LSU Law: Digest of 1808

SECTION II - OF THE SUCCESSION OF DESCENDANTS

Art. 27. When a person has had several legitimate children who are living at the time of his death, they all participate to his succession by equal shares, and without distinction of sex or of primogeniture, as being in the first degree of consanguinity, to the exclusion of all other legitimate descendants.
The same thing takes place if all those children having previously died, have themselves left children; such grand children will then inherit alone and by equal portions to the exclusion of the great grand children; and so on for the great grand children, if there are neither children nor grand children; the descendants of the inferior degree being always called to inherit in defect of heirs of a superior degree.

Art. 28. In the cases mention in the preceding article the partition is made by the heads, that is to say, that as many equal shares are formed as there are heads or individuals partaking.

Art. 29. But if, with the children of the deceased, there exists grand children issued from the children of the deceased who are then dead, such grand children shall come in by representation of their fathers or mothers, in competition with their uncles and aunts; and the partition shall then be made by roots, that is to say, that there shall be as many shares or roots as there were originally brothers and sisters of the deceased, whether they be still alive or have left posterity; and the grand children coming in representation whatever be their number, shall not receive among them all, any thing more than the share or shares which would have belonged to their fathers or mothers, if they had been existing at the time of such partition.

SECTION III - OF THE SUCCESSION OF ASCENDANTS

Art. 30. If the deceased has left no children or any other descendants, his estate belongs to his father and mother, or other ascendants, and is divided between them in such a manner that if there are ascendants on both sides, that is to say, in the paternal and maternal lines, in the same degree, the estate is divided in two equal shares, one of which goes to the paternal and the other to the maternal side, whether the number of ascendants on each side be equal or unequal.
But if there is only one ascendant, either paternal or maternal in the same degree in both lines, such ascendant excludes all other ascendants of a more remote degree, and alone takes all the estate.
Thus if the father and mother are both alive, they partake equally the estate of their child, but if the father only or the mother is existing, he or she excludes the grand father or grand mother.
In a like manner when the grand father or grand mother on one side, happens to be alone on his or her side, to partake with both the grand father and grand mother on the other side, the partition is made by sides, in such manner that the grand father who is alone on his side, receives one half of the estate, while the grand father and grand mother of the other side, have no more than the other half between them two.
But if there be only one grand father or grand mother on both sides, either paternal or maternal, such grand father or grand mother excludes the great grand fathers and great grand mothers and other ascendants of a more remote degree and receives alone, the whole estate, because representation is not admitted in the ascending line.

SECTION IV - OF THE SUCCESSION OF COLLATERALS

Art. 31. When the deceased has left no children, nor any descendants nor ascendants, his legal succession passes to his legal collaterals.

Art. 32. In the collateral line, the estate belongs to the relation nearest in degree, save the restrictions which are made to this rule in favor of the representation and of the prerogative of the whole blood, as far as the limits prescribed by law.

Art. 33. The nearest relation in the collateral line is the brother and sister.

Art. 34. There are three sorts of brothers; the brothers called german or born from the same father and mother; the brothers called paternal, who are born from the same father only, but from different mothers.
And the brothers called maternal, who are born from the same mother but from different fathers.
These two last sorts are also called, half brothers, or brothers of one side, or brothers of the half blood, in opposition to the german brothers, who are called brothers of the whole blood.
Hence the consanguinity of the whole and of the half blood.
What is said here and in the following articles respecting brothers, either german, paternal or maternal, must of course be understood of the sisters, whether they are alone or in competition with brothers, as they are in all respects in a similar situation, in matter of succession.

Art. 35. When a person dies, leaving only brothers of the whole blood, such brothers inherit his estate, to the exclusion of other collaterals; and the partition is then made by heads, and by equal shares among such heads, conformable to what is prescribed in the article 28^th of this title.

Art. 36. When the deceased leaves only brothers of the whole blood, and some children of other brothers of the whole blood, who had died before, such children are admitted to participate to the estate with their uncles and aunts, as representing their deceased fathers or mothers; and the partition is then made among them by roots, conformable to what is prescribed in the article 29^th of this title.

Art. 37. But if the deceased has left some brothers of the whole blood, with some grand children of other brothers of the whole blood deceased, such grand children, shall not be admitted to represent the rights of their deceased fathers and grand fathers in such succession, but shall be excluded from the inheritance by the existing brothers of the deceased, because in the collateral line, representation takes place only in favor of the nephews coming to the succession in competition with their uncles, and extends no further.
The rules prescribed in the present and two preceding articles apply equally, when instead of brothers of the whole blood, the deceased has left only brothers of the half blood,

Art. 38. If the deceased has left at the same time, brothers of the whole and of the half blood, the brothers of the whole blood shall exclude those of the half blood, and inherit alone, and their children likewise, by representation.

Art. 39. The prerogative of the whole blood, exists only in favor of the brothers of the whole blood, of the deceased, and of their children, to the exclusion of brothers of the half blood, but it extends no further.
Thus supposing that the brothers of the whole blood of the deceased and their children had all died, their grand children, or other descendants and collaterals shall not exclude the brothers of the half blood of the deceased, nor their children, who shall in such case inherit alone, as relations nearer in degree,

Art. 40. If the deceased has left no brothers of the whole blood, but has left both paternal and maternal brothers, such paternal and maternal brothers, and their children, as representing their deceased fathers and mothers, shall exclude all other collateral kindred.
But the paternal brothers, and their children, shall inherit particularly the property which the deceased had on the side of his father; and the maternal brothers, or their children, shall likewise inherit particularly the property which the deceased had on the side of his mother; and the said paternal and maternal brothers, or their children by representation shall inherit together the property which the deceased shall have acquired by art, industry or otherwise.

Art. 41. The nephews and nieces of the deceased are always preferred to his uncles and aunts, although they are really in the same degree, which is the third; the reason is, that by the effect of representation the nephews and nieces are placed in the same degree as their fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters of the deceased, that is in the second degree, and that they are therefore by the fiction of the law, in a nearer degree than the uncles or aunts of the deceased.

Art. 42. Among other collateral relations, that who is nearest in degree, excludes all the others, and if there are several heirs in the same degree, they shall partake equally, and by heads, according to their number.

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