Estate Administration Attorney in Jefferson County
One Firm for Everything They Left Behind
Our estate administration attorney in Jefferson County, Colorado, handles the whole estate, from trusts and bank accounts to court filings, so you’re not juggling it alone.
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Reviews From Colorado Families
Settling a Full Estate in Jefferson County
What Estate Administration Includes
August & Suchowski handles estate administration across Jefferson County, Colorado. Settling an estate means dealing with everything a person left behind, and court supervision only ever covers part of it.
Trust assets follow the trust document through trust administration, a separate process with its own rules. Accounts carrying a beneficiary designation, the named-person instruction on a retirement account or policy, pass straight to that person. Joint property often transfers on its own. What remains is the part that may need court involvement, covered on our probate administration page.
Trustees, Heirs, and Families With Mixed Assets
Most people who call our Jefferson County estate team are a trustee, an heir, or a personal representative, and some are holding two roles at once. They have a will, maybe a trust, and a folder of statements nobody can explain.
We hear it constantly. "The bank says the account already has a beneficiary." "Half of this is in a trust and half isn't." Sorting which asset follows which rule is the actual work.
Why Families Bring Us the Whole Estate
Elizabeth August leads estate and trust administration at August & Suchowski from our Wheat Ridge office. Her background as a fourth-generation owner of a family farming business shapes how she handles closely held companies and assets moving between generations. She's untangled a lot of mixed estates.
Both attorneys are licensed in Colorado, and this firm handles planning as well as administration. That means the attorney reading a trust document understands why it was drafted the way it was.
Start Before the Assets Move
Our Wheat Ridge office replies within one business day, and the first consultation is free. Fees run hourly or at a flat fee depending on how the estate is structured, and we name the model on that first call.
Usually a financial institution starts the clock. A bank freezes an account, or a brokerage asks for a certificate of trust nobody has. Once an asset is locked, the family needs paperwork rather than a phone call.
Estates We Handle Across Jefferson County
Estate administration runs out of our Wheat Ridge office, covering roughly ten miles into Lakewood, Arvada, Golden, Westminster, and Edgewater, plus the Denver neighborhoods just east of us like Berkeley and Sloan Lake.
Much of this work never involves a court at all. Trust administration happens entirely between the trustee, the beneficiaries, and the institutions holding the assets. Only the remainder goes to the Combined Courts in Golden, and our probate attorneys in Jefferson County sort out which is which on day one so the estate doesn't stall.
Why us?
Families Helped Across Colorado
Years Combined legal experience
Locations: Wheat ridge & Fort collins
you dont have
to figure this out alone
Most people who call us are exhausted, grieving, and holding a stack of paperwork nobody ever prepared them for. We're here to help, every step of the way.
How the Probate Process Works with Us
free call
Tell us what's going on and we'll explain your options in plain language.
clear plan
We map out exactly what needs to happen and who's responsible for each part.
we handle it
We manage the filings and deadlines while you focus on your family.
The August & Suchowski Difference
FAQs
No. Probate is the court process for assets passing under a will or by Colorado law when there isn't one. Estate administration covers that plus trusts, joint property, and anything with a named beneficiary. Most estates involve both, which is why we map everything before filing.
Often it doesn't. If a Colorado account names a payable-on-death beneficiary, that designation controls, and the will has no effect. Families are regularly surprised by this. We review every account early so nobody makes the wrong assumption about what they're inheriting.
Not always, but a trustee takes on a fiduciary duty, a legal obligation to manage assets for someone else's benefit. Distributing from a trust incorrectly can create personal liability. Most trustees who call our Wheat Ridge office want confirmation they're doing it right before money moves.
That's the most common situation we see. Trust assets follow the trust document, everything else follows the will or Colorado law, and the two run on different timelines. We handle both tracks together so one doesn't stall waiting on the other.
Beneficiaries of a Colorado trust generally have the right to information about how it's being managed, and heirs in a probate estate can review the accounting. Getting ahead of those requests prevents most family disputes. We keep the records in shape from the start.
Don't Distribute Anything Until You Know the Rules
Probate Attorney in Wheat Ridge, Colorado
We're on Kipling Street just north of West 41st Avenue, a few minutes from the Kipling exit off I-70. Free parking is available on-site, and the suite is on the second floor with elevator access from the lobby. We also keep a second office in Fort Collins for clients in Northern Colorado.