Q: What happens if my adult children pass away without a will? As their mother, does their property all go to me?
A:
Yes, if your child did not have any estate planning, did not have a spouse, did not have a properly recorded designated beneficiary agreement, and did not have any children, then the intestacy laws would probably put the surviving parents first in line to inherit.
The details: Your adult child's estate (who died without a valid will or other estate planning devices) will pass to that child's spouse pursuant to Colorado Revised Statutes Section 15-11-102. If your child was not married and did not have a designated beneficiary agreement recorded (Section 15-11-102.5), then the child's estate would pass to the child's heirs as set forth in Section 15-11-103. Under this section of the Colorado Revised Statutes, the first heirs (again, assuming no spouse or designated beneficiary agreement) will be any children of your child. You, as a surviving parent, would be second in line. If there is more than one parent (as defined by the statute in Section 15-10-201(36)), they will all share the estate equally.
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