The widow has a right to 50% of wealth amassed during the marriage.



"Inheritance rights determine who has the legal right to claim your property after you die.

In some cases, inheritance rights can override the arrangements you've made in your Will. While you can legally leave your property to whomever you like, there are some limitations, specifically involving surviving spouses.

Community Property
Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin are all “community property” states, meaning that, in the event of death or divorce, spouses are entitled to half of all earnings amassed during the marriage, including any property purchased with those earnings. Alaska is an opt-in community property state, which gives both parties the option to make their property community property.

While you have the right to write a Will that provides your surviving spouse with less than half of these earnings, in these 10 states a surviving spouse has the right to contest the Will and request that he or she receive the full 50%. (In all likelihood, spouses in these 10 states would be awarded a full 50% by a state court.)

In all other states, spouses have the right to claim around one-third of the deceased spouse’s property (specific laws and amounts vary from state to state). Should the Will leave the surviving spouse less than one-third of the deceased’s property, the surviving spouse has the right to contest the Will in court."