Colorado § 38-31-102 - Proof of death - certificate of death available.

§ 38-31-102. Proof of death - certificate of death available.

(1) A certificate of death, a verification of death document, or a certified copy thereof, of a person who is a joint tenant may be placed of record with the county clerk and recorder of the county in which the real property affected by the joint tenancy is located, together with a supplementary affidavit. The supplementary affidavit, which shall be properly sworn to or affirmed by a person of legal age having personal knowledge of the facts, must include the legal description of the real property and a statement that the person referred to in the certificate is the same person who is named in a specific recorded deed or similar instrument creating the joint tenancy. When recorded, the original certificate or verification document and supplementary affidavit, or certified copies thereof, must be accepted in all courts of the state of Colorado as prima facie proof of the death of the joint tenant. The certificate or verification document and supplementary affidavit provided for in this section may also be used to provide proof of the death of a life tenant, the owner under a beneficiary deed, or any other person whose record interest in real property terminates upon the death of such person to the same extent as a joint tenant as provided in this section.

(2) Repealed.

Source: L. 23: p. 399, § 1. CSA: C. 92, § 1. CRS 53: § 118-2-2. C.R.S. 1963: § 118-2-2. L. 2002: Entire section amended, p. 1037, § 85, effective June 1. L. 2006: Entire article amended, p. 241, § 1, effective July 1. L. 2014: Entire section amended, (HB 14-1073), ch. 30, p. 177, § 6, effective July 1. L. 2016: (1) amended, (SB 16-133), ch. 145, p. 429, § 1, effective August 10. L. 2025: (2) repealed, (SB 25-275), ch. 377, p. 2109, § 336, effective August 6.

Editor's note: Subsection (2) was relocated to § 38-31-100.3 in 2025.

Cross references: For certificate of death admitted as evidence of interest in real property, see § 38-35-112.

ANNOTATION

Law reviews. For article, "Curative Statutes of Colorado Respecting Titles to Real Estate", see 26 Dicta 281 (1949). For article, "Highlights of the 1955 Colorado Legislative Session—Real Property", see 28 Rocky Mt. L. Rev. 58 (1955). For article, "Signatures on Documents Affecting Title to Colorado Real Property — Part II", see 12 Colo. Law. 258 (1983).

This section does not establish mandatory and exclusive method of proving death in joint tenancy. On the contrary, the statute offers a mere alternative method which may, but need not, be adopted. Spaulding v. Porter, 94 Colo. 496, 31 P.2d 711 (1934).