If several heirs trace their relationship to the deceased through one person and all stand in the same degree with respect to him—no one enjoying priority, as in the case of the deceased’s own children—then that person’s entire share passes to them. For example, when a sister’s son and daughter1 inherit alongside the daughter of another sister, the latter receives the portion due to her mother, while the first two receive the portion due to theirs.

If, however, their degrees of kinship to that intermediary differ, the intermediary is treated as though he himself had died, and they divide his estate among themselves accordingly. Thus, if the deceased leaves three maternal aunts of different degrees and three paternal aunts of different degrees, one-third of the estate goes to the maternal aunts, divided into fifths, and two-thirds goes to the paternal aunts, likewise divided into fifths; the division balances on a denominator of fifteen shares.

In a case involving three maternal uncles of differing degrees, the uterine uncle receives one-sixth, and the remainder goes to the full uncle; but if the mother’s father is present with them, he excludes them altogether. Likewise, when there are three female cousins of differing degrees, the whole estate belongs to the full cousin—the one related through both parents.

When a group of heirs is linked through more than one intermediary, the estate is first divided among those intermediaries, and each descendant then takes whatever portion falls to the person through whom he is related. If some intermediaries are themselves excluded by others, that exclusion is carried over to their descendants.

The relevant lines of relationship are three: through the father, through the mother, and through direct offspring.