My late brother left three children — do they split only his one share among themselves?

The share belongs to the branch

Article 982 provides that the grandchildren and other descendants shall inherit by right of representation, and that where the person represented left several heirs, the portion pertaining to him shall be divided among the latter in equal portions. The share is measured at your brother's level, not at his children's. Whatever he would have received had he outlived your father is set aside, and his three children then divide that one portion. They are not counted as three additional children of the deceased, so their existence does not reduce what you and your other siblings receive.

Equal portions within the branch

Inside the branch the division is flat: in equal portions, one-third of his share each. Nothing in the article allows the family to weight it by age, by need, by who lived with the grandparent, or by which of the three carried the funeral costs. If your brother's share works out to a quarter of the estate, each of his children takes a twelfth. The same logic applies if the branches are of different sizes — a brother who left one child sees that child take his whole share, and that is the correct outcome rather than an advantage requiring adjustment.

The chain continues downward

The article speaks of grandchildren and other descendants, so representation is not limited to one generation. If one of your brother's three children had also died before your father, leaving children of her own, those great-grandchildren would divide her third of his share between them by the same rule applied one level lower. The pattern repeats as far down as the family goes. What it does not do is travel sideways: representation in this part of the Code operates in the descending line, and a branch that ends without descendants simply does not appear in the division.

What has to be true for it to apply

Representation depends on your brother having died before your father — check both death certificates rather than relying on the family's account, since the order of deaths decides whether his children inherit at all or inherit through his own estate instead. Then establish that the three are his children by civil registry record. One further distinction is worth knowing: an heir who was alive at the death but renounces his share afterwards is not represented by his children, so a renunciation and a predecease produce quite different results and should never be described loosely.

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.

• Amadea Angela K. Aquino vs. Rodolfo C. Aquino and Abdulah C. Aquino/Rodolfo C. Aquino, G.R. No. 208912 / G.R. No. 209018, December 7, 2021 — read the decision on LawPhil →
• Andy Ang vs. Severino Pacunio, et al, G.R. No. 208928, July 8, 2015 — read the decision on LawPhil →
• Ulpiano Balo, et al. vs. The Hon. Court of Appeals, et al, G.R. No. 129704, September 30, 2005 — read the decision on LawPhil →

Related provisions

• Civil Code, Article 982 — Grandchildren Inherit by Representation