Death is a universal and inescapable phenomenon. It comes knocking at everyone’s door, unasked for and sometimes when we least expect it. In the aftermath of death, many people have questions about the legal and tax aspects of inheritance. Indeed, the death of a person has a number of legal effects, including the transfer of his or her estate to heirs and legatees. Where the deceased was married, a surviving spouse is entitled to inherit the estate. The aim of this article is to develop the study of the protection of the surviving spouse in Congolese family law. To achieve our objectives, we have used legal, historical, comparative and sociological methods. In this study, we have found that, in matters of succession, the Congolese legislator of the Family Code has demonstrated the need to depart somewhat from tradition, the better to depart from custom. It should be noted that the Family Code represents a complete break with all our customs in this area. Thus, the same Family Code grants the surviving spouse usufruct of the house inhabited by the spouses, the furniture, half of the usufruct of the adjoining land that the occupant of the house personally farmed, as well as the related business.