3.4 Inheritance of Separate Property

Separate property devolves to the heirs, who are divided into five classes that inherit in order of priority. Represented schematically, the priority of inheritance is as follows:

1. Descendants (children and their descendants)
2. Parents and siblings (and their descendants)
   • If there are siblings (or their descendants) and a surviving parent or parents, the siblings inherit subject to a joint and successive  usufruct in favor of the parents.
   • If there are siblings and no surviving parents, siblings inherit free of usufruct.
   • ​​​​​​​If there are no siblings (or their descendants), the surviving parent or parents inherit.
3. Surviving spouse (in the case where the decedent was married at the time of death but had separate property)
4. More remote ascendants (e.g., grandparents)
5. More remote collaterals (e.g., aunts, uncles, cousins)

Relatives in the most favored class inherit to exclusion of other classes. Subject to the principles of representation, the nearest relation in a class, determined by counting degrees, inherit to the exclusion of more distant relatives in that class. If there are many heirs, it may be useful to draw a “family tree” diagram to clearly determine who inherits.