Colorado Guardianship and Conservatorship
When an adult can no longer manage their own care or finances, a Colorado court can appoint someone to decide for them. This guide explains the process, the alternatives to consider first, and the costs.
Based on C.R.S. Title 15, Article 14 (Uniform Guardianship and Protective Proceedings Act): Part 2 (minors), Part 3 (incapacitated adults), Part 4 (conservatorship/protective proceedings)
What guardianship and conservatorship mean here
Guardianship is a court process in which a judge gives one person legal authority to make decisions for an adult who can no longer make them safely. Colorado guardianship is governed by C.R.S. Title 15, Article 14 (Uniform Guardianship and Protective Proceedings Act): Part 2 (minors), Part 3 (incapacitated adults), Part 4 (conservatorship/protective proceedings).
Because guardianship removes legal rights, courts look first at the less-restrictive alternatives below.
Types of guardianship and conservatorship
Guardian of an Incapacitated Adult (Guardian of the Person)
An individual at least twenty-one years of age appointed by the court (district court, or Denver Probate Court in the City and County of Denver) to make decisions regarding the ward's support, care, education, health, and welfare. A person becomes a guardian of an incapacitated person only upon appointment by the court; Colorado has no parental or spousal appointment of an adult's guardian by will (C.R.S. 15-14-302 and 15-14-303 are reserved). The guardian must exercise authority only as necessitated by the ward's limitations.
C.R.S. 15-14-102(4), 15-14-301, 15-14-314
Conservator (Conservator of the Estate)
A person at least twenty-one years of age appointed by the court to manage the estate of a protected person. Appointment for an adult requires clear and convincing evidence that the individual is unable to manage property and business affairs (or is missing, detained, or unable to return to the United States) plus a preponderance showing that property will be wasted or money is needed for support. A conservator is a fiduciary held to the standard of care applicable to a trustee.
C.R.S. 15-14-102(2), 15-14-401, 15-14-418
Limited Guardian or Limited Conservator
Colorado courts must, whenever feasible, grant a guardian only those powers necessitated by the ward's limitations and demonstrated needs, encouraging maximum self-reliance and independence; the conservatorship counterpart may be limited to specified powers and assets. Limited guardianship of a minor is also available to develop the ward's self-reliance.
C.R.S. 15-14-311(2), 15-14-102(2), 15-14-206(2)
Emergency Guardian (Adult)
Appointed when compliance with normal procedures will likely result in substantial harm to the respondent's health, safety, or welfare and no other person has authority and willingness to act. Authority may not exceed sixty days and is limited to the powers specified in the order. The court must immediately appoint a lawyer for the respondent. Appointment may be made without notice only on a finding from testimony of substantial harm from delay; notice within 48 hours and a hearing within 14 days after the court receives a request. The appointment is not a determination of incapacity.
C.R.S. 15-14-312
Temporary Substitute Guardian (Adult)
Appointed for a specified period not exceeding six months when the court finds an existing guardian is not effectively performing duties and the ward's welfare requires immediate action. The prior guardian's authority is suspended while the temporary substitute guardian has authority.
C.R.S. 15-14-313
Special Conservator
Appointed to assist in accomplishing a protective arrangement or single transaction authorized by the court without a full conservatorship, or to preserve and apply the respondent's property while a conservatorship petition is pending. Serves until discharged by order after report to the court.
C.R.S. 15-14-412(3), 15-14-406(6)
Guardian of a Minor Appointed by Parent or Guardian (Testamentary or Other Signed Writing)
A parent (or a minor's current guardian) may appoint a guardian for a minor child by will or other signed writing. The appointment becomes effective on the appointer's death, an adjudication of the appointer's incapacity, or a physician's written determination that the appointer can no longer care for the child. The appointee must file an acceptance within thirty days of effectiveness and (unless previously confirmed) petition for court confirmation within thirty days after filing notice. A minor twelve or older may refuse to consent; the other parent or a custodian may object before confirmation.
C.R.S. 15-14-202, 15-14-203
Court-Appointed Guardian of a Minor
The court may appoint a guardian for a minor if it is in the minor's best interest and the parents consent, parental rights have been terminated, the parents are unwilling or unable to exercise parental rights, or a prior third-party guardian has died or become incapacitated without naming a successor. A parental appointee has priority; a minor twelve or older may nominate a guardian, and the court must appoint the minor's nominee unless contrary to the minor's best interest. Temporary guardian for a minor: up to six months on immediate need. Emergency guardian for a minor: up to sixty days when substantial harm is likely.
