Are you looking for a will lawyer in Severance, CO?

At W.B. Moore Law, we are trusted will lawyers serving clients across Severance and the surrounding area.

If you want to decide who inherits your property and who will carry out your wishes, a will is the document that makes those choices legally binding. At W.B. Moore Law, our Severance, CO will lawyer brings more than four decades of estate planning practice to every will we prepare, drafting language that is clear, valid, and built around your family. Schedule a consultation, and we will help you put your intentions in writing.

Will Lawyer Severance, CO

A will is a legal document that spells out how your property should be handled after you die. It names the person who will administer your estate, directs specific gifts to the people or causes you choose, and lets parents nominate guardians for minor children. Without a will, Colorado law fills those gaps with default rules, and the outcome may not reflect what you wanted.

Our Severance will attorney prepares that document so it says exactly what you mean and stands up if it is ever challenged. We start by understanding your assets and your family, then draft accordingly. Detail is everything here. A single ambiguous clause or an improperly witnessed signature can drag an otherwise simple estate into a court dispute. A will drafted with care keeps your affairs out of unnecessary conflict, gives the people you love a clear roadmap, and lets you rest knowing the document will hold when it is needed.

Types of Will Cases We Handle in Severance

The right will depends on what you own and who counts on you, and those two facts alone can point toward very different documents. We do not hand clients a generic form. Instead, we draft each will around the specifics of the situation, and the matters below are the ones our Severance will lawyer sees most.

Simple wills. For clients whose estates are uncomplicated, we prepare a clean, valid will that names beneficiaries and a personal representative. Even here, precise wording matters, because vague language is what heirs end up disputing.
Wills with guardianship provisions. Parents rely on a will to say who should raise their children. We draft guardianship of minor children provisions, including backup choices, so the court has clear direction.
Blended family wills. Second marriages and stepchildren create competing interests. We draft terms that provide for a surviving spouse while protecting children from a prior relationship, so no one is left guessing.
Business owner wills. If part of your estate is a company, your will has to account for it. We coordinate the will with succession terms and, where useful, a financial power of attorney so the business is not left in limbo.
Wills coordinated with other transfers. Retirement accounts and life insurance pass by beneficiary designations, not the will itself. We check that these line up with the will so nothing is missed or duplicated.
Trusts. Some clients pair a will with a trust to manage assets or reduce probate. We explain when adding a trust lawyer to the plan makes sense and when a will alone is enough.
Special needs trusts. When a beneficiary receives public benefits, an outright gift can do harm. We coordinate the will with a special needs trust so support does not disrupt eligibility.

Why Choose W.B. Moore Law as my Will Lawyer in Severance, CO?

A Practice Built Over Four Decades

The firm is led by founder W.B. Moore, admitted in New York in 1984 and in Colorado in 2002, with a practice centered on estate planning, probate, and business law. He holds a law degree from UCLA School of Law and once taught entrepreneurship law as a professor at the University of Illinois. His career has spanned modest estates and layered ones, including advising high-net-worth clients.

Wills as Part of a Larger Plan

A will rarely stands entirely alone, which is why we also handle the broader work of an estate planning lawyer in Severance, CO. We have prepared wills and estate plans for Colorado families in many different situations, from first-time parents to retirees revising documents drafted years ago, and we bring that record to your matter. As a member of the Colorado Bar Association, our founder stays current on the rules that govern how wills are written and honored here. When your will is settled after death, we can also guide your family as a probate lawyer, so the same firm that drafted the plan can help carry it out.

What Is Important To Understand About Will Cases?

What Makes a Will Valid in Colorado

A will only carries legal force if it meets Colorado’s requirements. Miss one, and the document can be challenged or thrown out. The core elements include:

A person of legal age and sound mind, acting voluntarily
A written document stating how property should pass
Signing that follows the formalities Colorado law requires
A named personal representative to carry out the instructions
Clear identification of beneficiaries and any specific gifts

We handle each of these so the finished will reflects your intent and satisfies the formal rules. Capacity and voluntariness deserve particular attention, because a will signed under pressure invites a challenge from anyone who feels shortchanged. Proper drafting and witnessing shut that door before it can open.

What Are Important Aspects of a Will?

A handful of choices drive most wills, and they deserve real thought rather than a quick guess. Settling them carefully now saves your family considerable trouble down the line.

Selecting a personal representative who is organized and fair
Nominating guardians if you have minor children
Deciding how property that passes outside the will fits the plan
Reviewing the will after marriage, divorce, or a new child
Storing the signed original where it can be found

What Is the Will Case Timeline?

