In short
The second order of intestate succession is that of the parents and, after them, the grandparents. Article 1722 says when it comes in, and the whole condition should be read because it is double: failing descendants and the surviving spouse, the succession corresponds to the direct ascending line. Both must be absent. If the decedent leaves a spouse, even with no children, the ascendants do not come in through this order. Article 1723 says how it is divided, and brings two rules. The first: the decedent’s parents inherit in equal parts, and if one of them cannot or will not accept it, the inheritance will correspond entirely to the other. Note “entirely”: it is not split with anyone else, it does not pass to the absent one’s siblings or their children. That fits Article 1613, which says the right of representation never takes place in the direct ascending line. The second rule looks higher up: failing parents, the inheritance corresponds, in equal parts, to the ascendants in the nearest degrees. That is, a grandparent excludes a great-grandparent, and those in the nearest degree split equally. What the Code does not say here matters too: it does not explain how degrees are counted, does not say whether the maternal and paternal lines divide by lines or per head when both have living ascendants in the same degree, and does not define what “cannot accept it” means. This guide fills none of those gaps.
What is it?
They are Articles 1722 and 1723 of the Civil Code of 2020: when ascendants inherit without a will and how it is divided among parents and, failing them, among the nearest ascendants.
Who can do it?
The parents or grandparents of a person who died without a will, without descendants and without a surviving spouse.
Requirements
- Failing descendants and the surviving spouse, the succession corresponds to the direct ascending line.Verified against the official source
- The decedent’s parents inherit in equal parts.Verified against the official source
- If one parent cannot or will not accept it, the inheritance corresponds entirely to the other.Verified against the official source
- Failing parents, the inheritance corresponds in equal parts to the ascendants in the nearest degrees.Verified against the official source
Documents you need
Cost
Step by step
Step 1: When this order comes in
Article 1722: failing descendants and the surviving spouse. The condition is double and must be read whole.
Step 2: A living spouse closes the door
If the decedent leaves a surviving spouse, even with no children, the ascendants do not come in through this order.
Step 3: The parents, in equal parts
Article 1723, first paragraph: the decedent’s parents inherit in equal parts.
Step 4: If one is absent, the other takes everything
The same paragraph: if one of them cannot or will not accept it, the inheritance will correspond entirely to the other.
Step 5: Why it does not pass to the absent one’s children
Because Article 1613 says the right of representation never takes place in the direct ascending line. Upward, nobody is represented.
Step 6: Failing parents: the nearest
Second paragraph of 1723: the inheritance corresponds, in equal parts, to the ascendants in the nearest degrees.
Step 7: The nearer excludes the more distant
A grandparent leaves a great-grandparent out. Among those in the nearest degree, the division is in equal parts.
Step 8: What the Code does not explain here
It does not say how degrees are counted, does not say whether the maternal and paternal lines divide by lines or per head, and does not define “cannot accept it”. This guide does not assume it.
Where to do it
These two articles describe no procedure before any agency and do not mention the court: they say who inherits and in what proportion. The declaration of heirs, which is the procedure, is governed by its own statute and has a separate guide on this site.
How long it takes
What to do if something goes wrong
If someone died without children and you are told their parents inherit, check the other half of the condition first: Article 1722 requires that both descendants and the surviving spouse be absent. With a living spouse, this order does not open. If one parent renounced or cannot inherit, Article 1723 does not split that part among that parent’s family: the inheritance corresponds entirely to the other parent. And if the parents are no longer living, the ascendants in the nearest degrees inherit in equal parts, so a grandparent leaves a great-grandparent out. What you will not find here is how degrees are counted or how it divides between the maternal and paternal branches when both have ascendants of the same degree: the Code does not say in these two articles. If there are no ascendants either, the next order is the collateral one, with its own guide. MiPRFácil does not represent anyone in court and gives no legal advice.
Common mistakes
- Believing the absence of children alone lets the parents inherit: Article 1722 also requires the surviving spouse to be absent.
- Thinking a renouncing parent’s part passes to their other children: Article 1723 gives it entirely to the other parent.
- Expecting representation to work upward: Article 1613 says never in the direct ascending line.
- Dividing among grandparents and great-grandparents at once: those in the nearest degrees inherit.
- Assuming the nearest-degree ascendants divide unequally: the Code says in equal parts.
- Looking in these articles for how degrees are counted: they do not explain it.
- Treating the division between maternal and paternal branches as settled: the Code does not address it here.
- Confusing this order with the collateral one: that comes in failing ascendants too.
Frequently asked questions
My son died with no children and no wife. Do we, the parents, inherit?
Article 1722 says that failing descendants and the surviving spouse the succession corresponds to the direct ascending line, and Article 1723 that the parents inherit in equal parts.
And if one of the two parents does not want to inherit?
Article 1723 says that if one of them cannot or will not accept it, the inheritance will correspond entirely to the other.
Do grandparents inherit if the parents are no longer living?
Article 1723 says that failing parents the inheritance corresponds, in equal parts, to the ascendants in the nearest degrees.
If my father died, do his siblings inherit in his place?
Article 1613 says the right of representation never takes place in the direct ascending line, and Article 1723 gives the inheritance entirely to the other parent when one is absent.
Official sources
These are the government pages this guide is based on.
- Poder Judicial de Puerto Rico
Poder Judicial
bvirtualogp.pr.gov
Last verified
September 11, 2026
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Did you find out-of-date information?
With no will, the children and the spouse inherit in equal parts
Article 1721 of the Civil Code of 2020 says so, and 1719 opens intestate succession also when the will is ineffective or insufficient.
Siblings and nephews inherit before other relatives, and the limit is the sixth degree
Article 1725 of the Civil Code of 2020 calls siblings and nephews the preferred collaterals. Article 1726 closes private succession at the sixth degree.
If your parent died before the grandparent, you inherit in their place, by estirpes
Article 1611 of the Civil Code of 2020 allows it in testate and intestate succession, and 1614 limits what you receive to what your represented would get.
Declaration of heirs: what it is and the two routes to request it
When someone dies without a will, the declaration establishes who inherits. Since Act 282-1999 it can be processed before a notary or the court: you choose.
If you have forced heirs, you may freely dispose of only half your goods
Article 1623 of the Civil Code of 2020 says so. And 1622 names the forced heirs: descendants, surviving spouse and, failing these, ascendants.
An inheritance can be debts alone: the Code says so in those words
Article 1552 says the inheritance comprises rights and obligations even where obligations exceed rights, or where there are only obligations.