TITLE: CONCERNING INTESTATE SUCCESSION FOR COMMITTED PARTNERS, AND, IN CONNECTION THEREWITH, INSTITUTING A PROCEDURE FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMITTED PARTNERSHIPS.

Fiscal Impact Summary	FY 1999/2000	FY 2000/2001
State Revenues General Fund
State Expenditures General Fund
FTE Position Change	0.0 FTE	0.0 FTE
Other State Impact: TABOR
Effective Date: Upon signature of the Governor
Appropriation Summary for FY 1999-2000: None
Local Government Impact: Impact on the County Clerk and Recorder (See Local Government Impact Section)

The bill authorizes committed partners to stand in the same position and inherit from their deceased partners in the same way that a surviving spouse would inherit from their deceased spouse. To address the intestacy succession, the bill amends the provisions of the "Colorado Probate Code". The bill defines "committed partner" as a person who is a party to a committed partnership and defines "committed partnership" as a partnership between two adults who share a relationship. The bill provides five pieces of criteria that must be present for a committed partnership to fall under this definition and qualify for the bill's provisions.

The bill would have a fiscal impact only on local government. Currently, under the legal definition of marriage, a surviving spouse inherits the estate of a deceased spouse when a legal will has not been made. Colorado does not recognize same sex marriages, and therefore, should one partner become deceased without a legal will, the surviving partner is not entitled to the estate of the deceased

The bill adds language to the Probate Code to allow the inheritance of a deceased partner, having met the criteria set forth in the bill to inherit in the same way of a legal spouse. The bill requires a notarized affidavit to be filed with the county clerk and recorder in the county where one of the partners resides, along with a $7.00 filing fee. Additionally, should two committed partners wish to terminate their partnership, a notarized affidavit requesting termination must be filed with the county clerk and recorder where the original affidavit for a committed partnership was filed, with an additional $7.00 filing fee. As a result of filing requirements and collection of required fees, there would be a fiscal impact on local units of government. The workload of the county clerk and recorders would increase as a result of the extra filing procedures and the changes that would need to be implemented in computer programming. Since the affidavits would be permanent records, a system of filing and retrieval would need to be developed and implemented, in addition to setting aside space for the storage of the records. Although the number of persons filing an affidavit committing to a partnership or terminating a partnership cannot be estimated, the bill would increase the workload of the county clerk and recorders at the local level.

This fiscal note implies that no additional spending authority or appropriation is required for FY 1999-00 to implement the provisions of the bill.