INephews and nieces can inherit from their uncles and aunts, in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Code on the right of inheritance of these relatives. Would you like to know how nephews and nieces inherit from their uncles and aunts? We explain everything below.
Are nephews and nieces compulsory heirs of their uncles and aunts?
No, nephews and nieces are not compulsory heirs of their uncles and aunts, as the Civil Code does not require nephews and nieces to inherit part of their uncles’ and aunts’ estate.
The only compulsory heirs are:
Descendants.
Ascendants, in the absence of descendants.
The spouse, in the absence of descendants or ascendants. And even if any of these relatives exist, they will be entitled to the usufruct of part of the inheritance.
Therefore, a person who has no descendants or ascendants, and is not married, is not obliged to name their nephews and nieces in their will.
When do nephews and nieces inherit from their uncles and aunts?
Nephews and nieces can inherit from their uncles and aunts whether there is a will or not. The thing is, if a person makes a will, they are not obliged to include their nephews and nieces in it, as we already know.
Having clarified the above, let’s see how nephews and nieces inherit from their uncles and aunts:
Inheritance from uncles and aunts to nephews and nieces with a will
If the testator has no descendants, ascendants, or spouse, they may leave their nephews and nieces as much of their inheritance as they deem appropriate. They may even name them as universal heirs, if they wish.
In cases where nephews and nieces share the inheritance with compulsory heirs, the nephews and nieces may inherit that part of the inheritance that does not correspond to the compulsory heirs. That is to say:
If they share the inheritance with descendants of the testator, they may only inherit a maximum of one-third of the inheritance, as this would be the freely disposable portion.
When they share the inheritance with the testator’s ascendants, they may inherit half of the inheritance, as the other half is the legitimate portion that corresponds to the ascendants.
And in cases where they share the inheritance with the testator’s widowed spouse, the latter is entitled to the usufruct of two-thirds of the inheritance.
Furthermore, there are cases in which ascendants or descendants share the inheritance with the surviving spouse, and both the former and the latter have rights to the inheritance. Thus, the inheritance of nephews and nieces must respect these limits, which are found in articles 834 and 837 of the Civil Code:
If the surviving spouse inherits alongside descendants of the testator, they are entitled to the usufruct of one-third of the estate.
And when they inherit alongside ascendants, they are entitled to the usufruct of half of the estate.
