The challenge
I was approached by a family whose son had just passed away. There was a conflict over the probate of the estate between the parents and the son’s partner.
This was a very difficult time for the parents, who had just lost their son and they now had to face the additional emotional distress of the son’s partner contending the probate of the estate because she felt entitled to a share.
My approach
First, to establish what the full estate consisted of, we conducted an inventory of all the assets in the estate and tried to find a will. A will would have uncontestably clarified the situation. We discovered a will, but it had been drawn up during a previous marriage. The ex-spouse could not, as a matter of law, inherit since she was no longer the current spouse.
The division of the estate, therefore, came down to who was entitled to what part of the estate according to Colorado law. The key factor was whether the son’s current partner was deemed to be his girlfriend or his common-law spouse.
This made a difference because if she had been acknowledged as a common-law spouse for a certain length of time, she would have been entitled to be the personal representative of the estate to manage it and inherit up to half of the $1m estate.
If she had been deemed to be just a girlfriend, she would have been entitled to none of the estate and the entire estate would have gone to the parents as there were no other potential beneficiaries. We went to trial to fight her claim and try to ensure that the estate was distributed justly.
The result
We showed that the son’s partner had not been his common-law spouse, but only his girlfriend, and we won at trial. Not only were my clients awarded the whole estate, but an award of my attorney’s fees was also granted by the court. As well as ensuring the estate went to the right people, I was proud to have been able to give my clients peace of mind during a terrible time in their lives, after they had lost their son.
Find out more about estate probate and other services I offer on my Services page.
If you would like to get in touch about your situation, please call me on 720 457 4573 or email me at kate@rockymtnelderlaw.com.
