Short answer. The other collateral relatives take, and full blood makes no difference among them. Once there are no brothers or sisters and no children of brothers or sisters, the Civil Code calls the remaining collaterals and says they succeed without distinction of lines or preference by reason of whole-blood relationship.
What the law says
The latter shall succeed without distinction of lines or preference among them by reason of relationship by the whole blood.
Civil Code, Article 1009 — Other Collateral Relatives. Read the full provision →
Who the 'other collateral relatives' are
Collaterals are relatives who share an ancestor with the deceased but are not in the direct line up or down — so not children or parents, but uncles and aunts, first cousins, grandnephews and grandnieces. This article is reached only after the nearer collaterals are exhausted: no brothers or sisters, and none of their children. At that point the remaining collaterals are called, and which of them actually takes depends on who stands nearest in degree to the deceased.
Two preferences the article expressly abolishes
The second sentence removes distinctions that families often assume exist. There is no distinction of lines, so relatives on the father's side and relatives on the mother's side are treated alike and neither branch has a claim on property said to have come from it. And there is no preference among them by reason of relationship by the whole blood — a half-blood uncle is not postponed to a full-blood one. Among the relatives this article calls, the family tree is read without those filters.
Degree still matters even though blood does not
Abolishing those preferences does not make every remaining relative an heir. Proximity of degree still governs: the nearer relatives exclude the more remote, so an uncle does not share with a first cousin's child. And the collateral line is not open-ended — the right to inherit without a will stops at a fixed degree of relationship, beyond which a relative takes nothing however clearly the connection can be traced. So the practical work is counting degrees, not weighing closeness of affection.
Build the tree on documents
Estates that reach this article are the ones where the paperwork is hardest and most necessary. You need civil registry records establishing the chain of relationship for each claimant, plus death certificates showing that everyone in the nearer classes has predeceased. Expect claims from relatives nobody has seen in years. Because degree decides who takes and who is excluded entirely, have the tree and the degree count checked before any settlement is drawn up or signed.
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 →
- Bernardina P. Bartolome vs. Social Security System and Scanmar Maritime Services, Inc, G.R. No. 192531, November 12, 2014 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Maria Mendoza, et al. vs. Julia Policarpio, et al, G.R. No. 176422, March 20, 2013 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Voltaire Arbolario, et al. vs. Court of Appeals, et al, G.R. No. 129163, April 22, 2003 — read the decision on LawPhil →