The short answer
A Colorado beneficiary deed names who gets your real estate when you die. It's Colorado's version of a transfer on death deed, set out in C.R.S. 15-15-401 to 15-15-415. You sign it, record it with the county clerk and recorder, and keep full ownership. When you die, your beneficiary records a death certificate and a short affidavit, and the property is theirs without probate.
The rule that matters most is printed on the statutory form itself: the deed must be recorded before the death of the grantor. If it isn't, it has no effect.
How to set one up
- Draft the deed. It has to say it "conveys on death" (or words to that effect), identify the property by legal description and name the beneficiary. The statute includes a sample form.
- Name a successor beneficiary in case your first choice dies before you.
- Sign it in front of a notary. The beneficiary doesn't sign and doesn't need to be told.
- Record it with the clerk and recorder in the county where the property is. Since July 1, 2025, Colorado counties charge a flat $43 per document.
While you're alive, the beneficiary has no interest in the property. You can sell it, refinance it or record a new beneficiary deed without asking them.
Changing or revoking it
Record a revocation, or a new beneficiary deed, before you die. A new beneficiary deed automatically revokes earlier ones for the same property, and the one signed most recently controls even if they were recorded in a different order. A will can't revoke or override a beneficiary deed. That surprises people who change their will and forget the deed.
If you own the home in joint tenancy
A beneficiary deed doesn't break a joint tenancy. If a married couple owns their home as joint tenants and both sign a beneficiary deed, the house goes to the surviving spouse at the first death, and to the beneficiary at the second. If only one spouse signs and dies first, the deed does nothing. The survivor owns the house outright.
What the beneficiary does after the owner dies
The beneficiary records two documents with the county clerk and recorder:
- A certified death certificate for the owner
- A supplementary affidavit identifying the property by legal description and stating that the person who died is the grantor named in the recorded beneficiary deed
Then contact the county assessor and treasurer so the tax bills come to the new owner. If you're 65 or older and move in, Colorado's senior homestead exemption requires 10 years of your own ownership and occupancy, so it won't carry over. See property taxes on an inherited house.
Debts, creditors and Medicaid
- Mortgages and liens stay with the property. The beneficiary takes it subject to all of them.
- Estate creditors can reach it. If the probate estate can't pay the owner's debts, the beneficiary can be held liable up to the value of the property. Creditors have to start that process within one year of the death.
- Medicaid can recover. Colorado's Medicaid agency (HCPF) can make a recovery claim against property passed by beneficiary deed. And because you still own the property while you're alive, a beneficiary deed doesn't help you qualify for Medicaid either.
Minnesota's transfer on death deed
Minnesota's version (Minn. Stat. 507.071) works the same way, with a few differences:
- It must be recorded before death in the county where the property is, and it must say it takes effect at death.
- All joint tenants must sign. It takes effect only at the last joint tenant's death.
- Minnesota has an anti-lapse rule for beneficiaries who are relatives: if one dies before you, their descendants can take their share unless the deed says otherwise. A beneficiary also has to survive you by 120 hours.
- After death, the beneficiary records an Affidavit of Identity and Survivorship with a certified death record, and gives an address for the tax statements.
- Medical Assistance clearance. The beneficiary is liable for any Medical Assistance (Medicaid) claim up to the value of the property. The beneficiary asks the county for a clearance certificate (form DHS-5893) and records it. Recovery is put off while a surviving spouse, or a minor or disabled child, is alive, and heirs can ask for a hardship waiver.
Beneficiary deed vs. the alternatives
A beneficiary deed is the cheapest way to keep a house out of probate in Colorado. A living trust does more: it covers bank and investment accounts too, handles incapacity and lets you set conditions. But it costs more and only works if you actually retitle the house into it. A will sends the house through probate. See living trust vs. lady bird deed vs. TOD deed and transfer on death deeds in other states.
Quick answers
Is a Colorado beneficiary deed the same as a transfer on death deed?
Yes. Colorado uses the name beneficiary deed, but it does the same thing.
How much does a Colorado beneficiary deed cost?
$43 to record. Lawyers commonly charge a few hundred dollars to prepare one.
Does a beneficiary deed avoid probate in Colorado?
Yes, for the property it covers, as long as it was recorded before the owner died and a named beneficiary survives.
Sources
Colorado rules are from C.R.S. 15-15-401 to 15-15-415, 15-15-103 and 38-31-102 (via colorado.public.law); the recording fee is from C.R.S. 30-1-103 and county clerk fee schedules (Weld, Logan). Minnesota rules are from Minn. Stat. 507.071 (2026 edition, Office of the Revisor of Statutes) and Minnesota DHS guidance. This is general information, not legal advice.