2026 Estate and Legacy Planning in Boulder & Louisville, CO

A will directs how your assets are distributed after death. A will is simple to put together, but needs to be probated, which is a court-supervised process managing the disposition of assets. As an alternative to a will, a living trust can manage assets during your lifetime and transfer them outside of probate at your passing, often with more control, efficiency and privacy. But using a living trust can mean more time and money upfront.

This is one of the first questions many people ask me regarding their estate plan. There is no right or wrong answer here, but the answer will influence how you should own assets now and in the future, and how these assets will flow through your estate plan. If you have built meaningful wealth over time, deciding which structure better fits the complexity of your financial life and the outcomes you want for your family will be important.

So What Does a Will Actually Do?

A will is the foundation of many estate plans. It allows you to:

• specify how your assets should be distributed,
• name a guardian and conservator for minor children,
• appoint an executor to carry out your wishes, and
• create trusts for the management and protection of assets after you pass.
  

Although utilizing a will means probate is inevitable, by titling assets a certain way or by using beneficiary or transfer on death designations for certain accounts, many assets can avoid the probate process and can go directly to the intended heir (more on this below).

Keep in mind: Colorado’s probate process is more streamlined than in many states. This means less time and expense might be required for a Colorado probate if the estate is smaller and well organized.

But if your financial life includes multiple accounts, real estate, privately held businesses, and/or more complex family considerations, probate can introduce delays, increased administrative work, unnecessary expenses, and public visibility. Whether probate should be avoided or minimized as much as possible is a good discussion to have with Peak Asset Management and your estate planning attorney.

How Does a Living Trust Work Differently from a Will?

A revocable living trust is often used when there are a considerable number of moving parts to coordinate, and it is generally considered advantageous to avoid probate. Instead of directing assets through probate, a living trust holds assets during your lifetime, receives any assets not owned by the trust after you pass, and outlines how they should be managed and distributed.

This trust structure can allow for:

• the avoidance of probate for assets properly titled in the name of the trust,
• continuity of management if you become incapacitated,
• more efficient and detailed control over how and when assets are distributed, and
• greater privacy, since trusts often avoid being part of the public record.
  

For example, if you own a home in Boulder County, hold multiple investment accounts, have rental properties or business interests, or have a considerable amount of private equity and alternative assets, a trust can serve as a central framework for managing these assets over your lifetime, during your spouse’s lifetime after you pass, and coordinate the distribution of these same assets to your heirs when your spouse passes.

But a trust only works as intended if it is properly funded. This means assets need to be retitled in the trust’s name, or a transfer on death (TOD) designation needs to be placed on accounts naming the trust as the designee. If this additional step is not done, assets may pass through probate regardless. Thus, you must be proactive and take this extra step once the document is executed. We often help clients with this analysis and this critical next step needed to make sure the full estate plan functions the way it was envisioned.

When Should You Consider a Living Trust in Colorado?

Consider establishing a living trust in Colorado if you have significant assets, real estate holdings in different states, multiple investment accounts, business interests or want to avoid probate and provide more structured control over how assets are distributed after you and/or your spouse are gone. 

For instance, if you own a house in Boulder and a condo in San Diego, utilizing a will alone will require probates to be opened in both Colorado and California. Transferring ownership of both properties into a living trust likely will avoid probate in both states, saving the estate significant time and costs. If you have a large net worth and you value confidentiality regarding the types of assts you own and the overall size of the estate, a living trust can provide this privacy, as the trust will typically not be required to be probated with the court. It will also shield the names of your heirs from public disclosure.

What Are the Tradeoffs Between a Will and a Living Trust?

As stated above, there is no right or wrong answer here. It is a matter of fit, preference, and understanding how each functions in its own unique way and then making an informed decision that accomplishes your objectives.

A will generally:

• is simpler to set up,
• does not require any retitling of assets,
• has lower costs upfront (but could be more expensive on the backend), and
• could be sufficient for less complex estates.
  

A living trust, on the other hand, generally:

• involves more upfront planning and coordination,
• requires ongoing maintenance (such as updating ownership of assets and beneficiaries),
• can avoid probate if properly funded,
• has higher costs upfront (but possible cost savings on the backend), and
• can result in greater flexibility and control over time.
  

From our perspective at Peak Asset Management, the decision often comes down to which of the above variables resonates more with the individual creating the plan. 

