When talking about preparing CO Wills, many people say “I don’t want the state to get everything”. Is this possible? Yes. However, this doesn’t often happen. When a person dies without a Will, it is called dying intestate. There are Colorado Statutes which direct how your assets pass under intestacy, but the statutes do not automatically direct that all of your assets go to the State. When a person dies intestate, after the payment of debts and other expenses of the estate, a person's property passes to their heirs at law. Only if there are no surviving heirs-at-law under the statutes would the property ever pass (escheat) to the State of Colorado.

Although Colorado intestacy statutes distribute your property to your heirs at law in the absence of a Will, relying on intestacy is not proper estate planning. Only valid COWills created by an Attorney can give you the peace of mind that your estate passes exactly according to your wishes and avoids the unnecessary expenses associated with administering an intestate estate in the probate court.