Organization and Degree of Familial Relationships in Hispanic Cultures

“Parentesco” refers to the links or relationships between members of a family. Understanding how these are organized and measured is important in genealogical research.

These links are organized as lines (líneas) and measured in degrees (grados). There are three types of line,

Blood lines (consanguidad)

The links that exist between descendants of a a common ancestor (e.g., grand parents, parents, children, grand children, great grand children, nephews, cousins, etc.).

Affinity (afinidad)

The links that, through marriage, each spouse has with the other's blood relations (i.e., mother-in-law, daughter-in-law, sister-in-law, etc.). In general, the blood relations of one spouse does not acquire a legal relation with the blood relations of the other spouse (e.g., consuegros and concuños are not legally related to each other).

Adoption

The links between the adoptee and the adoptive parents and their blood relatives. This varies from country to country.