If your financial life is relatively straightforward, a will might suffice and be preferred. There is no reason to overcomplicate your plan if it is not justified. Simple can be better. But if you review the above factors and believe a living trust is a better overall fit to accomplish multiple objectives, the trust option may be the right choice.  

How Does This Decision Fit into Your Broader Estate Plan?

One of the most common misconceptions is that by choosing either a will or living trust, you might eliminate optionality within your estate plan. But you can put together the same overall estate plan with either foundational document. For example, if you would like trusts established for your two children after you pass away, you can take care of this through a will or a living trust. The same with the handling of any philanthropic intentions you might have. The result can be the exact same regardless of the tool utilized – just the process and administration will be different.

Whether you decide on a will or living trust, your balance sheet and assets still must be reviewed and assessed to understand how assets will flow through either structure. The retitling of assets should take place if you are utilizing a living trust, but not all assets can be retitled into the name of the living trust.

For example, even with a trust in place, retirement accounts cannot be retitled into the name of the trust. Just like if you were utilizing a will, beneficiary designations on retirement accounts should be used to direct the accounts to the proper heirs. If these designations are not used, heirs might still receive the accounts according to your plan, but it might take much longer to reach them, and they might have complications to deal with as a matter of law.

This is why coordination is so important once your foundational documents are executed.

The federal estate tax exemption in 2026 has increased to $15 million per individual ($30 million for married couples), with adjustments for inflation coming for 2027 and beyond. Colorado does not have an estate or inheritance tax (although other states do, and the threshold for exposure is typically much lower). But even if your estate (or joint estate) is well below the above level, long-term planning may still be important due to potential law changes, the future growth of your balance sheet, or exposure to other taxes.

Why Might Estate Tax Still Matter If You’re Below the Threshold Today?

Wealth can build over time through various means. By understanding growth rates, annual expenditures, cash flow needs, and your planning decisions, Peak can model outcomes, generate projections, monitor progress, and help you take proactive steps in your planning.

For example:

• A home purchased years or decades ago might appreciate at a growth rate faster than expected.
• Retirement accounts can grow tax-deferred and untouched until your 60s or 70s.
• Equity compensation tied to a company’s success can result in meaningful, concentrated positions later.
• The value of business or partnership interests might increase until sold, but also could result in significant capital gains tax exposure.
• An unexpectedly large inheritance could be received that could change the trajectory of your net worth.
  

All the above events are indeed welcome. But collectively, they can create a very different financial picture over a 10- to 30-year period. Sophisticated planning might be needed now to minimize potential tax exposure years into the future. If the planning is done retroactively after net worth has grown, the planning might be too late to provide maximum effectiveness.

For example, a family with a $3M home, $2M in retirement accounts, $3M in brokerage accounts, $3M in concentrated equity positions, and $10M in a partnership interest that will continue to grow and compound over time, could find themselves much closer to the estate tax thresholds in the future than originally anticipated. And if a $5M inheritance hits the balance sheet, this same family might instantly have hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars, in estate tax exposure. Time is your best ally when it comes to both growing your net worth and planning for estate tax.

How Do Potential Law Changes Affect Estate Planning Decisions?

Estate tax laws are not static. Exemption levels, tax rates, and planning opportunities can change with evolving legislative updates. While today’s limits may feel generous, these thresholds are not guaranteed to stay that way indefinitely. In fact, without the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed in mid-2025, the 2026 estate tax exemption levels would have dropped to approximately $7.5M for individuals and $15M for married couples, or half of what they are now. These changes can have a meaningful impact on estate planning strategies, depending on individual circumstances.

Future fluctuations in estate tax exemption thresholds might mean, depending on your specific facts and circumstances, you should plan to utilize some or all of the exemption during life to lock in an exemption amount that might not otherwise be there in the future. Planning isn't just about where laws and regulations stand today; it’s about creating flexibility for what could change in the future.

The goal also shouldn’t be to predict what tax laws will look like years from now. It’s to understand the planning possibilities now, take action where it is warranted, and structure a flexible plan that is adaptive to future changes.

What Role Does Estate Tax Planning Actually Play?

