Why People File a Quitclaim Deed in Las Animas County
Just Got Married
A quitclaim deed is the quiet, unglamorous paperwork that usually follows a wedding when one spouse already owned the home.
Going Through a Divorce
A quitclaim deed after a divorce isn't about deciding who gets the property — that's already settled — it's just recording it.
Inherited Property
Some inherited properties pass through several title updates over the years — a quitclaim deed is the standard tool each time.
Gifting to Family
Some people gift property to family specifically to avoid probate later — a quitclaim deed is the document that makes the transfer now instead.
About the Las Animas County Clerk and Recorder
Las Animas County traces its name to the Purgatoire River, which early Spanish traders called El Rio de las Animas Perdidas (the River of Lost Souls). Trinidad, the county seat, grew up as the last major stop on the Mountain Branch of the Santa Fe Trail before it crossed into New Mexico, and by the early twentieth century the surrounding hills held some of the nation's most productive coal mines, with company camps like Cokedale, Starkville, and Sopris feeding coking ovens for regional steel production. Coal's decline after the 1920s reshaped the county's economy, which today rests more on ranching, tourism tied to its Santa Fe Trail and coal-camp history, and Trinidad's historic downtown.
Cities and Communities Served
Recording jurisdiction runs countywide, not by city limits — if the property sits anywhere within Las Animas County, this is the Las Animas County Clerk and Recorder that will accept the deed. That includes:
Incorporated cities: Trinidad (county seat), Aguilar, Branson, Cokedale, Starkville.
Unincorporated communities: Kim, Segundo, Weston, Model.
Office Details
Address: 200 E. First Street, Room 205, Trinidad, CO 81082
Phone: 719-846-3314
Hours: Monday - Friday, 7:00 AM - 5:15 PM
Recording Fee: Colorado sets recording fees by statute: the county charges a flat per-document fee regardless of page count, and the state adds a separate documentary fee calculated as a small percentage of the property's sale price whenever a deed transfers real estate.
How to File a Document
- Sign in Front of a Notary: Colorado requires the grantor's signature to be acknowledged before a notary public before the Las Animas County Clerk and Recorder will accept a deed for recording. No witnesses are required beyond the notary, and the grantee doesn't need to sign at all -- just the person giving up their interest in the property.
- Attach a Full Legal Description, Not Just an Address: A street address alone won't satisfy Colorado's requirements -- the deed needs the property's actual legal description (a metes-and-bounds description, a government survey reference, or a platted lot and block, depending on how the parcel was originally surveyed). You can usually copy this directly from the deed that transferred the property to you.
- Complete a Real Property Transfer Declaration (TD-1000): Colorado requires a separate Real Property Transfer Declaration (TD-1000) to accompany most deeds when they're filed, signed by the buyer or seller. It's a distinct form with its own signature, not a box you check on the deed -- the Las Animas County Clerk and Recorder can provide the current version and confirm whether your situation qualifies for an exemption.
- Consider Online Notarization if an In-Person Visit Is Hard: Colorado has permitted remote online notarization since Senate Bill 20-096 took effect on December 31, 2020 (C.R.S. § 24-21-514.5) -- so if getting to a notary's office in person is inconvenient, a signer may be able to complete the acknowledgment over live video with a Colorado-commissioned online notary instead.
- Record with the County Clerk and Recorder: Bring, mail, or (where the county supports it) e-file the signed, notarized deed and its Transfer Declaration with the Las Animas County Clerk and Recorder for the county where the property sits. Colorado's recording fee is set by state statute -- a flat rate per document -- and on top of that, Colorado charges a documentary fee calculated as a small percentage of the sale price, separate from the flat recording fee.
Still Have Questions About Filing With the Las Animas County Clerk and Recorder?
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Other Counties in Colorado
Filing somewhere else in the state? Here are a few other county pages:
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