Short answer. Half. Article 1001 gives the surviving spouse one-half of the inheritance where the deceased left no children and no surviving parents, and her brothers and sisters or their children divide the other half. And the inheritance is only your wife's own property, not everything you owned together.
What the law says
the latter shall be entitled to one-half of the inheritance and the brothers and sisters or their children to the other half
Civil Code, Article 1001 — Spouse With Brothers and Sisters. Read the full provision →
Why the siblings are in the picture at all
Article 1001 provides that where brothers and sisters or their children survive with the widow or widower, the latter shall be entitled to one-half of the inheritance and the brothers and sisters or their children to the other half. Her siblings reach the estate only because the closer lines are empty. Article 985 makes parents and ascendants inherit in default of children and descendants, and to the exclusion of collateral relatives, so a single surviving parent would have displaced every sibling. This is also a rule of intestacy: if your wife left a will, the will governs first.
Your own half is not part of the inheritance
The commonest mistake here is treating the family home as the thing being halved. Before any heir takes anything, the property regime of the marriage is liquidated: the community or conjugal assets are settled, the debts chargeable to them are paid, and the share belonging to you as a spouse is set aside as yours. What remains of your wife's share is the inheritance Article 1001 divides. You keep your own portion outright and then take half of hers, so the siblings' half is a quarter or less of what you and she held between you.
How the siblings split their half
Their half is not always shared equally. Article 1006 gives brothers and sisters of the full blood a share double that of half-blood siblings. If a sibling predeceased your wife, that sibling's children can take his place, but only in that narrow way: Article 972 allows representation in the collateral line only in favour of the children of brothers or sisters. Article 1005 then has surviving siblings inherit per capita while nephews and nieces take per stirpes, meaning the nephews divide their own parent's portion rather than each counting as a sibling.
What to establish first
Confirm that there really is no descendant and no surviving ascendant, including a parent living abroad or a child from an earlier relationship, because either one changes the answer completely rather than adjusting it. Then collect the marriage certificate, her death certificate, and the titles and account records showing what was hers alone and what was acquired during the marriage. Death certificates for her parents and for any predeceased sibling matter too, since they are what proves the order of deaths that puts the collateral line in play 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.
- Dr. Nixon L. Treyes vs. Antonio Larlar, et al, G.R. No. 232579, September 8, 2020 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Juan De Delos Carlos vs. Felicidad Sandoval, et al, G.R. No. 179922, December 16, 2008 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Esther Victoria Alcala Vda. De Alcañeses vs. Jose S. Alcañeses, substituted by his legal, G.R. No. 187847, June 30, 2021 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Eugenia D. Polido vs. Hon. CA et al, G.R. No. 170632, July 10, 2007 — read the decision on LawPhil →
Related provisions
- Civil Code, Article 1001 — Spouse With Brothers and Sisters
- Civil Code, Article 985 — Parents and Ascendants Inherit Next
- Civil Code, Article 1005 — Siblings With Nephews and Nieces
- Civil Code, Article 1006 — Full Blood Takes Double the Half Blood