Preparing a will is usually quick, and the pace depends mostly on how ready your information is. A typical path looks like this:

An initial consultation to review your assets, family, and goals
A draft prepared for your review, often within a couple of weeks
Revisions based on your feedback
A signing meeting with the formalities handled correctly
Guidance on storage and coordination with other documents

Working with a lawyer avoids the errors that surface in do-it-yourself forms and later turn into probate problems. If you want to understand what happens when you write your own will, we are glad to explain where that approach holds up and where it fails.

What Should You Bring to Your Will Consultation?

A bit of preparation makes the first meeting more productive. If you can, gather:

A rough list of what you own and its approximate value
Names of the people and charities you want to include
Any existing will or estate planning documents
Details about minor children and possible guardians
Notes on business interests or out-of-state property

You do not need all of it to start. A short summary is enough for us to point you in the right direction, and we build from there. Most first meetings take under an hour, and you will leave knowing what your will should cover and what the next step is. Many clients simply want to protect their legacy and are not sure where to begin, and that is exactly the conversation we are here to have.

What Are Important Colorado Legal Resources for Wills?

The rules that govern wills in Colorado are public, and a few official sources let you confirm what you read here. These are places to find the law, not a replacement for advice about your own situation.

The Colorado Revised Statutes publish the state’s probate and trust provisions in full.
The Colorado Judicial Branch provides self-help resources for wills and estates.
The Colorado Bar Association posts public legal brochures on wills and estate matters for the public.
For estates large enough to owe federal tax, the IRS explains the rules on its estate and gift taxes pages.
The IRS also keeps a general estate tax overview for executors.
The Colorado Judicial Branch publishes probate forms and instructions for settling an estate.

Reach Out to W.B. Moore Law to Schedule a Consultation

A will is one of the most useful documents you can sign, and it does not need to be complicated to be done right. We will listen to your situation, answer your questions, and prepare a will that fits your life. To begin, contact us to schedule a consultation with our Severance will lawyer, and we will respond promptly to set up a time that works for you.

Will Statistics in Severance, CO

Severance held roughly 3,165 people at the 2010 census. It holds several times that today, and the households moving in are buying property at prices that push most estates past the point where a handshake understanding among relatives will hold up.

Household composition drives the work as much as property values do. Close to a third of the town is under 18, so guardianship nominations come up in a large share of the wills we draft here rather than sitting at the bottom of a checklist. For many young families in Severance, figuring out how to manage assets for minor children is the reason they begin estate planning. The single largest asset in most estates is real property that has to be dealt with by title, by deed, or by the will itself.

Census Bureau QuickFacts put Severance at 11,841 residents as of July 1, 2025, a 53.5% increase over the 2020 base count.
The owner-occupied housing rate in Severance is 91.6%.
The median value of an owner-occupied home in town is $528,500.
Severance has 3,373 households averaging three people each.
Weld County added 7,146 residents between July 2024 and July 2025, the largest numeric gain of any Colorado county, according to the State Demography Office.

Common Causes of Will Disputes in Severance, CO

A document that reads clearly on signing day can still end up in front of a judge a decade later. The disputes we see trace back to a short list of recurring problems, and nearly every one of them is fixable while the will is still being drafted.

Vague or contradictory language. Phrases like “my personal belongings” or “divide equally among my children” sound settled until two heirs read them differently. We define terms, identify property specifically, and remove wording that could support more than one reading.
Execution errors. Colorado sets formal requirements for how a will is signed and witnessed. A document that misses one of them can be challenged, and the challenge often succeeds regardless of what the person actually wanted. We handle the signing meeting ourselves so this never becomes an issue.
Questions about capacity. A will signed while someone was ill, medicated, or declining cognitively invites scrutiny. Anyone with standing to contest a will will look here first, so we document capacity carefully at signing.
Undue influence allegations. When one relative arranges the appointment, drives the client to it, sits in on it, and then receives a noticeably larger share, the pattern draws attention from everyone else named in the document. Our Severance will attorney meets with clients privately for exactly this reason.
Beneficiary designations that contradict the will. Retirement accounts, life insurance, and payable-on-death bank accounts pass by designation rather than through the will. If a form filled out years ago still names an ex-spouse or a deceased parent, the will does not override it, and the family usually discovers the mismatch only after the money has moved.
No valid will at all. Colorado’s default rules then decide who inherits, and those rules ignore stepchildren, unmarried partners, and any private promises made during life. We walk clients through Colorado’s intestacy laws so the stakes are concrete.
Joint wills that lock in terms. Married couples sometimes sign a single document that cannot be revised after one spouse dies. We explain when joint wills create more rigidity than a couple actually wants.
A missing original. Photocopies raise questions the family cannot always answer, and a will nobody can find may as well not exist. We give every client direction on how to store their will safely.
An unprepared personal representative. Naming someone is one thing. Leaving them a letter of instruction with account information, passwords, and your reasoning is what keeps the administration from stalling.
Second marriages and stepchildren. Competing loyalties surface quickly when a surviving spouse and adult children from a prior marriage both have claims on the same house or the same account. Terms drafted with that tension in mind hold up far better than terms drafted as though it does not exist, and the drafting conversation is usually more candid than families expect.

