G.R. No. 2599 - Linart vs. Ugarte

Ramon Iturralde y Gonzalez died intestate on December 28, 1900.
With no legitimate heirs in the direct ascendant or descendant line of succession, an intestate proceeding was instituted.
Maria Juana Ugarte e Iturralde, presenting herself as a collateral descendant (the legitimate niece of the deceased), petitioned to be declared the lawful heir.

Maria Juana Ugarte e Iturralde was the daughter of Maria Juana Iturralde y Gonzalez, one of the children of Manuel Iturralde and Josefa Gonzalez, making her a niece of the deceased.
Carmen Linart, through her guardian Rafaela Pavia, later claimed one-half of the estate, asserting entitlement by representation through her father, Pablo Linart.

Pablo Linart was the legitimate son of Maria Josefa Iturralde y Gonzalez, another sister of the deceased.
Carmen Linart’s claim was based on the argument that she, as a grandniece, should inherit the same share as the direct niece, Maria Juana Ugarte e Iturralde.

In an intestate proceeding initiated on January 31, 1901, Maria Juana Ugarte e Iturralde was declared the lawful heir of Ramon Iturralde y Gonzalez.
In December 1904, Carmen Linart sought to claim a share of the estate and to require Maria Juana Ugarte e Iturralde to render an account of the estate’s property.
On February 24, 1905, the lower court rendered a judgment declaring that the grandniece was entitled to the same share as the niece, and issued an injunction preventing the disposition of the property until an account had been rendered.

Maria Juana Ugarte e Iturralde excepted to the lower court’s judgment and brought the appeal before the Court of Appeals.
The appellant challenged the lower court’s premise that a grandniece could participate by representation with a niece under intestate succession.

Whether the right of representation in an intestate succession within the collateral line may extend beyond the children of the deceased’s siblings.

Is a grandniece entitled to inherit by representation alongside a niece?
Does the legal provision regarding representation (art. 921, par. 1 and art. 925, par. 2 of the Civil Code) include or exclude grandchildren?

Whether the error committed by the lower court in treating the grandniece on a par with the niece constitutes an abuse of the law in interpreting the rules of intestate succession.

The proper interpretation of "children" in the context of intestate succession versus testamentary succession.