Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Texas

The first thing to remember is community property law. Half of all the community property belongs (presumably) to the surviving spouse anyway. The other half (the half that belonged to the deceased spouse) passes according to intestate succession. And separate property is different from community property. Personal property passes differently from personal property, and there is a life estate in the family home (surviving spouse has the right to occupy it for life, even if it is the deceased spouse's separate property).