C.R.S. 15-14-204, 15-14-205, 15-14-206
The Colorado guardianship court process
File Petition in District Court (Denver Probate Court in Denver)
An individual or a person interested in the individual's welfare petitions for a determination of incapacity and appointment of a limited or unlimited guardian (C.R.S. 15-14-304). Venue is the county where the respondent resides (or where the respondent was institutionalized by court order); for emergency or temporary substitute guardians, also the county where the respondent is present (C.R.S. 15-14-108(2)). The court is the district court of that county, except in the City and County of Denver, where it is the Denver Probate Court (C.R.S. 15-14-102(3)). The petition must list, among other things, each person nominated as guardian by the respondent and explain why an unlimited guardianship is sought instead of a limited one.
Court Sets Hearing and Appoints a Visitor
Upon receipt of the petition, the court sets a date and time for hearing and appoints a court visitor with training the court deems appropriate (C.R.S. 15-14-305(1)).
Lawyer for the Respondent
The court appoints a lawyer to represent the respondent if the respondent requests one, the visitor recommends it, or the court determines the respondent needs representation (C.R.S. 15-14-305(2)).
Visitor Investigation and Report
The visitor interviews the respondent in person, explains the petition and the respondent's rights, determines the respondent's views on the proposed guardian, interviews the petitioner and proposed guardian, visits the respondent's dwelling, obtains information from treating physicians, and files a written report covering daily functioning, whether less restrictive means of intervention are available, the appropriate type of guardianship, and the proposed guardian's qualifications (C.R.S. 15-14-305(3)-(5)).
Professional Evaluation
The court may order a professional evaluation of the respondent by a physician, psychologist, or other qualified examiner, and must order one if the respondent demands it; the examiner files a written report on the respondent's cognitive and functional limitations, condition, and prognosis (C.R.S. 15-14-306).
Notice and Hearing
A copy of the petition and notice of hearing must be served personally on the respondent; failure to do so is jurisdictional and precludes granting the petition (C.R.S. 15-14-309(1)). The respondent must attend the hearing unless excused for good cause, and may present evidence, subpoena witnesses and documents, and examine witnesses including the court-appointed examiner and the visitor; the hearing may be closed at the respondent's request but not over the respondent's objection (C.R.S. 15-14-308).
Findings and Order of Appointment
The court may appoint a guardian only if it finds by clear and convincing evidence that the respondent is an incapacitated person AND that the respondent's identified needs cannot be met by less restrictive means, including appropriate and reasonably available technological assistance (C.R.S. 15-14-311(1)(a)). The court must, whenever feasible, grant only those powers necessitated by the ward's limitations (limited guardianship preferred) and selects the guardian under the statutory priority ladder of C.R.S. 15-14-310 (existing guardian; respondent's nominee; medical POA agent; general POA agent; spouse or civil-union partner; adult child; parent; six-month cohabitant). Long-term-care providers serving the respondent are barred unless related by blood, marriage, or adoption.
Acceptance, Letters, and Ongoing Reports
The appointed guardian files an acceptance of office with required disclosures and the court issues letters (C.R.S. 15-14-110). Within thirty days, the guardian sends the order of appointment and notice of the right to seek termination or modification to the ward and noticed persons (C.R.S. 15-14-311(3)). Within sixty days of appointment, the guardian files an initial report and personal care plan, then reports at least annually (C.R.S. 15-14-317).
How long it takes
Colorado statute does not fix a deadline for the guardianship hearing; timing depends on the visitor's investigation, any professional evaluation, and the court's docket (commonly a few months in uncontested cases - verify locally per judicial district). Emergency guardian: authority capped at 60 days, with ex parte appointments reviewed at a hearing within 14 days of request (C.R.S. 15-14-312). Temporary substitute guardian: up to 6 months (C.R.S. 15-14-313). Post-appointment: initial guardian report within 60 days, then annual reports (C.R.S. 15-14-317); conservator inventory and financial plan within 90 days, then annual reports (C.R.S. 15-14-418 to 15-14-420).
Alternatives to consider before guardianship
Durable (Financial) Power of Attorney
Under Colorado's Uniform Power of Attorney Act, a power of attorney created on or after January 1, 2010 is durable unless it expressly provides that it is terminated by the principal's incapacity, letting an agent manage finances without a conservatorship. Naming an agent (or a specific guardian/conservator nominee) in the POA also creates appointment priority if court proceedings ever become necessary.
C.R.S. 15-14-704 (UPOAA, Title 15, Article 14, Part 7, 15-14-701 et seq.); priority via 15-14-310(1)(b)-(d), 15-14-413(1)(b)-(c)
Medical Durable Power of Attorney
An agent appointed in a medical durable power of attorney may consent to or refuse medical treatment (including artificial nourishment and hydration) for a principal who lacks decisional capacity, generally avoiding the need for a guardian for medical decisions. The medical POA agent holds priority for guardianship appointment.
