Under intestacy rules when a surviving spouse and descendants exist, how is the remainder distributed after setting aside the spouse’s share?

• A. The spouse receives the remainder.
• B. The descendants receive the remainder, in equal shares.
• C. The spouse receives a fixed share and the descendants share the remainder.
• D. The state takes the remainder.

Answer: (B)

When someone dies intestate and there is both a surviving spouse and descendants, the law first protects the spouse with a fixed or statutory share. After setting aside that share, the remaining assets go to the decedent’s descendants, who divide the remainder in equal shares among them. This arrangement ensures the spouse is provided for while the rest of the estate goes to the children or other descendants. If a descendant has predeceased, many systems route that deceased descendant’s portion to their own descendants, but the core idea for the exam scenario is that the remainder goes to the descendants and is shared equally among them.