California Probate Code 141 – (a) The right of a surviving spouse to any of the following may …
(a) The right of a surviving spouse to any of the following may be waived in whole or in part by a waiver under this chapter:
(1) Property that would pass from the decedent by intestate succession.
Terms Used In California Probate Code 141
- Decedent: A deceased person.
- Intestate: Dying without leaving a will.
- Joint tenancy: A form of property ownership in which two or more parties hold an undivided interest in the same property that was conveyed under the same instrument at the same time. A joint tenant can sell his (her) interest but not dispose of it by will. Upon the death of a joint tenant, his (her) undivided interest is distributed among the surviving joint tenants.
- Personal representative: means executor, administrator, administrator with the will annexed, special administrator, successor personal representative, public administrator acting pursuant to Section 7660, or a person who performs substantially the same function under the law of another jurisdiction governing the person's status. See California Probate Code 58
- Probate: Proving a will
- Property: means anything that may be the subject of ownership and includes both real and personal property and any interest therein. See California Probate Code 62
- Quasi-community property: means the following property, other than community property as defined in Section 28:
California Probate Code 66
- Spouse: includes domestic partner, as defined in Section 37 of this code, as required by §. See California Probate Code 72
- Trust account: A general term that covers all types of accounts in a trust department, such as estates, guardianships, and agencies. Source: OCC
- waiver: means a waiver by the surviving spouse of any of the rights listed in subdivision (a) of Section 141, whether signed before or during marriage. See California Probate Code 140
- Will: includes codicil and any testamentary instrument which merely appoints an executor or revokes or revises another will. See California Probate Code 88
(2) Property that would pass from the decedent by testamentary disposition in a will executed before the waiver.
(3) A probate homestead.
(4) The right to have exempt property set aside.
(5) Family allowance.
(6) The right to have an estate set aside under Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 6600) of Part 3 of Division 6.
(7) The right to elect to take community or quasi-community property against the decedent’s will.
(8) The right to take the statutory share of an omitted spouse.
(9) The right to be appointed as the personal representative of the decedent’s estate.
(10) An interest in property that is the subject of a nonprobate transfer on death under Part 1 (commencing with Section 5000) of Division 5.
(b) Nothing in this chapter affects or limits the waiver or manner of waiver of rights other than those referred to in subdivision (a), including, but not limited to, the right to property that would pass from the decedent to the surviving spouse by nonprobate transfer upon the death of the decedent, such as the survivorship interest under a joint tenancy, a Totten trust account, or a pay-on-death account.
(Amended by Stats. 1992, Ch. 51, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 1993.)