Updated September 4, 2026. Quick answer: in Colorado, dying without a will does not mean the state keeps the estate; it means Colorado’s intestacy statute (C.R.S. §15-11-102) decides who gets it, and the surviving spouse usually does not take everything. The single most common misunderstanding on this page: a stepchild or a child from an earlier relationship can cut the spouse’s share sharply below what most people assume.
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What this guide covers
Who inherits from Colorado residents who die without a will is set by statute, not custom: C.R.S. §15-11-102 and the sections around it. It governs only the probate estate: what is left after retirement accounts and life insurance with a living named beneficiary, payable-on-death accounts, property in joint tenancy with survivorship, and anything already in a funded trust have already passed outside it. This page covers the spouse’s share, who inherits if there is no spouse, and the rules that can change the answer: half-blood relatives.
The spouse’s share
When the spouse takes everything: Spouse takes the ENTIRE intestate estate if: no descendant OR parent survives; or all surviving descendants are also the spouse’s and the spouse has no other descendant. If a parent survives but no descendant, the spouse takes the first $300,000 (indexed) plus three-fourths of any balance, so the spouse takes everything only when the estate is no larger than that first amount.
When it is less than everything: ‘The first three hundred thousand dollars, plus three-fourths of any balance, if no descendant of the decedent survives the decedent, but a parent of the decedent survives’; ‘the first two hundred twenty-five thousand dollars, plus one-half of any balance … if all of the decedent’s surviving descendants are also descendants of the surviving spouse and the surviving spouse has one or more surviving descendants who are not descendants of the decedent’; ‘the first one hundred fifty thousand dollars, plus one-half of any balance … if one or more of the decedent’s surviving descendants are not descendants of the surviving spouse.’ Dollar figures indexed for cost-of-living adjustment under §15-10-112.
The first three hundred thousand dollars, plus three-fourths of any balance of the intestate estate, if no descendant of the decedent survives the decedent, but a parent of the decedent survives the decedent (C.R.S. §15-11-102(2)).
Source: C.R.S. §15-11-102
If a DIY will fits your situation in Colorado
In Colorado, a surviving spouse can end up sharing the estate with a stepchild or a child from an earlier relationship under the default rules above; a will is what lets you decide that instead of the statute. LawDepot builds a state-specific last will and testament.
LawDepot pays us a commission if you buy through this link; it costs you nothing extra. We are not a law firm and this is not legal advice. Affiliate Disclosure.
Who inherits if there is no spouse
Descendants per capita at each generation; if none, parents (one share to each surviving parent and one to each deceased parent with surviving descendants, the balance per capita at each generation to those descendants); if none, descendants of parents per capita at each generation; if none, grandparents (one share to each surviving grandparent and one to each deceased grandparent with surviving descendants, the balance per capita at each generation to those descendants); if none, descendants of grandparents per capita at each generation; if there is no taker, the estate passes to the State of Colorado. A designated beneficiary under a designated beneficiary agreement (C.R.S. §15-11-102.5) takes the entire estate if no descendant survives, or one-half if descendants survive.
Rules that change the outcome
Half-blood relatives: Full share. C.R.S. §15-11-107: ‘An heir inherits without regard to how many common ancestors in the same generation the heir shares with the decedent.’ Half-blood relatives therefore take the same share as whole-blood relatives.
What a will changes
A will does not just skip the statute above; it lets you choose who gets Colorado property that the intestacy rules would send somewhere else: a spouse who would otherwise share the estate with a stepchild, a partner who is not married and inherits nothing under intestacy at all, or specific people the statute’s ladder never reaches. It also lets you name an executor rather than leaving the court to appoint one. What it does not change: assets that already pass outside probate: a will has no effect on a beneficiary designation, a payable-on-death account, or property held in joint tenancy.
General information drawn from state intestate-succession statutes, not legal advice. Who inherits without a will is STATE law and differs in every state; the spouse’s share, the order of inheritance, and how half-blood and community-property rules apply all change, and every figure here is sourced and dated. We are not a law firm and this is not legal advice.