Short answer. The nearest relatives. When a will gives property in general terms to the testator's 'relatives' without naming anyone, Article 959 reads that as a gift to those nearest in degree of relationship to the testator. More distant relatives are excluded so long as there are closer ones; the vague word 'relatives' is filled in by proximity of kinship.
What the law says
A disposition made in general terms in favor of the testator's relatives shall be understood to be in favor of those nearest in degree.
Civil Code, Article 959 — A Disposition in Favour of 'Relatives'. Read the full provision →
'Relatives' means the nearest in degree
A will that leaves something to "my relatives" names no one in particular, so the law must decide who is meant. Article 959 answers: A disposition made in general terms in favor of the testator's relatives shall be understood to be in favor of those nearest in degree. Degree is the measure of how close a relative is to the testator by counting the generations between them. Children and parents are nearer than grandchildren, grandparents, or siblings; those in turn are nearer than cousins. The gift goes to whoever sits closest on that scale, and those further out do not share while nearer ones exist.
Why the law narrows a vague word
Left unqualified, "relatives" could sweep in an enormous, unmanageable crowd of distant kin. Article 959 presumes the testator did not intend that. When someone gives generally to "relatives," the natural reading is that he meant the family closest to him, not every person who could trace a bloodline. So the article supplies a workable, predictable meaning: closeness of kinship decides. This keeps the gift from dissolving into an impossibly wide class and matches the ordinary sense in which people speak of their "relatives" — the ones nearest to them.
It applies only to general, unnamed gifts
The rule is triggered only by a disposition made in general terms. If the testator actually named the people he meant, or described a specific narrower group, those words control and Article 959 does not step in to second-guess them. The article fills a gap; it does not override a clear choice. It also speaks to relatives of the testator himself, resolving what the loose label "relatives" means in that gift. Where the will identifies its beneficiaries with any real precision, you follow that identification rather than this default about nearness in degree.
Working out who is nearest
In practice, identifying the beneficiaries means measuring degrees of relationship and seeing who is closest to the testator. If several relatives stand at the same nearest degree, they generally share the gift among them, while anyone a degree further away is shut out. Disputes under this article usually turn on that counting exercise — establishing each claimant's degree of kinship and confirming that no one stands nearer. Because the word "relatives" is doing so much work, careful drafting that names the intended beneficiaries avoids leaving the question to this default rule at all.