Estate tax planning is typically only a piece of the puzzle, and depending on priority, it can be a large piece or small one. Estate tax mitigation is often interwoven into other financial planning strategies that can include:

• the proper structuring of assets for an efficient transfer to the next generation,
• robust gifting strategies over time rather than all at once at death,
• generation skipping trusts for asset protection, and the management and control of family wealth,
• complex charitable planning techniques that can provide cash flow during life and charitable giving at death,
• maintaining an appropriate level of liquidity, especially if the estate is made up of mostly illiquid assets, and/or
• transferring discounted family business interests to children to shepherd the next generation.
  

For example, making gradual gifts over time may reduce the size of your taxable estate, provide cash flow or assets that can be used by heirs during your lifetime, while also allowing you control and flexibility in the gifting schedule. Similarly, adding life insurance to your estate plan through an irrevocable trust can eliminate the need to liquidate a business interest after death, if there remains estate tax exposure after other strategies have been implemented during life. There are countless planning techniques and strategies used for tax planning that can serve multiple purposes within your estate plan. Peak can help you assess the most effective strategies to use.

Asking whether you are subject to estate taxes today misses the mark because it doesn’t anticipate whether there could be exposure in the future. The better questions to ask are:

• “How might my financial picture change over time, and is my plan flexible enough to adapt to those changes?”
• “Are there strategies to deploy today that will set my balance sheet and estate up better in the future to help avoid exposure to estate and other taxes?”

This is where the value of planning comes in. A holistic financial plan addresses current actions to be taken while providing flexibility in the future for evolving circumstances.

You can reduce or avoid probate in Colorado by properly titling assets and using tools such as revocable living trusts, beneficiary designations, and transfer-on-death designations so assets pass directly to beneficiaries.

When people ask about avoiding probate, they likely are trying to achieve a smooth wealth transfer for their families. They want fewer delays, less administrative burden, and more privacy for how their assets are handled. As previously noted, Colorado’s probate system is more efficient than many other states, especially for smaller or less complex estates. 

This doesn't mean it’s always simple, particularly if you have a more complex financial situation. But a Colorado probate likely means less government interference than in other states, and for most people I talk to, this is appealing.  

So What Actually Happens During Probate in Colorado?

Probate is the court-supervised legal process used to settle a person’s final affairs after they pass away. At its most basic level, this process includes:

• Validating your will (if one exists)
• Identifying and valuing assets
• Paying debts and expenses
• Distributing assets to beneficiaries
  

But even if it is a streamlined Colorado probate, the process can still involve:

• Court oversight, which adds a formal layer to the process
• Time delays, especially if multiple assets, parties, and complications are involved
• Public disclosure, as all probate proceedings are part of the public record
  

The real key is minimizing the probate process by maximizing the planning around your balance sheet prior to you passing. Each of your assets may be titled differently, and each one may follow a different path when it comes time to transfer it. The asset will likely arrive at the desired destination, but the pathway there might be a long or short one. Without a well-orchestrated effort from a wealth management team in Boulder County that specializes in estate planning coordination, it’s possible that some of your assets may pass efficiently while others are pulled into probate unnecessarily.

What Strategies Can Help Reduce or Avoid Probate?

Avoiding probate or reducing the assets that flow into probate involves a combination of techniques. We’ve mentioned them above, but here they are in more detail:

1. Revocable Living Trusts:

A revocable living trust is a universally popular tool used to avoid or reduce the probate process. When assets are properly titled in the trust's name, they can pass directly to beneficiaries via the trust provisions without court involvement.

For example, a home in Louisville titled in the name of a trust can transfer according to the trust’s terms, rather than going through probate. The property would just need to be deeded to the trust and recorded for legal effect.

Creating a living trust is the first step. Assets must then be retitled or “funded” into the trust for it to function as intended. This is an intentional step in the planning process that is not required when one is only utilizing a will.

2. Beneficiary Designations:

Certain assets, like retirement accounts and life insurance policies, pass directly to named beneficiaries. These designations operate outside of your will or trust according to contract law. In fact, if there is a contradiction between your beneficiary designation and your will or living trust regarding a particular asset, the beneficiary designation will trump what is stated in your will or living trust.

When kept up to date, these designations can provide a simple and efficient way to transfer assets. However, if they’re outdated or inconsistent with your overall plan, they can create unintended outcomes and consequences. This is why regular reviews are important, especially after major life events. Peak regularly evaluates estate plans and beneficiary designations to make sure objectives are still being accomplished as intended.

