What are the penalties for cohabiting as husband and wife with a married person in Vietnam? Can a person cohabiting as husband and wife with another person inherit at law?
What is the definition of cohabitation as husband and wife in Vietnam?
Article 3, Clause 7, Law on Marriage and Family 2014 stipulates that cohabitation as husband and wife means a man and a woman’s organization of their living together and consideration of themselves as husband and wife.
Article 5, Clause 2, Law on Marriage and Family 2014 provides the protection of the marriage and family regime as follows:
Protection of the marriage and family regime
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2. The following acts are prohibited:
a/ Sham marriage or sham divorce;
b/ Underage marriage, forcing a person into marriage, deceiving a person into marriage, obstructing marriage;
c/ A married person getting married to or cohabitating as husband and wife with another person, or an unmarried person getting married to or cohabitating as husband and wife with a married person;
d/ Getting married or cohabitating as husband and wife between people of the same direct blood line; relatives within three generations; adoptive parent and adopted child; or former adoptive parent and adopted child, father-in-law and daughter-in-law, mother-in-law and son-in-law, or stepparent and stepchild;
dd/ Demanding property in marriage;
e/ Forcing a person into divorce; deceiving a person into divorce; obstructing divorce;
g/ Giving birth with assisted reproductive technology for commercial purpose, commercial gestational surrogacy, prenatal sex selection, cloning;
h/ Domestic violence;
i/ Taking advantage of marriage and family rights for human trafficking, labor exploitation or sexual abuse or committing another act for self-seeking purposes.
Thus, cohabitation as husband and wife in Vietnam means a man and a woman’s organization of their living together and consideration of themselves as husband and wife.
The law strictly prohibits cohabitating as husband and wife with another person, or an unmarried person getting married to or cohabitating as husband and wife with a married person, cohabitating as husband and wife between people of the same direct bloodline; relatives within three generations; adoptive parent and adopted child; or former adoptive parent and adopted child, father-in-law and daughter-in-law, mother-in-law and son-in-law, or stepparent and stepchild.
What are the penalties for cohabiting as husband and wife with a married person in Vietnam? Can a person cohabiting as husband and wife with another person inherit at law? (Image from the Internet)
What are the penalties for cohabiting as husband and wife with a married person in Vietnam?
Article 59, Decree 82/2020/ND-CP stipulates the penalties for violations of regulations on marriage, divorce, and the policies of monogamy as follows:
Violations of regulations on marriage, divorce, and policies of monogamy
1. A fine of 3,000,000 VND to 5,000,000 VND for one of the following acts:
a) Being married but marrying another person, being unmarried but marrying a married person;
b) Being married but cohabiting as husband and wife with another person;
c) Being unmarried but cohabiting as husband and wife with a married person;
d) Getting married or cohabitation as husband and wife between those who were once adoptive parents and adopted children, fathers-in-law and daughters-in-law, mothers-in-law and sons-in-law, stepfathers and stepchildren of the wife, stepmothers and stepchildren of the husband;
dd) Obstructing marriage, demanding property for marriage, or obstructing divorce.
2. A fine of 10,000,000 VND to 20,000,000 VND for one of the following acts:
a) Marriage or cohabitation as husband and wife between people who are of the same direct bloodline or who have kinship within three generations;
b) Marriage or cohabitation as husband and wife between adoptive parents and adopted children;
c) Forced marriage or deceitful marriage; forced divorce or deceitful divorce;
d) Exploiting marriage for the purpose of immigration, emigration, residency, acquiring Vietnamese nationality or foreign nationality, enjoying state incentives, or other purposes that are not aimed at family building;
dd) Exploiting divorce to evade property obligations, violate population policies or laws, or achieve other purposes that are not aimed at ending the marriage.
3. Remedial measures:
Compulsory surrender of illicit gains obtained from the acts listed in points d and đ, Clause 2 of this Article.
Thus, according to the above provisions, a person who cohabits as husband and wife with a married person may be fined from 3,000,000 VND to 5,000,000 VND.
Can a person cohabiting as husband and wife with another person in Vietnam inherit at law?
Article 651 of the Civil Code 2015 stipulates the heirs at law as follows:
Heirs at law
1. Heirs at law are categorized in the following order of priority:
a) The first level of heirs comprises: spouses, biological parents, adoptive parents, offspring and adopted children of the deceased;
b) The second level of heirs comprises: grandparents and siblings of the deceased; and biological grandchildren of the deceased;
c) The third level of heirs comprises: biological great-grandparents of the deceased, biological uncles and aunts of the deceased and biological nephews and nieces of the deceased.
2. Heirs at the same level shall be entitled to equal shares of the estate.
3. Heirs at a lower level shall be entitled to inherit where there are no heirs at a higher level because such heirs have died, or because they are not entitled to inherit, have been deprived of the right to inherit or have disclaimed the right to inherit.
Thus, people cohabiting as husband and wife do not fall within the levels of heirs at law. Therefore, a person cohabiting as husband and wife is not entitled to inherit at law.
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