If a person dies with no children or parents but is survived by a spouse and siblings, does the spouse still get the whole estate, or do the siblings share too?

The 'entire estate' rule already carries an exception

The provision that lets a surviving spouse inherit everything applies in the absence of legitimate descendants and ascendants, and illegitimate children and their descendants — the situation you describe, with no children or parents left. But that same sentence immediately qualifies itself: the spouse's entitlement to the whole estate is without prejudice to the rights of brothers and sisters, nephews and nieces, should there be any. The 'takes all' language is not absolute once siblings are in the picture.

What actually happens when siblings survive

The rule that controls once siblings are present splits the estate differently: the latter shall be entitled to one-half of the inheritance and the brothers and sisters or their children to the other half. So instead of the spouse taking everything, the estate is divided evenly — one half to the surviving spouse, the other half shared among the surviving brothers, sisters, and their children standing in for a deceased sibling.

A note on how this article's original share was calculated

This article's text dates to when the Civil Code first classified children into categories the law no longer uses. The Family Code later changed how an illegitimate child's legitime is computed and now recognizes a single class of illegitimate child, while stating that the rest of the Civil Code's succession rules otherwise remain in force. That change matters when illegitimate children are part of the picture; it does not disturb the spouse-and-siblings division described above, since your scenario has no children at all.

Why it is worth confirming who exactly is alive

The spouse-takes-all outcome and the fifty-fifty split both hinge entirely on whether any siblings, nephews, or nieces are actually alive to claim the share. If it turns out there are none after all, the spouse's entitlement to the entire estate stands unaffected; if even one qualifying sibling or their child survives, the half-and-half division applies instead. Confirming exactly who survives is the first practical step in working out which rule governs the estate.

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.

• Erlinda Pilapil, et al. vs. Heirs of Maximino R. Briones, et al, G.R. No. 150175, March 10, 2006 — read the decision on LawPhil →
• Heirs of the Late Apolinario Caburnay, et al. vs. Heirs of Teodulo Sison, namely, G.R. No. 230934, December 2, 2020 — read the decision on LawPhil →

Related provisions

• Civil Code, Article 995 — Surviving Spouse Takes All
• Civil Code, Article 1001 — Spouse With Brothers and Sisters