05 judgments related to illegal wills in Vietnam

Article 630 of the Civil Code 2015 of Vietnam provides for legal wills as follows:

"1. A will must satisfy the following requirements in order to be lawful:

a) The testator was of sound mind when he or she made the will; and he or she was not deceived, threatened or coerced into making the will;

b) The contents of the will are not contrary to law or social morals and the will complies with legal formalities.

2. A will made by a person between fifteen and eighteen years of age must be made in writing and with the consent of the parents or guardian of such person.

3. A will made by a person who is incapacitated or illiterate must be made in writing by a witness and must be notarized or certified.

4. A written will which is not notarized or certified shall be deemed lawful only if it satisfies the requirements provided in Clause 1 of this Article."

An oral will shall be deemed lawful only if the testator orally expressed his or her last wishes before at least two witnesses who immediately thereafter recorded those wishes in writing and signed or fingerprinted the document. Such will must be notarized or certified within five working days of the date on which the testator orally expressed his or her last wishes.

In conclusion, all cases of making wills that do not satisfy the above conditions will be declared illegal.

Below is a summary of 5 judgments related to the declaration of an illegal will, please read for reference.

1. Judgment 05/2020/DS-PT dated February 26, 2020 on the request to cancel the will

- Judgment level: Appellate

- Judicial body: People's Court of Dak Nong province

- Summary of the case: Ms. Vang Thi G and Mr. Thao Seo S have lived together as husband and wife since 1986, without marriage registration. They have 5 children together and 1 stepchild of Mrs. G. In 2015, Mr. S had a relationship with another woman, Ms. S. In 2018, Mr. S was being treated at the general hospital of Dak Nong province, when Ms. Sung Thi S went to the hospital to force Mr. S to write a will, leaving all his assets including house and land for her, while the swidden land Mrs. G and her children were managing and using but did not know. After Mr. S's death, Ms. Sung Thi S based this will to occupy Mrs. G's house and swidden land.

- The Court's decision: Accepting the petition of Ms. Vang Thi G against Ms. Sung Thi S. The declaration of the will with the content that Mr. Thao Seo S left the property to Ms. S is invalid.

2. Judgment 139/2020/DS-PT dated 22/05/2020 on inheritance division dispute

- Judgment level: Appellate

- Judicial body: Hanoi People's Court

- Summary of the case: Ms. T's will is witnessed by Mr. L. However, in the verification minutes of the City People's Court. In Hanoi, Mr. L provided the opinion that he did not directly witness Ms. T making the will and signing the will. This will was brought to his house by Mrs. T and her daughter, Ms. H, and signed by him for certification. Therefore, Mr. L cannot be considered as a witness in Mrs. T's will. As for the confirmation of the T.T Commune People's Committee, it only confirmed Mr. L's signature, so there was no basis to determine that it was the will. Thus, the will made by Mrs. T is a written will without witnesses. Meanwhile, Ms. T made a will at the age of 75, so she is "Elderly"; Ms. T made a will but there was no witness, so it is impossible to know when Mrs. T made the will, was she still sane? Are you willing to make a will? Are you aware and in control of your behavior? Therefore, there is no basis to accept this will as legal under Article 667 of the Civil Code of Vietnam and it is necessary to cancel this will of Mrs. T.

- Court's decision: Canceling the will of Mrs. D.T.K.T made on April 1, 2014.

3. Judgment 80/2020/DS-PT dated May 13, 2020 on property inheritance disputes related to the request to declare the will invalid

- Judgment level: Appellate

- Judicial body: High People's Court in Da Nang

- Summary of the case: On April 23, 2014, Mr. Ho Dac V1 made a Will at the N1 Notary Office, Thua Thien Hue province, showing that he left half of his property in Shared property with Mrs. Nguyen Thi Hong L at parcel 27, map 14 located at 92/6/2 D1 street (now 184/6/2 D1 street (old number) and 6/2 T1 street (new number)) for Ms. Ho Thi H1. The plaintiffs argued that this Will is not legal because the will has many manifestations of violation of criminal law as well as civil law; The content of the will did not correctly state the actual area of ​​the land plot and did not have the moral spirit and traditional practices of Vietnam. Because of the above reasons, the plaintiffs ask the Court to declare the will of Mr. Ho Dac V1 made on April 23, 2014 at the N1 Notary Office, Thua Thien Hue province, invalid.

- Decision of the Court: Recognition of The will made by Mr. Ho Dac V1 on April 23, 2014 at the N1 Notary Office is a legal Will.

4. Judgment on request to declare illegal will and inheritance according to law No. 05/2022/DS-ST

- Judgment level: First instance

- Judicial body: People's Court of Thai Binh city, Thai Binh province

- Summary of the case: Around April 2020, Mr. H issued a will dated September 1, 2016, signed by Mr. Pham Thi N and Mr. Dang Van H4, saying that Mr. H4 and Mr. N wrote a will for Dang Van A's grandson, Mr. H's son, land plot No: 15. Plaintiff found that the above will was not in accordance with the provisions of law. Before his death, apart from his will on September 1, 2016, Mr. H4 left no other will. To date, the plaintiff has requested the Court: Declaration of the will dated September 1, 2016, signed by Mr. Pham Thi N and Mr. Dang Van H4, which Mr. Dang Van H has issued to request the co-heirs to perform. is not legal

- Court's decision: Accepting the petition of Mrs. Pham Thi N: The declaration of the will dated September 1, 2016, signed by Mr. Pham Thi N and Mr. Dang Van H6 is illegal.

5. Judgment 432/2020/DS-PT dated November 18, 2020 on disputes over land use rights and properties attached to land, requesting cancellation of wills

- Judgment level: Appellate

- Judicial body: Hanoi People's Court

- Summary of the case: The cause of the dispute was that Mr. K did not allow Mr. U to use his house, on the other hand, because Mr. K said that Mr. G had a will to leave the disputed land area for him. K. Mr. U confirmed that his father and Mr. G died without leaving a will. The will that Mr. K gave was not the original intention of Mr. Gia because the disputed land area was not Mr. G's, so Mr. G did not have the right to decide. In the documents on division of land by Mrs. G in 1987 and 1995, Mrs. Gia did not mention this land area, if any, it would have been transferred to Mrs. Tam, but it is not possible to reduce a part of the land without an entrance. The will was made when Mr. G was in a state of mental insanity and poor health and Mr. G wrote this will when being deceived or forced. The whole family knew that Mr. G could read and write fluently, so Mr. G's point in the will is unfounded, in the sign section it is not specified which finger, now Mr. G is dead, there is no basis to confirm the pointing fingers is from Mr. G.

- Court's decision: Accepting a part of Mr. Nguyen M U's lawsuit claim against Mr. Nguyen M K: Cancellation of the will dated January 2, 2006 made by Mr. Nguyen Thi G to divide assets for Mr. Nguyen M K. .

Please Login to be able to download