Colorado § 15-14-411 - Required court approval.

§ 15-14-411. Required court approval.

(1) After notice to interested persons and upon express authorization of the court, a conservator may:

(a) Make gifts, except as otherwise provided in section 15-14-427 (2);

(b) Convey, release, or disclaim contingent and expectant interests in property, including marital property rights and any right of survivorship incident to joint tenancy or tenancy by the entireties;

(c) Exercise or release a power of appointment;

(d) Create a revocable or irrevocable trust of property of the estate, whether or not the trust extends beyond the duration of the conservatorship, or revoke or amend a trust revocable by the protected person;

(e) Exercise rights to elect options and change beneficiaries under retirement plans, insurance policies, and annuities or surrender the plans, policies, and annuities for their cash value;

(f) Exercise any right to an elective share in the estate of the protected person's deceased spouse and to renounce or disclaim any interest by testate or intestate succession or by transfer inter vivos; and

(g) Make, amend, or revoke the protected person's will.

(2) A conservator, in making, amending, or revoking the protected person's will, shall comply with section 15-11-502 or 15-11-507.

(3) The court, in exercising or in approving a conservator's exercise of the powers listed in subsection (1) of this section, shall consider primarily the decision that the protected person would have made, to the extent that the decision can be ascertained. To the extent the decision cannot be ascertained, the court shall consider the best interest of the protected person. The court shall also consider:

(a) The financial needs of the protected person and the needs of individuals who are in fact dependent on the protected person for support and the interest of creditors;

(b) Possible reduction of income, estate, inheritance, or other tax liabilities;

(c) Eligibility for governmental assistance;

(d) The protected person's previous pattern of giving or level of support;

(e) The existing estate plan;

(f) The protected person's life expectancy and the probability that the conservatorship will terminate before the protected person's death; and

(g) Any other factors the court considers relevant, including the best interest of the protected person.

Source: L. 2000: Entire part R&RE, p. 1808, § 1, effective January 1, 2001 (see § 15-17-103).

ANNOTATION

Law reviews. For article, "Will Preparation for Individuals Lacking Testamentary Capacity", see 33 Colo. Law. 93 (Aug. 2004). For article, "Conservator-Created Wills: Issues in Litigation", see 44 Colo. Law. 53 (Aug. 2015).

The requirement in subsection (1)(g) of this section that a conservator obtain court approval before making a protected person's will applies when the conservator executes the will in compliance with § 15-11-502, for instance, when the conservator executes the will in the presence of two witnesses who sign it. In re Estate of Davies, 2022 COA 90, 520 P.3d 207.

Conversely, when the protected person executes their own will in compliance with § 15-11-502, subsection (1)(g) does not apply, even if the conservator drafted the will. In re Estate of Davies, 2022 COA 90, 520 P.3d 207.