If the Father Dies Before the Grandfather, Do the Children Inherit?
When the grandfather dies without leaving a will, the inheritance will be divided according to the law, specifically Article 651 of the 2015 Civil Code as follows:
- Legal heirs are specified in the following order:
a) First group of heirs includes: spouse, biological father, biological mother, adoptive father, adoptive mother, biological children, and adopted children of the deceased;
b) Second group of heirs includes: paternal grandparents, maternal grandparents, siblings of the deceased; biological grandchildren of the deceased where the deceased is their paternal or maternal grandparent;
c) Third group of heirs includes: great-grandparents of the deceased; paternal uncles, paternal aunts, maternal uncles, maternal aunts of the deceased; biological nephews and nieces of the deceased where the deceased is their paternal or maternal uncle/aunt; biological great-grandchildren of the deceased where the deceased is their great-grandparent.
Additionally, Article 652 of the aforementioned Civil Code clearly stipulates the substitution of heirs as follows:
In case the child of the deceased dies before or at the same time as the deceased, the grandchild shall inherit the portion that the deceased's child would have inherited if they were alive; if the grandchild also dies before or at the same time as the deceased, the great-grandchild shall inherit the portion that the parent of the great-grandchild would have inherited if they were alive.
Thus, the child of your grandfather, referred to as uncle, belongs to the first group of heirs and will inherit an equal portion of the grandfather's estate. Additionally, as your father passed away before your grandfather, you, being the grandchild, shall inherit the share from your grandfather's estate. This is the portion your father would have inherited if he were alive, which is equal to the portion inherited by your uncle as per the aforementioned regulations.
Sincerely!
