Colorado Probate Without a Will (Intestacy)

When someone dies without a will in Colorado, the estate is distributed according to the state's Intestacy statutes §15-11-102. These default rules determine who inherits, in what proportions, and who has priority to serve as Administrator.

If there is a surviving spouse

• Spouse inherits the entire estate if no surviving descendants, or if all descendants are also descendants of the surviving spouse and the spouse has no other descendants
• Spouse receives first $300,000 plus three-fourths of the balance (base amount; adjusted annually for CPI per C.R.S. 15-10-112) if the deceased has surviving parents but no children
• Spouse receives entire estate (if neither decedent nor spouse has other descendants) if there are surviving children who are also children of the surviving spouse
• Spouse receives first $150,000 plus one-half of the balance (if decedent has descendants not of the surviving spouse); first $225,000 plus one-half if the surviving spouse has other descendants but decedent does not (base amounts; adjusted annually for CPI) if there are surviving children who are not children of the surviving spouse

If there is no surviving spouse

• Descendants take per capita at each generation
• If no descendants: parents inherit equally
• If no parents: siblings (and their descendants) share equally
• Grandparents or their descendants, split by paternal and maternal sides

Without a will naming an Executor, the court appoints an administrator. Colorado law establishes a priority order: surviving spouse, then next of kin, then the largest creditor, or another suitable person at the judge's discretion.

• No ability to choose who receives specific items or property
• No ability to name who should serve as Personal representative
• No ability to disinherit a statutory heir (intestacy follows a fixed formula)
• No ability to designate a guardian for minor children
• Distribution may not reflect the deceased person's actual wishes