Short answer. No. Article 973 of the Civil Code requires that, for representation to take place, the representative himself be capable of succeeding the decedent. A person who is himself incapable of inheriting from the deceased cannot step into another's place and take the share by representation.

What the law says

In order that representation may take place, it is necessary that the representative himself be capable of succeeding the decedent.

Civil Code, Article 973 — The Representative Must Be Capable. Read the full provision →

What inheriting by representation means

Representation is the rule that lets certain relatives step into the place of a person who would have inherited but cannot, and take the share that person would have received. It most often arises when a child dies before the grandparent and the grandchildren take the parent's place, or where the person who would have inherited is excluded for a legal reason. The representative does not inherit in his own independent right so much as stand in for someone else in the line of succession. That is the mechanism the article addresses, and it sets a condition on who may use it.

The representative must himself be capable

The condition is stated plainly: in order that representation may take place, it is necessary that the representative himself be capable of succeeding the decedent. In other words, the person seeking to inherit by representation must himself be qualified to inherit from the deceased. If he is, for his own reasons, incapable of succeeding that particular decedent, he cannot cure that incapacity by claiming to represent someone else. Representation is not a back door around a personal disqualification; the representative must clear the same basic bar of capacity that any heir of that decedent must clear.

Why the law requires this

The requirement keeps the logic of succession consistent. Representation exists to prevent an innocent gap in the line, not to let someone who is himself barred from a particular estate profit through the device. If a person is unworthy or otherwise incapable of succeeding a given decedent, allowing him to take that decedent's property by simply representing another would defeat the very reason he was excluded. Capacity is judged in relation to the specific decedent, so the representative's own standing toward that deceased person is what matters, independent of whose place he claims to fill.

Separating the person from the branch

It is worth keeping two questions apart. One is whether a given individual is capable of succeeding the decedent, which this article makes essential for that individual to represent anyone. The other is what happens to a share within a family line when one member is disqualified, which is governed by separate rules on how representation and the division among a branch operate. This provision answers the first question only: a person who cannot himself succeed the decedent cannot take by representation. Where an incapacity is in play, that distinction is the starting point for working out who ultimately receives the share.

Related provisions

Note. Statute text quoted on this page is reproduced from the official enactment and is linked to the full provision. The explanation around it is general legal information from Vivas & Nobles Law Office, not legal advice. Whether it applies to your situation depends on facts only a lawyer reviewing them can assess.