TREA'ITORNEYGENERAL 

OF %-E-US 

Ron. Robert S. Calvert Opinion No. C-575 

Comptroller of mbllc Account8 ‘.~ 

Auatln, Texas Re: Method of cmputlng 

Inheritance taxes where 

the deceased husband's 

will disposed in its 

entirety of some of the 

.c-lty tstatt, and 

the surviving wldow 

elected to take thtreunder rectlvlng as a 

result of said election 

proptrty In excess of 

her one-half Intertat in 

Pear Mr. Calve&: the entire community. 

You have requested tht -opinion of thla office on tht above 

captioned matttr and in connection thertwlth have ~advlsed us of 

certain ~facts. You have also furnished us with a brief written 

by tht attorney for the tatatt. 

The decedent's will was admitted to probate. In his will, 

the decedent attempted to.dlspose of the tntlre~commnltJ 

Interest In stvdral lttms of property. Iht mrvlvlng widow 

elected to-take under the ulll rathtr than to rttaln her community one-half Interest In all of the c amunity properties. 

This she did by accepting the prwlslons of the will and 

receiving benefits thtrtundtr. .61 Tax.Ju.r.24 431-433, 8 277. 

As a result of her tltctlon, the survlvlug uldow rtctlved 

proptrtlts of a valut greater thau the value OS her one-half 

of the c ommnlty plus her $25,000 txtlhptlon. 

The attorney for the estate takes the position that in 

computing the lnhtrltanct taxes due, tht eurvlvlng widow 

should be allowed to off-s& tht value of her c ommnlty onehalf interest against the value of the proptrtlttl she received 

under the will. 

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Hon. Robert S. Calvert, Page 2 Opinion No. C-575 

In Calvert v. Fort Worth National Bank, 163 Tex. 405, 356 

S.W.2d 918 (1962), the court held that the community Interest 

of the wife did not pass by "will" to beneficiaries other than 

the wife within the meaning of the Inheritance tax statute 

(Art. 14.01, Title 122A, Vol. 20A, Taxation-General, V.C.S.) 

where the husband's will bequeathed the home and certain 

personal property to his wife and the remainder of his separate 

and all of the balance of the community property was devised 

and bequeathed In trust for the benefit of the wife, who elected 

to take under the will, with remainder interest to the other 

beneficiaries. 

The owner of one-half of the.communlty property in the 

Fort Worth Natlonal Bank case was the surviving widow. In that 

case, no tax had been assessed against the widow since what she 

took under the will did not exceed the value of her community 

interest plus the $25,003 statutory exemption. 

You are advised that in this case, as the wife received, 

under the will pro erty of a greater value than her community 

Interest plus the $ 25,000 exemption, the value of the property 

received by the wife In excess of the value of her community 

Interest less the $25,000 statutory exemption Is subject to the 

Inheritance tax at the rates provided In Article 14.02, Title 

122A, 20A, Taxation-General, Vernon's Civil Statutes. 

Likewise, under the holding of the, Fort Worth National 

Bank case, the tax, If any, dut from the other beneficiaries 

under the will should be computed only upon the value of'the 

property received from the deceased husband's one-half community Interest less the applicable statutory exemption. 

------- SUMMARY 

Where the deceased husband's will 

disposed In Its entirety of some of the 

community estate, and the survlvlng widow 

elected to take thereunder, receiving, as 

a result of said election, property in 

excess of the value of her one-half Interest 

in the entire community, the value of the 

property received In excess of the value of 

her community interest less the $25,000 

-2i78- 
. 

. 

Hon. Robert S. Calve&, Page 3 Opinion No. C-575 

statutory exemption, Is subject to 

an Inheritance tax at the rates provided In Article 14.02. The tax,i'lf 

any, due from tht othtr btneflclarlta 

under the will should be computed'konly 

upon the value of the property re&elvtd 

from the dtceastd husband's one-half 

community Interest less the applicable 

statutory exemption. 

Yours very truly, 

UAOQONER CARR 

Attorney General 

HMcGP:dl 

APPROVZD: 

OPINION COMMITTRE 

W. V. Gepptrt, Chairman 

J. H. Broadhurst 

Gordon C. Cam 

Wade Anderson 

Y. 0. Shultz 

APPROVED FOR TRE ATl’ORN’EY QERERAL 

BY: T. B. Wright 

-2779-