Property; Claims; Contents. If any community property is administered in the estate, the surviving spouse or the personal representative or guardian of the estate of the surviving spouse may file a claim against the estate for the payment of the debts of the surviving spouse for which the community property is liable. Such claim must be filed prior to the filing of a petition for final distribution. It shall include a statement whether the debts remain unpaid or have been paid by the surviving spouse. It shall also include an inventory of the separate property of the surviving spouse and
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any community property not administered in the estate and a statement of the value of the property less the amount of the liens and encumbrances upon the property as of the date of death of the deceased spouse. The statement may identify any property which is exempt from execution. SOURCE: California Probate Code, § 704.4. COMMENT: Section 704.4 of the California Probate Code was added in 1975, as part of the "Community Property Set-Aside Law." Its purpose -- analogous to that of § 2513, supra -- is to allow the surviving spouse to recover from the deceased spouse's estate any of the surviving spouse's debts for which the community property is liable (see § 1009(a), supra.) For a detailed analysis of the ACommunity Property Set-Aside Law,@ see ACalifornia Probate of Community Property: The Final Picture Emerges,@ by Arnold D. Kahn and Paul N. Frimmer (1975), 50 So. Bar J. 260. Also see Comment to § 2513, supra.