If your spouse dies without a will, the Texas Intestate Succession rules govern who inherits their property.
For a married couple with children from their marriage only, the surviving spouse will inherit* the deceased spouse’s share of their home (that they owned together). If the deceased spouse owned real property separately (for example a home he had before their marriage), their children would inherit that property and the surviving spouse would only receive a lifetime right to use the property, not ownership to it. If the deceased spouse had children from outside the marriage, the surviving spouse would receive none of the deceased spouse’s share (but she would retain her own ½ community property interest).
In a scenario where the married couple did not have children, the surviving spouse would inherit* the deceased spouse’s share of their home (that they owned together). However, if the deceased spouse owned real property separately (for example a home he had before their marriage), the surviving spouse would only inherit half of his interest, with the remaining half interest divided between the deceased spouse’s surviving parent(s) and/or siblings.
Our best advice for clients is to create a will and/or trust and make sure your most valuable assets are passed to according to your wishes, not state succession rules.
*Before any ownership is determined and title can transfer to the rightful owner, the surviving spouse must petition the Court for a judicial determination of heirship to formally identify and prove the true heirs and proper ownership interests. This process is very long and time consuming and will require research into the family history as well as witness testimony into the facts of the life and family of the deceased.
