The rights of the surviving spouse under the law of succession

Abstract

Upon the death of any individual, and as a consequence thereof, his estate continues in existence. Such estate, com prising both assets and liabilities, is deemed to constitute the inheritance, over which inheritance a certain number of' persons may make a claim. Should such individual, during his lifetirne, have entered into a valid marriage, then after his decease, the spouse to whom the 'decujus' was legally bound, and who is thus considered to be the survivor of the marriage, may also have certain benefits and rights devolving in his or her favour. Such rights are not to be found grouped together under one singular title or sub-title of our Civil Code, but are divided and placed under certain other sub-titles. How ever, such separation is not made only in respect of the survivor', but also in respect of other persons who may benefit from the inheritance of the deceased. An inheritance, according to the provisions of section 622 of the Code, devolves either by the disposition of man, or in the absence of any such disposition, by operation of law. This section shows the two manners in which the devolution of an estate takes place: testate and intestate. The title of the Code relating to successions is divided into three sub-titles, of which one relates to testate successions and another to intestate successions, whilst the remaining sub-title contains provisions common to both successions. Included under the title relating to testate successions are the provisions relating to the so-called 'non-disposable portion' which is that portion of the estate which is reserved by law in favour of certain persons, who are expressly mentioned, in case the testator has not bequeathed a certain quota of his estate to them by means of the will. The division of the rights of the surviving spouse in the Code is based upon such major dis tinction between testate and intestate successions, including within the former the rights of the survivor in respect of the non-disposable portion.