Libro Primero · Título II Capítulo III. Del parentesco

The law recognizes kinship by consanguinity within the fourth degree, that by affinity within the second degree, and civil kinship, which arises from adoption and exists only between the adopter and the adoptee. Spouses are relatives, but they do not constitute a degree.

Kinship by consanguinity is that which exists between persons who descend from the same progenitor.

Kinship by affinity is the bond that unites one spouse with the other and their respective consanguineous relatives.

Kinship is graded by the number of generations; each generation constitutes a degree.

The series of generations or degrees proceeding from a common ancestor forms a line.

The line is direct when persons descend from one another, and collateral or transversal when persons proceed from a common ascendant but do not descend from one another.

In the direct line, whether ascending or descending, there are as many degrees as generations, that is, as many as persons, not including that of the common ascendant.

In the collateral line, degrees are likewise counted by generations, ascending from the person whose kinship is required to be established to the common ancestor and descending from the latter to the other relative.

Kinship by affinity is computed in the same manner as that by consanguinity, and terminates upon the dissolution of the marriage.