Chapter: The Inheritance of the Parents

When the deceased leaves neither a child nor a grandchild through a son, the father becomes a residuary heir: he takes the whole estate if he is the only heir, and whatever remains after every fixed-share heir has received his prescribed portion when others are present. In the presence of a child or a grandchild through a son, the father is allotted one-sixth as a fixed share; he takes a fixed share only when a child or a male-line descendant exists.

The father excludes his own parents and he excludes all the deceased’s brothers and sisters, whatever their line of kinship may be.

As for the mother, she receives one-sixth when a child or a grandchild through a son exists, and she likewise receives one-sixth—again as a fixed share—when there are two or more brothers or sisters. If there is no child, no grandchild through a son, and fewer than two siblings, she is entitled to the full one-third—except in two specific cases: (i) when the heirs are a husband together with the two parents, and (ii) when the heirs are a wife together with the two parents, for in these two cases she receives