A simple will in Colorado generally costs between $300 and $600 when drafted by an attorney as a flat fee, $50 to $150 through an online service, and nothing at all if you write it out by hand. How much a will costs in Colorado ultimately depends on the complexity of your estate and the method you choose. Blended families, business interests, out-of-state property, and trusts for dependents push the price higher because they take more legal work to get right.
Attorney Fees for a Simple Will
Most Colorado attorneys charge a flat fee for a straightforward will. Expect roughly $300 to $600 for a single person and $500 to $900 for a married couple getting mirror wills. Those numbers assume a simple estate: everything goes to a spouse or a short list of beneficiaries, with no unusual conditions attached.
Complex estates shift attorneys to hourly billing. Rates typically run $225 to $400 or more per hour depending on the lawyer’s experience and whether they practice in Denver or a smaller community. If your plan involves setting up trusts, planning around federal estate tax, or distributing a business, the total can climb into the low thousands. A well-drafted will is also far less likely to trigger disputes later, and that prevention often saves your family many times the drafting cost.
Estate Planning Packages
Most estate planning attorneys offer bundled packages that pair a will with a financial power of attorney, a medical power of attorney, and an advance healthcare directive. Buying these together almost always costs less than paying for each separately. A basic package for one person in Colorado often falls in the $700 to $1,500 range. A trust-based plan that adds a revocable living trust to those documents starts in the low thousands and rises with complexity.
If you’re already paying an attorney for a will, it’s worth asking about a package. A power of attorney that lets someone manage your finances if you become incapacitated and a medical directive that spells out your healthcare wishes are documents most adults need regardless of wealth.
Online Will Services
Online platforms sit between hiring a lawyer and doing it yourself. Most charge a one-time fee of $50 to $150 for a basic will. Some offer annual subscriptions in the $20 to $40 range that let you make unlimited updates. You answer a series of questions about assets, beneficiaries, and preferences, and the software generates a will using Colorado-specific templates.
These services work well for straightforward situations: one home, a few accounts, and a clear plan for who gets what. The trade-off is that no one looks at your specific circumstances or flags problems. If you have a blended family, own a business, or want to set conditions on an inheritance, a template probably won’t capture what you need.
Handwritten and DIY Wills
Colorado recognizes handwritten (holographic) wills. If your signature and the material portions of the document are in your own handwriting, it doesn’t need witnesses or a notary to be valid.1Justia. Colorado Code 15-11-502 – Execution That makes a holographic will the cheapest legal option, and for someone with a genuinely simple estate and clear wishes, it can work.
Printed DIY kits from office supply stores or websites usually cost under $50 and give you a fill-in-the-blank form with generic language. Some templates are free. Either way, you’re responsible for getting every detail right, including how the document is signed and witnessed. A mistake doesn’t just look sloppy. It can mean your will is thrown out entirely and your assets pass under Colorado’s default inheritance rules instead of your wishes. Whatever you save on drafting can be dwarfed by the litigation costs your family faces if a poorly written will is challenged.
Notary and Self-Proving Affidavit Costs
A self-proving will includes a sworn statement that lets the probate court accept it without tracking down your witnesses. To make one in Colorado, you acknowledge the will before a notary, and your two witnesses sign affidavits in front of the same notary confirming they saw you sign or acknowledge it.2Justia. Colorado Code 15-11-504 – Self-proved Will You can do this when you sign the will or add the affidavit later.
Colorado law caps notary fees at $15 per document for a traditional in-person notarization and $25 for an electronic or remote notarization.3Justia. Colorado Code 24-21-529 – Notary’s Fees Many banks, shipping stores, and libraries offer notary services, and some attorneys include notarization in their flat fee.
Later Costs to Plan For
The drafting fee is rarely the last dollar you spend on a will. A few costs tend to come up later:
- Updates after life changes. Marriage, divorce, the birth of a child, or a big change in assets usually calls for a revision. You can amend a will with a short addition called a codicil or replace it entirely. Either way, expect to pay attorney fees again or renew an online subscription.
- Secure storage. A fireproof home safe is a one-time purchase, and a bank safe deposit box carries an annual rental fee. Some attorneys will store original documents for clients at no extra charge.
- Executor compensation. Colorado entitles your personal representative and their attorney to “reasonable compensation” from the estate, with no fixed percentage. If anyone disputes the fee, a court decides what’s reasonable based on the estate’s size, the complexity of the work, and local rates. Family members serving as executor often waive compensation; a professional executor or corporate trustee will not.4Justia. Colorado Code 15-10-602 – Recovery of Reasonable Compensation and Costs5Justia. Colorado Code 15-10-603 – Factors in Determining Reasonableness of Compensation and Costs
Probate Filing Fees and Estate Tax
Probate costs are separate from the cost of creating a will, but worth knowing when you’re budgeting. Filing a standard probate case in Colorado district court costs $229. If the estate qualifies as a small estate, the filing fee drops to $113.6Colorado Judicial Branch. List of Fees For deaths occurring in 2026, an estate valued at $88,000 or less may qualify to use a simplified small-estate affidavit process that avoids full probate.7Colorado Judicial Branch. Guide to Collecting Decedent’s Personal Property The estate also typically pays attorney fees during administration, executor compensation, and any costs for publishing a notice to creditors.
Colorado does not impose its own estate tax or inheritance tax; the state effectively eliminated its estate tax for deaths occurring after 2004.8Colorado General Assembly. Estate Tax Federal estate tax applies only to estates exceeding $15,000,000 per person in 2026, with a married couple able to shelter up to $30,000,000 combined through portability.9IRS. IRS Releases Tax Inflation Adjustments for Tax Year 2026 For most Colorado residents, federal estate tax won’t be a factor and won’t affect what you spend on a basic will. If your estate is anywhere near that threshold, though, a simple will isn’t the right question. You need a comprehensive estate plan with trust structures and tax planning, and the attorney fees for that level of work reflect the complexity.