Severance Will Lawyer FAQs

How much does a will cost in Severance, CO?

Cost depends on what you own and how complicated the distribution is. A straightforward will for a couple with one home and adult children takes far less work than a plan involving a business, out-of-state property, or a beneficiary receiving public benefits. We discuss cost at the first meeting, before you commit to anything.

Do I need an attorney to write a will in Colorado?

Colorado does not require one. Whether that is wise is a separate question. The errors we see in do-it-yourself documents tend to surface in probate, when nobody can correct them, and the cost of untangling an ambiguous clause usually exceeds what the drafting would have cost.

What happens if I die without a will in Severance?

State law supplies the answer instead of you. Your property passes according to a fixed order of relatives, your children’s inheritance may be handled in a way you would not have chosen, and no one you specifically wanted to include gets anything unless they happen to fall inside that order.

How often should I review my will?

Every three to five years is a reasonable rhythm, and any major life change should prompt a look sooner. Marriage, divorce, a birth, a business sale, or a move across state lines can leave a once-accurate document out of step with your situation.

Can I change my will after it is signed?

Yes. You can amend it with a codicil or replace it entirely, and replacement is usually cleaner. Stacking amendments on an old document creates the kind of layered record that heirs argue about, so we generally rewrite rather than patch.

Who should I name as my personal representative?

Pick someone organized, available, and even-handed rather than simply the oldest child. The job involves inventories, creditors, court filings, and communication with people who may disagree with each other. We help clients think through who to appoint as their executor and who to name as a backup.

Does having a will avoid probate?

No. A will directs how probate turns out. It does not skip the process. Clients who want to reduce what passes through court often pair the will with a revocable trust, and our Severance will attorney can explain whether that combination fits your estate.

What is the difference between a will and a power of attorney?

A will takes effect after death. A power of attorney operates while you are alive, authorizing someone to act for you if you cannot act for yourself. Most complete plans include both, because each covers a period the other does not touch.

I moved to Severance with a will from another state. Is it still good?

Usually it remains valid, but valid is a lower bar than effective. Terminology, execution formalities, and property rules differ enough that we recommend a review after moving to Colorado.

Will my family owe estate tax?

Most Colorado estates do not, though the answer depends on total value and how assets are titled. For larger estates, planning choices made during your lifetime matter more than anything the will can do, and we can walk through options to minimize estate taxes if your situation calls for it.

Important Resources for Severance, CO Will Cases

Weld County Probate Court and Local Resources

Severance sits in Weld County, so wills signed here are eventually administered through the Weld County District Court in Greeley, roughly eleven miles southeast of town. Probate matters are handled at the courthouse on 9th Avenue, and the clerk’s office maintains the filings once an estate is opened. The Self-Help Center in the Centennial Center building assists people appearing without counsel, though staff there cannot give legal advice.

What Are Important Local Resources for Severance Wills?

Several offices in the county come up regularly for clients preparing or administering a will.

Weld County Courthouse, 901 9th Avenue, Greeley, (970) 475-2400
Weld County Clerk and Recorder, Recording Department, 1250 H Street, Greeley, (970) 304-6530
Weld County Area Agency on Aging, 315 N. 11th Avenue, Greeley, (970) 400-6950
Colorado Legal Services, Greeley office, 912 8th Avenue, (970) 353-7554
Town of Severance, 3 S. Timber Ridge Parkway, (970) 686-1218

W.B. Moore Law lists these offices for convenience only. We do not endorse them, receive anything from them, or vouch for the services they provide.

About W.B. Moore Law

W.B. Moore Law is a small practice by design, and the founder has been in law since 1982, starting in tax work before building the estate planning side of the practice. He has advised clients across the full range of estate complexity, including heirs to the Rockefeller fortune, and other law firms have brought him in on their own estate and probate questions. He returned to practice after a spinal cord injury, which shapes how he talks with clients facing health limits of their own. Clients work with him directly rather than through staff.

What Our Clients Say

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“I contacted Bill to help update my parents’ will and he was very helpful and completed them in a timely manner. He also took the time to come to my parents’ home to have them sign the documents since they were unable to get to his office. I highly recommend Bill to anyone who is looking to start a will.” Laura Bonner

Additional Resources for Severance, CO Will Cases

Contact W.B. Moore Law

Putting a will in place is a finite task, and the version you sign should reflect your family rather than a template. Bring what you have, including a rough asset list and the names you are considering, and we will tell you plainly what your will needs to cover. Contact us to schedule a consultation with our Severance, CO will lawyer. We answer inquiries promptly and will find a meeting time that fits your schedule.