Claim of the inheritance at law in Vietnam

Specifically, the first-instance civil Judgment 1636/2020/DSST dated September 28, 2020 on inheritance disputes has the following specific contents:

Mr. Vu Huu B was born in 1926, died on September 5, 2004, and Ms. Pham Thi H2 was born in 1918 and died on June 25, 1988. The two people (who did not leave a will) have a total of 9 children in common: Mr./Mrs. Vu Thi Ngoc L, Vu Huu D, Vu Anh D, Vu Huu M, Vu Thi Q, Vu Thi H, Vu Thi H1, Vu Thi P1, and Vu Thi D1. During the process of living together, Mr. B and Mrs. H2 have built a part of the real estate located at 198/25 PVT, Ward A, District C, Ho Chi Minh City. The year Mr. B died, he left a will for Mr. M to enjoy his entire inheritance of Mr. M.

Mr./Ms. Vu Thi Ngoc L, Vu Huu D, Vu Anh D, Vu Thi Q, Vu Thi H1, Vu Thi P1, and Vu Thi D1 all voluntarily gave Mrs. H the inheritance they were entitled to in the legacy left by Mrs. H2. Ms. H has repeatedly asked Mr. M to divide the above inheritance block, but Mr. M does not agree."

The People's Court of Ho Chi Minh City decided:

- Mrs. H2 died in 1988 without leaving a will, her father H2's Mr. S died in 1952, her mother H2's Mrs. D2 died in 1973, so the legal heirs of Mrs. H2 include her husband H2 and her children H2. The part of the estate left by Mrs. H2 is ½ of the land value at 198/25 PVT, and each person will be entitled to 1/20 of the house value.

- Mr. B died in 2004 and left a will for Mr. M to enjoy his entire inheritance, including the land value at 198/25 (is the property of Mr. B in his common property with Mrs. H2 and 1/20 of the above land value). This is the inheritance that he is entitled to inherit according to the law left by Mrs. H2. together with the agreement of the involved parties in the Minutes of Conciliation dated September 7, 2020, and the voluntary consent of the parties:

- Accept the petition of the plaintiff.

- Ms. Vu Thi H and people with related rights and obligations – Mr/Ms. Vu Thi Ngoc L, Vu Huu D, Vu Anh D, Vu Thi Q, Vu Thi H1, Vu Thi P1, Vu Thi D1 are entitled to the inheritance left by Mrs. H2 of 8/20 of the housing rate at 198/25 PVT. However, Mr./Ms. Vu Thi Ngoc L, Vu Huu D, Vu Anh D, Vu Thi Q, Vu Thi H1, Vu Thi P1, Vu Thi D1 voluntarily left Mrs. H to enjoy their inheritance. 

Regarding inheritance between children and family members, the Civil Code 2015 has the following provisions:

Article 649. Inheritance at law

Inheritance at law means inheritance in accordance with the order of priority of inheritance and the conditions and procedures of inheritance provided by law.

Article 650. Cases of inheritance at law

1. Inheritance at law shall apply in the following cases:

a) There is no will;

b)…

c) All heirs under the will died prior to or at the same time as the testator dying, or the bodies or organizations which are entitled to inherit under the will no longer exist at the time of commencement of the inheritance;

d) ...

2. Inheritance at law shall also apply to the following parts of an estate:

a) ...

b) ...

c) Parts of an estate related to heirs under the will not having the right to inherit, having disclaimed the right to inherit, or having died prior to or at the same time as the testator dying; and parts of an estate related to bodies or organizations entitled to inherit under the will but no longer existing at the time of commencement of the inheritance.

Article 651. 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)…

c)…

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, the Court shall divide the inheritance of the part of the estate where Mrs. H2 died without leaving a will, corresponding to ½ of the value of the land. Unless otherwise agreed, the heirs are responsible for performing property obligations within the estate left by the deceased.

Article 659. Distribution of estates in accordance with wills

An estate shall be distributed in accordance with the wishes of the testator. If the will fails to specify the share of each heir, the estate shall be divided equally between the persons named in the will, unless otherwise agreed.

Article 660. Distribution of estates in accordance with law

1. …

2. The heirs have the right to demand the estate to be distributed in kind. If the estate is not able to be equally distributed in kind, the heirs may agree that the property shall be valued and may agree on which heirs shall be entitled to receive which particular items of property. Failing such agreement, the assets in kind shall be sold for distribution.

The court recognized the part of the will that stated that Mr. B was to receive the entire property (1/2 of the property value + 1/20 of the value of the property legally inherited from Mrs. H2)'s estate and left to Mr. M. Only considering the redistribution of the inheritance according to the previous law that Mrs. H2 died leaving without making a will, so accepting the petition of Ms. H is grounded. At the same time, this is an uncomplicated inheritance dispute, so it is based on documents and evidence, including minutes of agreement between the parties, that the Court makes a judgment to ensure the maximum rights and interests of the parties.

Thus, the Court's method of dividing the inheritance as described above is to ensure the proper implementation of the law, fulfill the will of the deceased, and not affect the legitimate rights and interests of the parties.

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