Santa Clara Law Review Volume 4 | Number 1 Article 4 1-1-1963 Administration of a Deceased Wife's Interest in Community Assets Jerry A. Kasner Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.law.scu.edu/lawreview Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Jerry A. Kasner, Administration of a Deceased Wife's Interest in Community Assets, 4 Santa Clara Lawyer 30 (1963). Available at: http://digitalcommons.law.scu.edu/lawreview/vol4/iss1/4 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at Santa Clara Law Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Santa Clara Law Review by an authorized administrator of Santa Clara Law Digital Commons. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. ADMINISTRATION OF A DECEASED WIFE'S INTEREST IN COMMUNITY ASSETS Jerry A. Kasner* Modern estate planning practice, emphasizing a minimization of death taxes and probate costs, often discourages the traditional legacy of property by one spouse to the other. Property so passing may be subjected to probate and taxation twice within a short period of time.' To prevent this, a surviving spouse may be given only a limited life interest, if any at all, in the estate of the deceased spouse, with the bulk of the beneficial interest passing to succeeding genera- tions.2 Often the use of the trust device to carry out such a plan results in the selection of independent trustees and executors to achieve certain tax advantages and to provide continuity in the ad- ministration of estate assets. This form of planning for the "splitting" of interest between husband and wife necessarily results in division of the community property upon the death of either.