The laws here in Norway skip spouses all together when there are children. The courts, when there is no will, divide between the offspring, but if you die without a will and it has to go to court, the court charges a HUGE fee to the estate. Best to have a will. But, here, when there are kids, and people write wills, the spouses are seldom considered to inherit everything. There might be an insurance policy to cover a mortgage so that the family doesn’t have to move when the children are young, but it will be specified in the insurance what the money is to be used for. If the house is under both their names, it goes over to the surviving person.
When my ex’s father was obviously not going to see much more time, the family scrambled to get practical things sorted out before he died so things wouldn’t have to go to too many estate offices and such like. The cabin was transfered to the ownership of one of the sons. His bank account contents was emptied into his wife’s and the house was in both their names and is paid off, so it automatically went to her. When she dies, the house will be sold and the money divided between the two boys, unless she writes a will and names her grandchildren in. She has already given me and my son antiques and jewellery she wants passed down in the family with stories behind each one, and when I die, everything, including the stories, will go to my son, even if I remarry, which I won’t. My house isn’t worth much in capital at the moment, but it is a good place to live. If I was smart, I would take out a small insurance policy so that if I do die, the house could be freehold and then my son could stay in the house or sell it for the full value. I’m trying my damnedest to hold on until he’s in university.