Article 52 — Order of Intestate Succession

1. 1.

   Where the deceased has left no valid testamentary disposition, or to the extent that the disposition does not exhaust the estate, the estate passes according to the following order:

   1. First order: the children of the deceased, in equal shares. The descendants of a predeceased child take that child’s share by representation.
   2. Second order: the parents of the deceased, in equal shares. If only one parent survives, that parent takes the whole share of this order.
   3. Third order: the siblings of the deceased, in equal shares. The descendants of a predeceased sibling take that sibling’s share by representation.
   4. Fourth order: the grandparents of the deceased, in equal shares.
   5. Fifth order: more remote relatives to the fourth degree of kinship.
2. 2.

   Each order excludes the succeeding orders. The estate passes to the next order only where no heir of the preceding order survives or accepts.

3. 3.

   Where no heir within any order survives or accepts, the estate passes to the State.