# Inherited Mineral Rights in Colorado: What Heirs Should Do (2026) > Inherited mineral rights in Colorado? Whether you need probate, the affidavit and transfer on death routes, the dormant mineral rules, royalty payment law, unclaimed money, and the traps heirs hit. From a buyer who pays for the probate. Source: https://www.berlinroyalties.com/inherited-mineral-rights/colorado/ Publisher: Berlin Royalties, a veteran-owned oil and gas mineral and royalty buyer in Tulsa, Oklahoma, buying for its own account since 2014. Call or text 918-984-1645. License: free to quote and cite with attribution to Berlin Royalties and a link to the source URL. Inherited Minerals ยท Colorado ## Inherited mineral rights in Colorado: what heirs should do You inherited an interest in Colorado, or you are about to. Here is what the state actually requires to put it in your name, what can take it away if you do nothing, where the money goes when the operator cannot find you, and the order to do things in. Written by a mineral buyer who pays for the probate on a committed deal, so read it with that in mind. [Free Paperwork Review](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/shoebox/) [Text a Check Stub](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/text-your-check/) Updated November 2026. Written by [Stephen Clayman](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/stephen-clayman/), career landman and owner of Berlin Royalties. Statutes were checked against primary sources; this is general information from a buyer, not legal advice, and the state-specific details are the reason to call a Colorado attorney, not a substitute for one. ## Do I have to probate inherited mineral rights in Colorado? Yes, in one form or another. Colorado's small estate affidavit is personal property only and capped at $88,000 for 2026 deaths, so inherited minerals need a personal representative's deed from a probate, an order of distribution, or a decree of heirship under C.R.S. 15-12-1301, which any interested person, including an operator, can petition for a year after death. An affidavit of heirship is only prima facie evidence after 20 years of record. ## How title to Colorado minerals passes at death Minerals are real property. The C.R.S. 15-12-1201 affidavit for collection of personal property (form JDF 999) is personal property only, ten days after death, with a limit of $88,000 for 2026 deaths ($86,000 for 2025). An heir's title without a personal representative's deed, an order of distribution, or a decree of heirship is not record or marketable title, and a recorded affidavit of heirship becomes prima facie evidence only after 20 years of record. Where no administration was opened, C.R.S. 15-12-1301 and 15-12-1302 let any interested person, including an operator or lessee, petition the court for a determination of heirs and interests in property (form JDF 948) one year after death. Otherwise, an informal probate with a recorded personal representative's deed is the route. ## Can a transfer on death deed cover Colorado minerals? Yes. Colorado's beneficiary deed, C.R.S. 15-15-401 and following (2004), is a revocable deed conveying an interest in real property effective at death. It must be recorded before death. The form carries a Medicaid eligibility warning that is worth reading. ## Can my Colorado mineral rights lapse if nobody uses them? Colorado does not appear on the dormant mineral statute tables and we found no Colorado lapse statute; confirm with counsel. The related risk is C.R.S. 39-1-104.5, under which a surface owner can require the assessor to place a severed mineral interest on the tax roll, which creates a tax sale exposure for an interest nobody is watching. ## How Colorado royalties must be paid, and what late payment costs the operator C.R.S. 34-60-118.5: first payment within six months after the end of the month of first sale, then 60 days for oil and 90 days for gas after the end of the month, with $100 or less payable annually, and simple interest from the date of each sale at twice the Kansas City Federal Reserve discount rate. The Energy and Carbon Management Commission can adjudicate payment disputes. Our [letter generator](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/letter-generator/?type=demand) writes the statutory demand, and the full state table is on [royalty payment laws by state](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/royalty-payment-laws/). ## Where the money goes when the operator cannot find the heirs Search [Great Colorado Payback](https://unclaimedproperty.colorado.gov) under the decedent's name and every spelling of it. Mineral proceeds have a three-year dormancy under C.R.S. 38-13. The site moved to unclaimedproperty.colorado.gov in February 2026; the old address redirects. Our [unclaimed royalties](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/unclaimed-royalties/) hub covers the search in every state we buy in, and we run it free whether or not you sell. ## Taxes on inherited Colorado minerals No Colorado estate or inheritance tax. Inherited minerals take a federal stepped-up basis. The arithmetic is on our [capital gains and depletion page](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/mineral-rights-capital-gains-tax/), and a [date-of-death appraisal](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/mineral-appraisals/) is what documents the basis. ## The Colorado traps heirs actually hit - SB 19-181 changed forced pooling: an application now needs owners of more than 45 percent of the minerals to join, nonconsenting owners' royalty during payback rose to 13 percent for gas and 16 percent for oil, and operators may not use a nonconsenting owner's surface. Heirs who are not in pay status get carried as nonconsenting under those terms. - The surface owner can put your severed minerals on the tax roll under C.R.S. 39-1-104.5. Watch the county treasurer, not just the operator. - The determination-of-heirship petition can be filed by the operator. If you have not probated, someone else may decide who the heirs are. ## What to do, in order - **Gather the paper.** A check stub, a 1099, a division order, or a deed. Any one is enough to start; our [shoebox review](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/shoebox/) inventories a box of it from photographs, free. - **Confirm what the decedent owned** in the county records of every Colorado county involved. Our page on [finding out whether you own mineral rights](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/find-out-if-you-own-mineral-rights/) lists the free searches. - **Notify every operator** in writing with the death certificate and ask what is in suspense. The [letter generator](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/letter-generator/?type=death) writes it. - **Pick the title path above** with a Colorado attorney. If you are selling to us, we coordinate it and pay for it. - **Establish the date-of-death value** before anyone sells. - **Search unclaimed property** in Colorado and every other state the decedent owned in. - **Decide together.** One deed from the estate is cleaner than six from the heirs later; see [settling the estate](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/settle-the-estate/) and [selling your share](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/sell-your-share/). And read [when not to sell](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/when-not-to-sell/) first. The printable version of that list, with the title path for every state, is our [executor's checklist for mineral rights](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/executor-mineral-checklist/). ### Inherited Colorado minerals and not sure what they are? Send a photo of whatever you have. We will tell you what the family owns, what it pays, whether any money is sitting in suspense or with the state, what the title needs, and what it is worth, in writing and with the reasoning shown. Free, and the answer is the same whether or not you sell. [Get a Free Valuation](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/free-valuation/) [Text a Check Stub](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/text-your-check/) Or call or text [918-984-1645](tel:9189841645) and ask for Stephen. ## Questions Colorado heirs ask ### Can I transfer inherited Colorado minerals with a small estate affidavit? No. C.R.S. 15-12-1201 covers personal property only, capped at $88,000 for 2026. Minerals need a personal representative's deed, an order of distribution, or a decree of heirship under C.R.S. 15-12-1301. ### How long does a Colorado affidavit of heirship take to be good? Twenty years of record before it is prima facie evidence, which is why almost nobody relies on one for minerals. ### Is there a transfer on death deed in Colorado? Yes, the beneficiary deed under C.R.S. 15-15-401, recorded before death. ## Related - [Sell Colorado mineral rights](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/colorado/), the state page, with the counties and formations - [Inherited mineral rights](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/inherited-mineral-rights/), the general guide, and [how to transfer inherited minerals](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/transfer-inherited-minerals/) - [The executor's checklist](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/executor-mineral-checklist/) and [settling the estate](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/settle-the-estate/) - [For attorneys, CPAs, and trust officers](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/professionals/) - [Who buys mineral rights in Colorado](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/who-buys-mineral-rights/colorado/) - [Unclaimed royalties](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/unclaimed-royalties/) and [royalty payment laws by state](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/royalty-payment-laws/)