Sexton

The plaintiff, who is the surviving husband of Mary Sexton, deceased, was given judgment quieting his title to several parcels of real property which, during the lifetime of his wife, had been a part of their community property. The appellants are the children of Mrs. Sexton by a previous marriage and they are beneficiaries under her last will, which was upheld in Estate of Sexton, 199 Cal. 759 [ 251 Pac. 778 ]. The will was executed July 12, 1921. The dispositive clause thereof reads as follows:

Mrs. Sexton died September 25, 1924. The legislature of 1923 amended section 1401 of the Civil Code to read as follows:

The property in controversy was acquired prior to 1923. Appellants concede that at and prior to the death of Mrs. Sexton a wife’s interest in community property was a mere expectancy. A mere expectancy “is not to be deemed an interest of any kind.” (Civ. Code, sec. 700.) In Stewart v. Stewart, 204 Cal. 546 [ 269 Pac. 439 ], it is held that, as to all community property acquired prior to the enactment of section 161a of the Civil Code in 1927 (Stats. 1927, p. 484), “during the marriage the husband is the sole and exclusive owner of all the community property, and the…