If a couple owns property as community property and one spouse dies testate and the spouse who died had children outside of this marriage, how will the community property be distributed?

• A. By court order
• B. Equally among all heirs
• C. According to the will
• D. According to statute of descent

Answer: (C)

In community-property states, property acquired during the marriage is owned 50 percent by each spouse. When one spouse dies testate, that deceased spouse’s half of the community property passes according to the will, while the surviving spouse keeps their own 50 percent. The presence of children from outside the marriage matters only to whom the will directs the deceased spouse’s share, not to how the surviving spouse’s portion is treated. If there were no will, the decedent’s share would pass under intestate succession statutes. So the distribution is determined by the will.