); claims are barred unless presented within the time the creditors' notice sets and in any event within one year after the death (§15-12-803); and a surviving spouse's elective share is claimed within nine months after the death or six months after probate, whichever is later (§15-11-211).

Les textes de loi, mot pour mot

• Liability of nonprobate transferees for creditor claims and statutory allowances

  C.R.S. §15-15-103 ↗

  Explication claire et simple ; le texte intégral de la loi n'est pas encore attesté dans notre bibliothèque. Consultez la loi officielle via le lien ci-dessus.

• Accepting or declining trusteeship

  C.R.S. §15-5-701 ↗

  Explication claire et simple ; le texte intégral de la loi n'est pas encore attesté dans notre bibliothèque. Consultez la loi officielle via le lien ci-dessus.

• Duty to administer trust

  C.R.S. §15-5-801 ↗

  Explication claire et simple ; le texte intégral de la loi n'est pas encore attesté dans notre bibliothèque. Consultez la loi officielle via le lien ci-dessus.

• Duty to inform and report

  C.R.S. §15-5-813 ↗

  Explication claire et simple ; le texte intégral de la loi n'est pas encore attesté dans notre bibliothèque. Consultez la loi officielle via le lien ci-dessus.

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