C.R.S. 15-14-506; priority via 15-14-310(1)(c)
Declaration as to Medical Treatment (Living Will)
Any adult with decisional capacity may execute a declaration directing that life-sustaining procedures be withheld or withdrawn in a terminal condition or persistent vegetative state, including separate instructions on artificial nutrition and hydration. Part of the Colorado Medical Treatment Decision Act.
C.R.S. 15-18-104 (Colorado Medical Treatment Decision Act, 15-18-101 et seq.)
Proxy Decision-Maker for Medical Treatment
When an adult patient lacks decisional capacity and has no guardian, medical POA agent, or designated beneficiary with medical authority, interested persons (spouse, parents, adult children, siblings, grandchildren, or close friends) may select a proxy decision-maker whose medical decisions providers may rely on in good faith - a statutory backstop that often avoids emergency guardianship for healthcare.
C.R.S. 15-18.5-103
Supported Decision-Making Agreement
An adult with a disability may voluntarily enter a supported decision-making agreement with trusted supporters who help the adult understand options and communicate decisions without making decisions for the adult. The legislature declares guardianship one of the most restrictive options, to be used only when a less restrictive alternative would fail; an SDM agreement cannot be used as evidence of incapacity.
C.R.S. 15-14-801 et seq. (Title 15, Article 14, Part 8, added by SB 21-075, effective September 7, 2021); see also 15-14-102(7.5), (13.5)
Designated Beneficiary Agreement
Two unmarried adults (not in a civil union or another such agreement) may execute a designated beneficiary agreement granting rights that can include priority to serve as guardian or conservator and proxy medical decision-making authority.
C.R.S. 15-22-101 et seq.; guardianship/conservatorship priority via 15-14-310(1)(b), 15-14-413(1)(b)
Protective Arrangement or Single Transaction (Special Conservator)
If a basis for a protective order exists, the court may authorize, direct, or ratify a single transaction or protective arrangement (sale of property, establishment of a trust, settlement of a claim, contracts for care) WITHOUT appointing a full conservator, and may appoint a special conservator solely to carry it out.
C.R.S. 15-14-412
Trust
Assets held in a trust can be managed by a successor trustee on the settlor's incapacity without court involvement, avoiding conservatorship over those assets. Governed by the Colorado Uniform Trust Code.
Colorado Uniform Trust Code, C.R.S. 15-5-101 et seq.
Representative Payee
Appointed by the Social Security Administration to manage Social Security and certain federal benefits only; recognized as a 'legal representative' under the guardianship code. Limited in scope to those federal benefits.
42 U.S.C. 405(j); see C.R.S. 15-14-102(6)
Facility-of-Transfer for Minors / UTMA Custodianship
Money or personal property owed to a minor (up to $10,000 a year or the current federal annual gift-tax exclusion, whichever is greater) may be paid to a custodial parent, guardian, UTMA custodian, or blocked financial account without a conservatorship.
C.R.S. 15-14-104; Colorado Uniform Transfers to Minors Act, C.R.S. 11-50-101 et seq.
Emergency guardianship and planning ahead
Emergency guardianship: It lasts Adult emergency guardian: authority may not exceed sixty days, limited to the powers specified in the order (C.R.S. 15-14-312(1)). Minor emergency guardian: may not exceed sixty days (C.R.S. 15-14-204(5)). Minor temporary guardian: may not exceed six months (C.R.S. 15-14-204(4)). Temporary substitute guardian for a ward: specified period not exceeding six months (C.R.S. 15-14-313(1)).
Naming a guardian in advance: Colorado has no standalone 'pre-need guardian declaration' filing, but a competent adult can effectively choose their own future guardian and conservator in advance: the court must give appointment priority to a person nominated by the respondent, including a specific nomination of a guardian or conservator made in a durable power of attorney or given priority in a designated beneficiary agreement (Article 22 of Title 15). The nomination creates priority only if the respondent had sufficient capacity to express a preference at the time of nomination. Agents already appointed under a medical durable power of attorney (15-14-506) or a general durable power of attorney also hold statutory priority. Note: because C.R.S. 15-14-302/303 are reserved, a parent or spouse CANNOT appoint a guardian for an incapacitated ADULT by will in Colorado (a deceased spouse's, civil-union partner's, or parent's will-based nominee instead receives consideration in the 15-14-310(1)(e)-(g) priority list).
Frequently asked questions
What is guardianship in Colorado?
What are the alternatives to guardianship in Colorado?
How long does the Colorado guardianship process take?
Do I need a lawyer to file for guardianship in Colorado?
Statutes and sources
Not sure guardianship is the right step?
Guardianship is a court process that removes a person's legal rights, so Colorado courts expect families to rule out less-restrictive options first. Review the alternatives on this page, and consider speaking with an elder-law attorney about your situation.
Information current as of June 10, 2026
This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Probate laws and procedures in Colorado can change. Consult with a qualified attorney for advice specific to your situation. Full disclaimer.