What is usufruct of the surviving spouse?
Usufruct of the surviving spouse is provided by Article 890 of the Civil Code. It is a right acquired by operation of law and not by inheritance. Succession of Marsal, 118 La 212, 42 So 778. Under Article 890, a surviving spouse receives legal usufruct over any community property being inherited by the deceased spouse’s descendants, provided testamentary disposition is not adverse to the usufruct. Succession of Waldron, Sup. 1975, 323 So 2d 434. A legal usufruct is one established by operation of law. Its value is not subject to inheritance tax, whereas, the value of a non-legal usufruct is subject to tax. The value of usufruct, legal or otherwise, is deducted from the value of the property on which it rests, in arriving at the value of that property for the purpose of determining the inheritance taxes owed by the persons inheriting the property.
