Colorado: Trustee Notice to Beneficiaries Requirements
The short answer
Colorado uses two 60-day notices: one after the trustee accepts office and one after the trustee acquires knowledge that a trust was created as irrevocable or became irrevocable. The acceptance notice gives the trustee's name, address, and telephone number; the irrevocability notice gives the trust's existence, settlor identity, and rights to request affected trust portions and a trustee's report. Trust terms may vary the default rule, but cannot erase the stated notice floor for current distributees at any age or other qualified beneficiaries who are at least 25.
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This is the general rule in Colorado. Ezel applies current Colorado law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law and initial-notice duty | C.R.S. §§ 15-5-105(2)(h)–(i), 15-5-813; two default 60-day notices with a mandatory age/distribution floor |
|---|---|
| Triggering events and knowledge rule | Acceptance; knowledge of irrevocable trust's creation; knowledge formerly revocable trust became irrevocable by settlor death or otherwise. Knowledge includes actual knowledge, notice, or reason to know (§§ 15-5-104, 15-5-813(2)) |
| Recipients and beneficiary class | Default: qualified beneficiaries in three distribution horizons plus any other beneficiary requesting notice. Mandatory floor: current distributees at any age; other qualified beneficiaries age 25+ (§§ 15-5-103(16), 15-5-105(2)(h), 15-5-110) |
| Deadline after acceptance | Within 60 days after accepting the trusteeship (§ 15-5-813(2)(b)) |
| Deadline after creation or irrevocability | Within 60 days after acquiring knowledge of creation or irrevocability (§ 15-5-813(2)(c)) |
| Required notice contents | Acceptance: acceptance + trustee name/address/phone. Irrevocability: existence, settlor(s), right to request trust portions affecting the beneficiary, and right to a trustee's report (§ 15-5-813(2)(b)–(c)) |
| Delivery, service, and publication | Reasonably suitable and likely to result in receipt; first-class mail, personal/last-known-address delivery, or properly directed electronic message. Unknown/unascertainable person excused, but trustee documents reasonable efforts; no publication (§ 15-5-109) |
| Waiver, modification, and confidentiality | Recipient may waive notice. Qualified beneficiary may waive reports/information and withdraw prospectively. Trust terms control except the § 15-5-105(2)(h)–(i) mandatory floor (§§ 15-5-105, 15-5-109(3), 15-5-813(4)) |
| Legacy exceptions and notice consequences | Two initial notices exclude pre-2019 trustee acceptance and trust events. While revocable, beneficiary rights are settlor-controlled and trustee duties run exclusively to settlor. No express initial-notice penalty stated (§§ 15-5-603(2), 15-5-813(5)–(6)) |
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Requirements one by one
Colorado uses two 60-day clocks and a defined knowledge rule
C.R.S. § 15-5-813(2)(b) starts the acceptance clock when the trustee accepts the
trusteeship. The acceptance notice is due within 60 days.
Paragraph (2)(c) starts a separate 60-day clock when the trustee acquires knowledge
that an irrevocable trust was created or that a formerly revocable trust became
irrevocable, whether because the settlor died or otherwise. Under § 15-5-104(1),
knowledge includes actual knowledge, receipt of notice, and reason to know from the
known circumstances. Subsection (2) supplies a separate employee-responsibility and
reasonable-diligence rule for an organization.
The default recipient class and mandatory floor are different
C.R.S. § 15-5-103(16) defines qualified beneficiaries through three distribution
horizons: current distributees, those who would take if current interests ended without
ending the trust, and those who would take if the trust ended on the determination
date. Section 15-5-110(1) adds any other beneficiary who has requested notice.
Trust terms ordinarily control under § 15-5-105(1), but subsection (2)(h) protects a
minimum notice duty. The protected recipients are current distributees or permissible
distributees at any age and other qualified beneficiaries who have reached age 25.
The two notices require different information
The acceptance notice states the acceptance and gives the trustee's name, address, and
telephone number. The creation-or-irrevocability notice instead states the trust's
existence and settlor identity and explains the rights to request the trust portions
that describe or affect the beneficiary's interest and to receive a trustee's report.
The statute does not require the trustee to attach the complete trust instrument to
either initial notice. Section 15-5-813(2)(a) makes the affected portions available on
request.
Delivery is functional and reasonable efforts must be documented
C.R.S. § 15-5-109(1) requires a method reasonably suitable under the circumstances and
likely to result in receipt. It lists first-class mail, personal delivery, delivery to
the last-known residence or business, and a properly directed electronic message.
If identity or location is unknown and not reasonably ascertainable, subsection (2)
excuses the notice but requires the trustee to maintain documentation of reasonable
efforts to find the person. The section states no newspaper-publication substitute.
Recipient waiver and trust-term override are separate
C.R.S. § 15-5-109(3) permits the person entitled to notice to waive it. Section
15-5-813(4) separately lets a qualified beneficiary waive reports or other information
and withdraw the waiver prospectively.
Those recipient choices differ from a trust-term override. Section 15-5-105(2)(h)–(i)
protects notice of trust existence, trustee identity, and report rights for the stated
recipient floor. C.R.S. § 15-5-813(1)'s request-response duty for an irrevocable trust
is also protected by § 15-5-105(2)(i).
What trips people up
- The age-25 line is a mandatory floor, not the whole default recipient rule. The
default notice goes to qualified beneficiaries, and § 15-5-110(1) adds another
beneficiary who requested notice. - Annual reports do not automatically go to every qualified beneficiary. Current
distributees receive them; other qualified beneficiaries receive them upon request. - The January 1, 2019 boundary is event-specific. The two notices exclude a trustee
acceptance and the specified creation or irrevocability events before that date. - No sworn service package is prescribed. The initial-notice sections do not require
certified mail, an adult process server, a perjury declaration, signature, or proof
of service.
Common questions
Does a trustee have to send the complete trust instrument automatically?
No. Under § 15-5-813(2)(a), a qualified beneficiary may request the portions that
describe or affect that beneficiary's interest. The initial irrevocability notice must
explain that right.
Who has qualified-beneficiary rights for a special-purpose trust?
C.R.S. § 15-5-110(2)–(4) addresses designated charitable organizations, animal or
noncharitable-purpose trust enforcers, and the attorney general for a Colorado-
administered charitable trust.
While the trust is revocable, to whom are the trustee's duties owed?
C.R.S. § 15-5-603(2) says beneficiary rights are subject to the settlor's control and
the trustee's duties are owed exclusively to the settlor to the extent the trust is
revocable.
Statutes and sources
- C.R.S. §§ 15-5-103(16), 15-5-104, 15-5-105, 15-5-109, and 15-5-110 —
qualified-beneficiary definition, knowledge, mandatory floor, delivery, waiver, and
additional recipients. Official Colorado Revised Statutes Title
15 (accessed 2026-07-31). - C.R.S. §§ 15-5-603(2) and 15-5-813(1)–(6) — revocable-settlor rule, the two
notices, contents, reports, waiver, and pre-2019 exclusions. Official Colorado
Revised Statutes Title 15 (accessed
2026-07-31).
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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