If there is no matrimonial property agreement stipulating otherwise, after the death of one spouse the surviving spouse may demand a division of community property during the course of the inheritance procedure carried out before a civil law notary.

Upon the division of community property, a surviving spouse shall inherit a share of the deceased’s property (in cases other than inheritance by will) according to the first or second order of succession. In the first order of succession a surviving spouse shall inherit the same share as a deceased’s child (Article 9 of the Inheritance Act). If a deceased did not have children, his or her spouse and parents shall inherit the property in equal shares (one half goes to the spouse, the other to the parents). If a deceased does not have living parents either, a surviving spouse shall inherit the entire property (Article 11 of the Inheritance Act).

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