3. Transfer-on-Death (TOD) and Payable-on-Death (POD) Designations:

Many financial accounts allow you to name a beneficiary using TOD or POD designations.

These function similarly to beneficiary designations:

• The account remains in your name during your lifetime.
• Upon death, it transfers directly to the named individual.
  

This can be a useful option for brokerage or bank accounts that are not held in a living trust. The account goes directly to the trust after your passing and does not move through a probate process first. These designations are typically easy to utilize across various accounts.

4. Joint Ownership Structures:

In some cases, assets held jointly, such as with joint tenants with rights of survivorship (JTWROS), can pass directly to the surviving owner. While this approach can avoid probate for the asset held jointly, it also raises questions about control, liability, and long-term planning. Spouses might use this type of ownership with their homestead, bank accounts or brokerage accounts.

Individuals should be careful utilizing joint ownership for property or accounts if the sole purpose is to simplify a transfer or avoid probate. For example, adding a child as a joint owner on an account or on the deed to your home may make the transfer process easier later, but it may also create unintended consequences. With the child now a half owner of the property, are there sufficient assets available to transfer to other children in order to equalize inheritances, if that is the intent? Otherwise, a final accounting might reveal that the overall inheritance to all children is an uneven split, especially if the largest asset is jointly owned with one child. And what happens if that same child is sued, divorces, has creditor issues, or files bankruptcy? This jointly owned asset could be exposed to judgment or other legal actions before it even becomes part of your estate plan.

Although avoiding probate or simplifying the transfer might be the goal, there are likely better strategies to deploy, and one should be careful to utilize an easy, yet imprudent choice.

There are several questions that need to be contemplated prior to implementing an estate plan. These questions will further the conversation and bring clarity to your overall plan: 

• What are my goals? What do I want my legacy to accomplish?
• Who should my fiduciaries be? Who are the appropriate people to make decisions on my behalf? 
• How are my current accounts and assets structured, and what is the optimal way to have assets and property titled? 
• How do I want my plan to affect my family? Are there family dynamics to consider?

• Are there potential tax or liquidity issues to think about and plan around?
  

These are both technical and personal questions that will shape the depth and scope of your plan. The answers to these questions will influence the plan's overall structure more than the choice of a will or living trust.

Fiduciary selections are a critical component to making sure your legacy plan is carried out with both prudence and purpose. Typically, you want to choose someone who is organized, trustworthy, and capable of handling complex financial and administrative responsibilities, not necessarily someone that is simply close to you.

The person or entity you choose could be responsible for:

• Managing assets in a thoughtful manner
• Making discretionary distributions based on guidelines and parameters
• Paying bills and creditors
• Communicating with beneficiaries
• Handling administrative and legal tasks, such as accounting work and filing tax returns
  

Managing the above and more requires knowledge, organization, judgment, and the ability to navigate family dynamics. In some cases, families choose a professional trustee to provide an added layer of objectivity and professionalism.

At Peak Asset Management, we often help clients think through these fiduciary decisions in terms of both capability and practicality, rather than simply defaulting to the closest relationship. Not everyone must be involved in carrying out your plan and wishes – some selections will just be better suited. Choose the appropriate parties for these roles wisely.

Charitable giving strategies, such as the utilization of donor-advised funds, charitable trusts, and tax-efficient gifting, can assist you in supporting causes you care about, meet long-term legacy goals, and provide significant tax savings, if done strategically and within the context of a larger financial plan.

Whether it’s supporting local organizations, environmental initiatives, medical research, education, or community programs, many families want their wealth to reflect more than just financial outcomes. They want their wealth to be impactful.

Peak helps clients develop comprehensive estate and legacy plans that answer the following question:

How do you incorporate charitable giving into your estate plan in a way that’s thoughtful, flexible, and aligned with your broader financial objectives?

Why Should Charitable Giving Be Part of Your Estate Plan?

For many families, charitable giving isn't just about writing checks during their lifetime to check a box. It’s about something much bigger. Clients often want to:

• create a lasting impact beyond their lifetime,
• involve children or future generations so values can be shared through time,
• structure giving in a way that matches family inheritance goals, and/or
• coordinate giving strategies with potential robust tax savings.

With the above in mind, charitable giving becomes intentional, and another building block to your legacy – one that sits alongside providing financial security for your family members.

What Are the Most Common Charitable Giving Strategies?

