Short answer. In the collateral line, the fifth degree is the limit. The Civil Code says the right to inherit ab intestato does not extend beyond the fifth degree of relationship in that line, so a relative further out than that takes nothing however clearly the connection can be traced.
What the law says
The right to inherit ab intestato shall not extend beyond the fifth degree of relationship in the collateral line.
Civil Code, Article 1010 — The Fifth-Degree Limit. Read the full provision →
How degrees are counted
Degrees are counted by generations, and in the collateral line you count up from the deceased to the common ancestor and then back down to the relative. A brother is two degrees away: up to the parent, down to him. An uncle and a nephew are three. A first cousin is four, because you go up two to the grandparent and down two again. A first cousin's child, or a great-uncle, is five — and that is where the line stops.
The limit is only for the collateral line
Note the qualifier in the collateral line. The direct line — descendants above, ascendants below — is not cut off at any degree by this article, because a great-grandchild remains an heir however many generations separate you. The fifth-degree ceiling exists because sideways relationships fan out without limit: without it, an estate could be claimed by someone whose only link is a shared ancestor five or six generations back. The article draws the line where the law stops recognising the family connection.
Being inside the fifth degree is not the same as inheriting
This article sets an outer boundary, not an entitlement. Within the collateral line the nearer relatives still exclude the more remote, so a surviving brother leaves nothing for a first cousin even though the cousin is comfortably within five degrees. And the whole collateral line is reached only if no descendants, ascendants, illegitimate children or surviving spouse exist. Most people asking this question are further from the estate than they hope, because of exclusion rather than the degree limit.
If nobody qualifies
Where no relative falls within the limit and there is no will, there is no private heir left to take, and the estate passes to the State — which is what the fifth-degree rule is ultimately deciding. Before assuming either outcome, map the tree carefully on civil registry documents and count the degrees for each claimant rather than judging by how close the relationship feels. Have that count checked, since it determines not just the shares but whether a claimant is an heir at all.
Cases citing this provision
These Supreme Court decisions cite the provision above. We list them so you can read them yourself; the summaries of what each decided are not ours to give.
- Ofelia Hernando Bagunu vs. Pastora Piedad, G.R. No. 140975, December 8, 2000 — read the decision on LawPhil →