Short answer. No. Under Article 1010 of the Civil Code, intestate succession does not extend beyond the fifth degree of relationship in the collateral line. A relative who is only connected to the deceased at the sixth degree or further has no right to inherit under the intestate succession rules.
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 →
The fifth-degree limit on collateral inheritance
Article 1010 sets a hard outer boundary on who may inherit from a person who dies without a will. The right to inherit by intestate succession shall not extend beyond the fifth degree of relationship in the collateral line. The collateral line consists of relatives who share a common ancestor with the deceased but are not in a direct ascending or descending line — siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces, and their descendants. Article 1010 cuts off this line at the fifth degree, meaning a sixth-degree cousin or any more remote collateral relative is simply not an heir under Philippine intestate law.
How degrees of relationship are counted
Degrees of relationship in the collateral line are counted by going up from the deceased to the common ancestor, and then back down to the relative in question. Two siblings are at the second degree — one step up to a parent, one step back down to the sibling. First cousins (children of siblings) are at the fourth degree. Second cousins (grandchildren of siblings) are at the sixth degree. Because Article 1010 stops at the fifth degree, second cousins are already outside the limit. Those within the fifth degree who are closest to the deceased are preferred; those at the same degree share equally unless the law provides otherwise.
What happens when no heir within the fifth degree exists
If a person dies intestate and the only surviving relatives are beyond the fifth degree in the collateral line — or if there are no surviving relatives at all — the estate does not pass to those distant relatives. The State steps in as the ultimate heir. The Civil Code provides that in the absence of any surviving relatives entitled to inherit, the estate goes to the municipality or city where the deceased had resided, or to the national government if the deceased had no fixed residence. Article 1010 thus defines the point at which private succession ends and the state's residual claim begins.
Practical implications for distant relatives
A person who believes they may be entitled to inherit from a deceased relative should first establish the degree of relationship. If the connection runs through four or more common ancestors to reach the fifth degree, the calculation requires care. Documentation — birth certificates, baptismal records, and other civil registry documents — is essential for tracing the relationship and proving it to the court. If the relationship places the claimant beyond the fifth degree in the collateral line, no amount of closeness in practice or in affection creates a legal entitlement under Article 1010. Only a valid will naming that person as heir would give them a claim against 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.
- Ofelia Hernando Bagunu vs. Pastora Piedad, G.R. No. 140975, December 8, 2000 — read the decision on LawPhil →