Except in limited circumstances, children generally do not have a right to inherit anything (real property or personal property) from their parents. Laws do vary from state to state and in some states, for example, the head of a household may be prohibited from leaving the family homestead to anyone other than a surviving spouse or minor child if such person is alive.

And most states have laws that protect children (and sometimes grandchildren) against accidental inheritance in certain limited circumstances. These laws usually apply when a child is born after a parent’s will is executed, and because the will leaves property to the child’s siblings, it appears that the parent did not intend to disinherit the new child. In this circumstance the child who was not mentioned in the will may be eligible to inherit a portion of the estate like the child’s siblings. Such an omitted child is also known as a pretermitted child or a pretermitted heir.

In states with pretermitted child laws, the laws are usually located in the state’s statutes—often in the estates code or probate code.

In Colorado, children do not have an automatic right to inherit from their parents, except under certain circumstances. Colorado law, like many states, includes provisions to protect children who may have been unintentionally omitted from a will. Specifically, Colorado's probate code addresses the issue of pretermitted or omitted children. If a child is born or adopted after the execution of a parent's will and the will does not provide for that child, nor demonstrate an intention to exclude the child, then the child may have a right to a share of the estate. This share is typically equivalent to what they would have received if the parent had died intestate (without a will). However, if the will explicitly disinherits the child or it's clear that the omission was intentional, the child may not have a right to inherit. Additionally, if the parent made other provisions for the child outside of the will, this might also affect the child's right to inherit under the pretermitted child statutes. It's important to note that these protections generally do not apply if the parent has intentionally excluded a child from the will with clear language or if the parent has provided for the child by other means.