Knowledge & Resources
Wills and estate planning
What a will does, how to write one, and what your state requires for it to count.
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Wills and estate planning
What a will does, how to write one, and what your state requires for it to count.
Colorado follows the Uniform Probate Code, and it offers one option almost no other state does: you can have a will notarized instead of witnessed.
A Colorado will must be in writing and signed by the testator, or signed in the testator's name by someone else in their conscious presence and at their direction. It must then be either signed by at least two individuals who witnessed the signing or the testator's acknowledgment of it, or acknowledged by the testator before a notary public. Colorado is one of the very few states where notarization is a genuine alternative to witnesses rather than an extra step. Two witnesses remains the safer route if the will might be probated elsewhere.
C.R.S. § 15-11-502(1)
Not required, but uniquely useful here. In most states a notary does nothing for a will's validity. In Colorado, acknowledging the will before a notary satisfies the execution requirement on its own, in place of the two witnesses. You need one or the other, not both.
C.R.S. § 15-11-502(1)(c)
Yes. A will that does not meet the ordinary formalities is still valid as a holographic will, witnessed or not, if the signature and the material portions of the document are in the testator's handwriting. A printed form with handwritten blanks does not qualify.
C.R.S. § 15-11-502(2)
Colorado has abolished the old rule entirely. Anyone generally competent to be a witness may witness a will, and a beneficiary doing so does not invalidate the will or any provision of it. The gift stands. Using disinterested witnesses is still good practice, because it removes an argument a disappointed relative could otherwise make about undue influence, but nothing in the statute penalises it.
C.R.S. § 15-11-505
An individual eighteen or more years of age who is of sound mind may make a will in Colorado.
C.R.S. § 15-11-501
C.R.S. § 15-11-502 (Execution -- witnessed or notarized wills -- holographic wills). In writing, signed by the testator (or in the testator's name in their conscious presence and by their direction), and either signed by at least two individuals who witnessed the signing or acknowledgment, or acknowledged by the testator before a notary public.
Links last checked 2026-08-24.
This is general information about the law, not legal advice, and it has not been reviewed by an attorney licensed in Colorado. Requirements change. Confirm the current rules for your state before you sign.
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