There is no single approach that fits every situation. Instead, the right strategy depends on your goals, timeline, tolerance for complexity, and the types of assets you own.

Here are some commonly used tools:

1. Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs)

A donor-advised fund is one of the most flexible and widely used options.

A DAF allows you to: 

• Make a charitable contribution (cash, appreciated securities, or other assets)
• Receive a tax deduction in the year of the contribution
• Distribute funds to charities on your preferred timeline
  

For example, if you have a year with higher income levels, perhaps due to the sale of a business or a liquidity event, you might contribute a larger amount into a DAF in that year, then gradually recommend grants to charities over time. This is called a “bunching” strategy, where you “bunch” together regular contributions to a DAF into a single year to combat a large taxable event to maximize the tax savings. This strategy separates the timing of the tax deduction from the timing of the charitable giving.

Many clients we work with use DAFs to involve family members, allowing children or future generations to participate in decisions about where funds are directed after you pass away. You can designate a child or children to manage the DAF after you are gone. Discuss with your designee(s) your legacy objectives related to the DAF prior to your passing.

2. Charitable Trusts

For more complex situations, charitable trusts can be a part of the conversation and charitable solution. This type of trust structure includes the following options:

• Charitable Remainder Trusts (CRTs), which can provide income to you or your beneficiaries for a period of time, with the remainder going to charity after the last beneficiary passes.
• Charitable Lead Trusts (CLTs), which directs income to a charity for a specified period, after which the remaining assets are transferred to your heirs.

These strategies are considered when there are:

• highly appreciated assets,
• a desire to create income or annuity streams, and/or
• a need to coordinate charitable intent with the transfer of family wealth.
  

These tools require more complex planning and administration but offer sophisticated solutions that can check several boxes with the use of one technique.

3. Direct Gifting and Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs)

In some cases, a simpler approach may be appropriate. Direct gifting allows you to give to charities during your lifetime without additional structures and complexities. You give and get a deduction. And with the enactment of OBBBA in 2025, you don’t need to itemize to receive an above-the-line deduction for a cash contribution for 2026.

For individuals over age 70½, Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) from IRAs can be a useful technique. QCDs transfers funds directly to a qualified charity from a tax deferred retirement account. This direct transfer can satisfy your required minimum distribution and reduce taxable income by excluding the distribution as income in the year the distribution is made. By lowering your adjusted gross income, the distribution can avoid higher Medicare premiums and reduce the taxable portion of social security benefits.

How Does Asset Selection Affect Charitable Giving?

One of the more nuanced aspects of charitable planning is what assets you choose to give. For example:

• Donating appreciated securities instead of cash helps you to avoid realizing capital gains on the securities in the future while still supporting a cause.
• Leaving certain retirement assets to charity can help maximize the tax efficiency of the estate plan – charities can receive taxable retirement accounts, liquidate them, and not pay any taxes. Heirs can then receive their inheritance from the will or living trust – which typically includes assets which have stepped up in basis. The inherited asset can then be sold and little or no capital gains tax is paid by the heir.
• Gifting a highly appreciated asset to a charitable trust can help save on capital gains tax by spreading the tax out over a much longer timeframe via trust distributions, if the asset is sold within the trust. This typically results in tax savings as the taxes are absorbed over time in smaller more manageable amounts.
  

Vetting the appropriate assets to give to charity during your life and at your passing should be an important part of your estate planning process. Only then does charitable planning begin to connect more directly with your broader investment and tax strategy.

Why Coordination Matters in Charitable Planning

Like other areas of estate planning, charitable giving works best when it’s intentionally coordinated with all aspects of your financial plan. At Peak, that often means looking at charitable strategies alongside:

• Your overall estate structure
• Your investment allocation
• Your retirement income plan
• The basis in your non-retirement assets
• Short- and long-term tax planning considerations
  

Without coordination, these pieces will function independently of one other which may result in inefficiencies or missed opportunities. For every action—or inaction—there is a consequence. With proper coordination, those consequences are anticipated and incorporated into the plan.

At Peak Asset Management, this coordination is central to our process. Analyzing how one action affects other aspects of your financial and tax planning is vital to making sound decisions. Thus, rather than treating estate planning as a separate exercise, it should be thoughtfully integrated into your broader financial plan.

Connect with our team to learn more about our estate and legacy planning.