Chapman Law’s Client Resource Library provides helpful estate planning worksheets, guides, and educational materials to help Colorado families stay informed and organized. These resources are designed to support your understanding of wills, trusts, probate, powers of attorney, fiduciary roles, and related planning issues.
Confidential Estate Planning Worksheet
Use this worksheet to gather important information before your estate planning consultation. It will help you organize details about your family, assets, beneficiaries, fiduciaries, and planning goals so we can better understand your wishes and prepare a customized estate plan. All information provided is treated as confidential and used solely to assist with your estate planning matter.
Wills vs. Trusts (Brochure)
A Colorado-focused estate planning brochure explaining the differences between wills and trusts, how they work together, common misconceptions, trust funding, probate, powers of attorney, and when to review your estate plan.
Funding Your Revocable Living Trust (Brochure)
Signing a trust is only the first step. This brochure explains how trust funding works, why asset coordination matters, and which assets may need special attention, including real estate, bank accounts, investment accounts, business interests, life insurance, vehicles, and retirement accounts.
Beneficiary Designations & Asset Titling (Brochure)
Small forms can have big consequences. This guide explains how beneficiary designations, joint ownership, POD/TOD accounts, trust ownership, and asset titles can affect who receives property after death, sometimes even overriding a will or trust.
What to Do When Someone Dies (Brochure)
A calm, practical checklist for surviving family members after a death. This guide walks through what to do in the first 24 hours, first week, and first 30 days, including documents to locate, people and institutions to notify, common mistakes to avoid, and when probate or trust administration help may be needed.
So Now You Are a Trustee (Brochure)
Serving as trustee is an important fiduciary role with real legal responsibilities. This guide explains the trustee’s job in practical terms, including confirming authority, securing trust assets, communicating with beneficiaries, keeping records, managing taxes and expenses, and avoiding conflicts before making distributions.
So Now You Are a Personal Representative (Brochure)
This Colorado probate guide helps personal representatives understand the basic roadmap for opening, administering, and closing an estate. It covers probate steps, notices, creditor claims, inventories, recordkeeping, distributions, personal liability concerns, and when to seek legal guidance.
So Now You Are an Agent Under Financial Power of Attorney (Brochure)
Being named as an agent under a financial power of attorney is a position of trust. This guide explains how to act within the authority granted, protect the principal’s assets, avoid commingling, keep records, handle reimbursement, and know when to ask for help before making major financial decisions.
So Now You Are a Medical Decision-Maker (Brochure)
This guide is for someone named to help make health care decisions as a medical agent, health care proxy, or advance directive decision-maker. It explains how to confirm authority, understand the person’s wishes, communicate with doctors, review treatment options, manage family conflict, and prepare before a crisis.
So Now You Are a Guardian (Brochure)
This Colorado guardianship guide explains the guardian’s role in caring for, protecting, and advocating for a ward. It covers authority, personal care decisions, coordination with doctors and family, preserving dignity and independence, court duties, recordkeeping, and common mistakes to avoid.
These resources provide general educational information only and are not legal advice. Reading or downloading a resource does not create an attorney-client relationship. Colorado laws and individual circumstances vary, so you should consult an attorney about your specific situation.
Helpful Public Resources
The following public resources may also be helpful for Colorado families reviewing estate planning, probate, guardianship, medical decision-making, and estate or trust administration issues.
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Colorado Judicial Branch: Trusts, Estates and Wills
Official Colorado court resources for trusts, estates, wills, and probate-related topics. -
Colorado Judicial Branch: Open an Estate
Information from the Colorado courts about opening a probate estate. -
Colorado Judicial Branch: Guardian and Conservator Resources
Public resources for Colorado guardianship and conservatorship matters. -
Colorado Department of Public Health: Advance Care Planning
Information about advance care planning, advance directives, and future medical decision-making. -
Colorado Department of Revenue: Estates and Trusts
Colorado tax information for estates, trusts, and fiduciary income tax issues. -
IRS: Estate and Gift Taxes
Federal estate and gift tax information from the Internal Revenue Service.
These links are provided for general educational convenience only and are not a substitute for legal advice.