Finding out a loved one’s will doesn’t say what you expected is a painful experience. The instinct to challenge it is understandable. But Colorado law doesn’t allow a will to be contested simply because someone disagrees with how an estate is distributed. There are specific legal thresholds to meet before a court will even consider hearing the challenge, and most people who call an attorney in this situation don’t yet know whether their circumstances clear those thresholds.
At Drexler Law, we’ve served the Colorado Springs community since 2014, and our team brings over 100 years of combined legal experience to family law and estate matters. We understand that the questions people carry into a first conversation about estate litigation are often more urgent than legal, and that the law’s requirements can feel frustratingly impersonal when someone is grieving. What follows is an honest explanation of what Colorado actually requires before a will can be contested and what that process involves from start to finish.
Who Has the Legal Right to Contest a Will in Colorado
Before any court examines the merits of a challenge, it will ask one foundational question: does this person have standing? Under Colorado Title 15, Article 12, only an “interested person” has the legal right to contest a will. Standing is a threshold requirement, meaning the court dismisses a challenge for lack of it before ever reaching the substance of the complaint.
Colorado law treats the following as interested persons with standing to contest a will:
- Heirs-at-law who would inherit under Colorado’s intestate succession laws if no valid will existed
- Beneficiaries named in a prior will who believe the newer will replaced theirs improperly
- Current beneficiaries who have reason to believe the will they’re named in is itself invalid
- Creditors of the estate in certain circumstances
A close personal relationship with the deceased doesn’t automatically confer standing. A longtime friend, a caregiver, or even someone the decedent described as “like family” may have no legal right to contest the will at all. Whether you qualify is the first question worth answering with an attorney.
Valid Legal Grounds for Challenging a Will
Assuming you have standing, the next question is whether your reason for contesting the will is one Colorado courts recognize as legally valid. Feeling the distribution is unfair isn’t a recognized ground, no matter how strongly you believe it. The burden of proof falls entirely on the party bringing the challenge.
Colorado recognizes five main grounds for contesting a will’s validity.
Lack of Testamentary Capacity
Testamentary capacity refers to the legal and mental ability to make a valid will. Under Colorado law, the testator must have been at least 18 years old and must have understood the nature of making a will, the general scope of their property, and who their natural heirs were at the time the will was signed. A diagnosis of dementia or another cognitive condition doesn’t automatically void a will; what matters is whether capacity existed at the specific moment of signing.
Undue Influence
Undue influence occurs when someone exploits a position of trust or power over the testator to substitute their own wishes for the testator’s. Courts look for behavioral indicators like isolating the testator from family, heavy involvement in drafting the will, or controlling access to financial and medical information. The influence must have been strong enough to overcome the testator’s free will, not merely persuasive.
Fraud or Forgery
This ground applies when the testator was deceived into signing a document, didn’t know they were signing a will, or when the will itself was forged. Colorado courts allow an extended window to bring a fraud-based challenge when the fraud wasn’t reasonably discoverable at the time of probate.
Improper Execution
Under C.R.S. § 15-11-502, a valid Colorado will must be in writing, signed by the testator, and either witnessed by at least two individuals who each sign within a reasonable time after observing the testator sign or acknowledge the will, or acknowledged by the testator before a notary public. A will that doesn’t meet these formalities may be challengeable on execution grounds, but Colorado’s harmless error rule complicates matters. Under C.R.S. § 15-11-503, a judge may still validate a technically defective will if clear and convincing evidence shows the testator intended the document to be their will. This rule limits improper-execution challenges more than people expect, which is one reason an attorney’s assessment early in the process matters.
Revocation by a Later Valid Will
If the decedent made a newer, valid will that revokes the one being probated, that later will controls. This can also arise in situations involving holographic wills, which are handwritten, unwitnessed documents that Colorado recognizes under limited conditions.
Deadlines: How Long You Have to Act
The timeline for contesting a will in Colorado depends on how probate was opened. For an informally probated will, C.R.S. § 15-12-108 allows a contest to be filed within the later of 12 months from the date of informal probate or 3 years from the date of the decedent’s death. For a formally probated will, a written objection must generally be filed at or before the formal hearing. Once a court grants formal probate, the opportunity to object is typically foreclosed.
Someone who waits to “see how things develop” after a loved one’s death can close off their options without realizing it. If formal probate is moving forward, the window can close quickly. The safest approach is to consult with an attorney as soon as a concern arises.
What the Contest Process Looks Like
Will contests in Colorado Springs are filed at the El Paso County Combined Courts, Probate Division (W150), located at 270 S Tejon St, Colorado Springs, CO 80903. The Probate Division holds open walk-up hours every Wednesday, with estate cases heard from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. After a petition or formal objection is filed, all interested parties must be notified, and the matter proceeds through a structured litigation process.
Discovery is the core of a contested will case. Medical records, financial documents, correspondence, and witness testimony all become relevant depending on the grounds alleged. Before a contested matter advances to a full hearing, the 4th Judicial District may require mediation, which creates an opportunity for the parties to reach a negotiated resolution. Many will contests settle before trial, particularly where the evidentiary picture is mixed and the costs of continued probate litigation are significant.
If the contest succeeds, the outcome depends on what’s found. A court may reinstate an earlier valid will if one exists, invalidate only certain provisions while upholding the rest, or distribute the estate under Colorado’s intestate succession laws if no prior valid will is available. Winning a will contest doesn’t always mean what people expect it will mean.
Costs & Risks Worth Knowing Before You File
Will contests involve attorney fees, court costs, and often fees for medical professionals who can testify about testamentary capacity or forensic document examiners who can analyze a signature. Contested estate matters in El Paso County typically take one to two years to resolve, and complex cases can run longer.
Some wills include no-contest clauses, also called in terrorem clauses, that automatically disinherit any beneficiary who challenges the will and loses. Under C.R.S. § 15-12-905, however, Colorado treats a no-contest clause as unenforceable when the person bringing the challenge had probable cause to do so. If you’re a named beneficiary considering a challenge, understanding both the clause in the will and the strength of your underlying grounds is a critical part of the early analysis.
For military families near Fort Carson, will contests can carry additional complexity. Service members and their families often hold property in multiple states, which can raise questions about which state’s law governs which assets, whether ancillary probate proceedings are required elsewhere, and how those proceedings interact with what’s happening locally. These factors don’t make a contest impossible, but they do make thorough legal counsel more important from the outset.
Deciding Whether to Move Forward
Contesting a will is one of the hardest decisions someone can face while grieving. There’s no formula that tells you whether the potential outcome justifies the time, cost, and emotional weight of estate litigation. The answer depends on the specific facts of your situation: whether you have standing, whether the grounds are legally cognizable, how strong the evidence is, and what you stand to gain or lose.
If you’re asking whether you have a case, the right starting point is a conversation, not a commitment to litigation. We work with clients across the Colorado Springs area on estate litigation matters and can help you understand your options clearly before you decide how to proceed. Reach us at (719) 259-0050.