What Probate Covers in Lincoln County
Probate in Lincoln County is handled by the Probate Division and Probate Registrar functions of District Court. The official judges and staff page identifies Kimberly Graham as Clerk of Court, Jury Commissioner, and Probate Registrar for Lincoln County, with phone 719-743-2455. The Colorado Judicial Branch hierarchy places probate matters within District Court outside the special Denver probate structure. No separate Lincoln County probate courthouse or separate local probate court page was located in the accessible official sources.
Probate case types include decedent estates, small estates, wills, probate with a will, probate without a will, guardianship, conservatorship, trust registration, re-opened estates, foreign personal representatives, and restricted accounts. The Colorado Judicial Branch forms library includes estate and will packets, guardianship and conservatorship packets, restricted account forms, trust registration statements, inventory and accounting forms, and closing forms.
The Colorado Judicial Branch open an estate page is the assigned source for estate-opening timing and process.
That statewide court source applies to Lincoln County because probate venue is handled in District Court when venue is proper locally.
Probate Terms Defined
Probate filings use terms that identify the type of case, the property involved, and the person asking the court to act. These definitions help distinguish a searchable docket entry from the actual document that must be requested from the court.
- Decedent
- The person who has died and whose estate may need administration.
- Personal Representative
- The person appointed or seeking appointment to administer an estate, collect assets, pay allowed claims, and distribute property.
- Testate
- A probate case involving a will.
- Intestate
- A probate case where the person died without a valid will.
- Small Estate
- A simplified estate process when the case qualifies under Colorado requirements.
- Guardianship
- A case involving authority over personal care decisions for an adult or minor when legal standards are met.
- Conservatorship
- A case involving authority over financial affairs or property management for a protected person.
- Restricted Account
- An account subject to court controls, often requiring orders or reports before funds can be used.
How to Search Lincoln County Probate Division of District Court
Probate docket information may be searched through the Colorado Judicial Branch docket search by selecting Lincoln County, District Court, and case class PR when available. Broader register-of-actions searches may be available through vendors listed by the Judicial Branch, although the research warns that vendor access may be limited by case type and is not the official record of the court. Official probate copies come from the court.
- Identify the probate case type, such as small estate, informal estate, formal estate, guardianship, conservatorship, trust registration, or re-opened estate.
- Search the Colorado docket page using Lincoln County, District Court, a date range, and case class PR if known.
- Use the decedent, petitioner, respondent, attorney, or case number information if available.
- For official copies, request records from Lincoln County Combined Courts by online form, email, mail, phone, or in person.
- Be ready to provide ID if the requested probate record is restricted, suppressed, or contains protected information.
The Colorado court fee waiver page is assigned to this probate page because probate filers may need fee-waiver information when filing is unaffordable.
Fee waivers do not create online access to restricted records, but they can affect filing costs when a party qualifies.
Probate Courts in Lincoln County
Lincoln County has a Probate Division of District Court rather than a separate probate court. The local court contact is Lincoln County Combined Courts at the Lincoln County Courthouse in Hugo. The same office is tied to the Probate Registrar role held by Kimberly Graham.
Lincoln County Probate Division of District Court
103 Third Ave., P.O. Box 128
Hugo, CO 80821
719-743-2455
Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
The Lincoln County Clerk and Recorder page appears in the assigned probate source set because recorded-property and county-clerk functions may overlap with estate administration research, although court probate filings remain with District Court.
Use the Clerk and Recorder for county recording questions, but use District Court for probate filings, probate case copies, and Probate Registrar contact.
Probate Filing Fees
The research identifies several probate filing and copy fees from Colorado Judicial Branch fee sources. Confirm current amounts before filing because fee schedules can change and some matters have special service, copy, or search charges.
| Probate Filing or Service | Fee |
|---|---|
| First filing for decedent's estate, not small estate | $229 |
| Small estate | $113 |
| Supervised administration, except contested claims | $198 |
| Petition for allowance of claim or contested claim | $198 |
| Trust registration statement | $198 |
| Petition for trust action | $229 |
| Copies for parties | $0.25/page or $0.50 double-sided, maximum $15 |
| Search or retrieval | Varies |
What Lincoln County Probate Division of District Court Records Show
A probate file may include the petition or application, will, orders, letters testamentary or letters of administration, notices, creditor claims, inventories, accountings, guardian or conservator reports, restricted account paperwork, trust registration statements, and closing filings. The exact contents depend on the case type and whether the matter is informal, formal, supervised, contested, reopened, or connected to a guardianship or conservatorship.
The research did not locate a public sample Lincoln County probate case detail page. Do not assume wills, inventories, letters, or accountings are downloadable online. A docket search may identify a case or hearing, but document copies and certified records must be requested from Lincoln County Combined Courts.
Restricted Probate Division of District Court Records
Probate records are not all public in the same way. The Colorado Judicial Branch record/document request notice warns that probate records or documents with confidential or protected information may require a U.S. government-issued photo ID or may be restricted. Guardianship and conservatorship filings can contain medical, financial, minor, protected-person, and account information. Mental-health material and sealed or suppressed records are not ordinary public lookups.
The court can restrict access under Colorado statutes, court rules, Supreme Court rules, Chief Justice Directives, local administrative orders or directives, and other legal authority. A requester should provide the case number, party names, decedent or protected-person name when appropriate, requested document type, and relationship to the case. If the document cannot be released publicly, the court may require proof of authority or deny access.
Open an Estate in Lincoln County
The Judicial Branch open-estate source says paperwork to open an estate can be filed 120 hours, or five days, after the decedent has died. The court cannot act before then. A creditor who wants to file paperwork to open an estate must wait at least 45 days. After the waiting period, a Lincoln County filer should use the statewide Colorado forms, select the correct estate type, and file in Lincoln County District Court when venue is proper.
The basic local path is to identify the probate type, use the correct Colorado Judicial Branch form packet, wait the required time after death, file at the Lincoln County Courthouse or through an approved e-filing path if allowed, pay the filing fee or request a fee waiver, follow notice and inventory requirements, and request copies through Lincoln County Combined Courts when needed.
Request Probate Copies
Official probate copies should be requested from Lincoln County Combined Courts. The local court records request channels include the online Colorado Judicial Branch record/document request form, Lincolnrecordsrequest@judicial.state.co.us, mail to Lincoln County Combined Courts, Attn: Records Requests, P.O. Box 128, Hugo, CO 80821, phone at 719-743-2455, and in-person service at the courthouse during regular hours. Lincoln County Combined Courts does not accept faxed documents.
The federal images assigned to this page are not Lincoln County probate filing sources, but they are useful for distinguishing state probate records from federal court systems. The U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado contact page is shown below.
That federal court contact page should not be used for Lincoln County probate estate copies, which are state District Court records.
The PACER District of Colorado lookup page is another assigned federal source.
PACER is a federal court access system. It is separate from Lincoln County probate records in Colorado state District Court.
The District of Colorado CM/ECF page is also federal, not a Lincoln County probate case source.
Use federal CM/ECF only for federal cases. Use Lincoln County Combined Courts for probate estate, guardianship, conservatorship, and trust registration records filed locally.