When a Colorado resident dies without a valid will, the state’s intestate succession statute decides who inherits and in what proportions. The hierarchy starts with the surviving spouse, then moves to children and grandchildren, then parents, then siblings and their descendants, and outward from there. The exact share the spouse takes depends on whose children are alive at the time of death, and several dollar thresholds in the statute adjust for cost of living each year.
What the Surviving Spouse Gets
Colorado sorts spousal shares into five scenarios, and the difference between them almost always comes down to one question: are all of the deceased’s children also the spouse’s children, and does either party have children from another relationship?
- No surviving descendants and no surviving parents: the spouse inherits the entire estate.
- All surviving descendants are children of both spouses, and the surviving spouse has no children from any other relationship: the spouse inherits the entire estate.
- No surviving descendants, but a parent of the deceased is still alive: the spouse receives the first $200,000 plus three-fourths of the remaining balance, with the rest going to the surviving parent or parents.
- All surviving descendants are children of both spouses, but the surviving spouse has one or more children from another relationship: the spouse receives the first $150,000 plus three-fourths of the remaining balance.
- One or more of the deceased’s surviving descendants are not descendants of the surviving spouse: the spouse receives the first $150,000 plus one-half of the remaining balance.
Those dollar figures are statutory base amounts that Colorado adjusts periodically for cost of living under CRS 15-10-112, so an estate probated today may see somewhat higher thresholds. The probate court applies the adjusted figure in effect at the date of death.
The scenario people miss most often is the fourth one. Even when every child of the deceased is also a child of the surviving spouse, the spouse does not automatically inherit everything if the spouse has a child from a different relationship. That outside child changes the split.
What Children and Grandchildren Get
If there is no surviving spouse, the deceased’s children split the entire estate equally. If a spouse survives, the children divide whatever remains after the spousal share.
Colorado distributes among descendants using a method called per capita at each generation. When a child of the deceased has already died but left children of their own, those grandchildren step up, but the shares at each generational level are pooled and divided equally rather than following strict family branches.
Take a common example. The deceased had three children. One predeceased the parent, leaving two grandchildren behind. The two surviving children each take a one-third share. The remaining one-third does not automatically split down the deceased child’s branch. Instead, the shares belonging to deceased members of that generation are combined and divided equally among the next generation of descendants. In this simple case each grandchild still ends up with one-sixth, but with more complex family trees the per-capita-at-each-generation method can produce different results than a traditional per-stirpes split.
When Parents, Siblings, and More Distant Relatives Inherit
If the deceased leaves no surviving spouse and no descendants, the estate passes to the parents equally, or entirely to one parent if only one survives.
If no parent survives, the estate moves to the parents’ descendants: the deceased’s siblings, and any children of siblings who died before the deceased. The same per-capita-at-each-generation method controls the split.
If no siblings or their descendants can be found, the line extends to grandparents and then to descendants of grandparents, meaning aunts, uncles, and cousins. The statute divides between the paternal and maternal sides when relatives exist on both.
If No Heirs Can Be Found
When the court cannot locate any living heir after a diligent search, the estate escheats to the state. Colorado law disfavors escheat, so courts resolve doubt in favor of potential heirs. But if no one with a legal claim comes forward, the property passes into state custody.
The 120-Hour Survival Rule
An heir has to survive the deceased by at least 120 hours, meaning five full days, to inherit under Colorado’s intestate rules. Without clear and convincing evidence that the heir lived that long past the deceased’s death, the law treats the heir as having died first. The rule matters most when family members die close together in time, such as in a car accident. It prevents property from passing through one estate and immediately into another, and it keeps assets from sliding to an unintended branch of the family.
What Does Not Pass Through Intestate Succession
Not everything the deceased owned is governed by the intestate hierarchy. Several common asset types transfer automatically, regardless of whether a will exists:
- Life insurance and retirement accounts pass to whoever is named on the beneficiary designation form. A 401(k) with a named beneficiary goes to that person even if the intestate statute would point elsewhere.
- Real estate or bank accounts held in joint tenancy with right of survivorship pass directly to the surviving co-owner the moment the other owner dies. Probate never touches them.
- Payable-on-death and transfer-on-death accounts go straight to the named beneficiary. The designation controls, even against a conflicting will.
This is where most family confusion starts. Relatives sometimes assume every asset will be divided under the statutory hierarchy, only to find that the largest accounts already transferred to a named beneficiary. The intestate rules apply only to what would otherwise pass through probate — the remainder after non-probate transfers.
Special Situations
Adopted Children
Colorado treats adopted children exactly like biological children for inheritance purposes. Adoption establishes a full parent-child relationship for succession, and an adopted child has the same right to a share as any biological child.
Common-Law Marriage
Colorado is one of the few states that still recognizes common-law marriage, and a common-law spouse has the same inheritance rights as a spouse who married with a license and ceremony. The difficulty is proving the marriage exists when someone disputes it. The surviving partner may need to establish the marriage in probate court before receiving a spousal share, using evidence like shared finances, cohabitation, and whether the couple held themselves out publicly as married.
Posthumous Children
A child conceived before the parent’s death but born afterward generally inherits the same as a child alive at the parent’s death. Children conceived after death through assisted reproduction are treated differently. In those cases there generally must be evidence that the deceased parent consented to posthumous use of their genetic material and intended for the resulting child to be treated as their heir.
Who Cannot Inherit
The Slayer Rule
Colorado’s slayer statute bars anyone who feloniously kills the deceased from inheriting from the estate. The law defines a felonious killing as one resulting in a conviction for, guilty plea to, or no-contest plea to first-degree murder, second-degree murder, or manslaughter. A disqualified person is treated as having died before the deceased, so their share drops to the next heir in line. The forfeiture reaches beyond the intestate share, extending to the elective share, homestead exemption, exempt property, and family allowance.
Parents Barred From a Child’s Estate
A parent can be disqualified from inheriting from a child’s estate in two situations. First, if the parent’s rights were formally terminated and never judicially restored. Second, if the child died before turning 18 and there is clear and convincing evidence that the parent’s rights could have been terminated based on nonsupport, abandonment, abuse, or neglect. A disqualified parent is treated as having predeceased the child.
When a Will Covers Only Part of the Estate
Partial intestacy happens when a will exists but does not address every asset. Whatever the will covers passes according to its terms; everything else follows the intestate hierarchy. It is more common than people expect. A will might dispose of the house and investment accounts but say nothing about a vehicle, personal belongings, or a bank account opened after the will was signed.
The result can be awkward. A friend named in the will might receive the house, while a forgotten bank account passes to a sibling under intestate rules. A residuary clause in the will, directing where any unmentioned assets should go, prevents that split.
Colorado’s Small Estate Affidavit
Not every intestate estate needs a full probate case. For estates with a gross value at or below $88,000 (the threshold for deaths occurring in 2026), Colorado lets heirs collect the deceased’s personal property using a small estate affidavit rather than opening formal probate. The procedure is governed by CRS 15-12-1201 and 15-12-1202 and can save significant time and expense when the estate is modest.