Can an adopted child whose name is not in the household registration book receive inheritance in Vietnam?

Can an adopted child whose name is not in the household registration book receive inheritance in Vietnam?

Article 651 of the 2015 Civil Code stipulates heirs at law as follows:

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, according to the above regulations on dividing inheritance according to law in Vietnam, the first level of heirs of inheritance includes the deceased's adopted children.

Your father died suddenly, so he did not leave a will, so the estate will be divided according to the law in Vietnam. You are an adopted child in the first level of heirs of inheritance, so you will receive the inheritance, it has nothing to do with being on the household registration book or not.

Can an adopted child whose name is not in the household registration book receive inheritance in Vietnam? (Image from the Internet)

Do I need to have my name in the household registration book to receive inheritance in Vietnam?

According to Article 613 of the 2015 Civil Code, heirs are defined as follows:

If an heir is an individual, such person must be alive at the time of commencement of the inheritance or, if such person is born and alive after the commencement of inheritance, must have been conceived prior to the time when the deceased dies. Where an heir under a will is a body or organization, it must be in existence at the time of commencement of the inheritance.

Article 630 of the 2015 Civil Code stipulates lawful 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.

5. 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.

Therefore, according to the above regulations in Vietnam, receiving inheritance does not depend on place of residence or having one's name in the household registration book. To receive an inheritance will depend on the inheritance conditions such as: heirs, lawful will,...

What are regulations on prescriptive periods with respect to inheritance in Vietnam? 

Pursuant to Article 623 of the 2015 Civil Code, prescriptive periods with respect to inheritance are prescribed as follows:

1. The prescriptive period with respect to a claim of an heir for distribution of an estate shall be thirty years regarding immovable property or ten years regarding movable property from the time of commencement of the inheritance. Upon the expiry date of the aforesaid period, the estate shall belong to the estate administrator. In case where there is no estate administrator, the estate shall be dealt with as follows:

a) It shall belong to the person possessing it as prescribed in Article 236 of this Code;

b) It shall belong the State if there is no possessor prescribed in Point a of this Clause.

2. The prescriptive period with respect to a claim of an heir for a declaration of right of inheritance of the requester or to disallow the claim to inheritance of another shall be ten years from the time of commencement of the inheritance.

3. The prescriptive period with respect to a claim for an heir to fulfill property obligations of the deceased shall be three years from the time of commencement of the inheritance.

Above are the legal regulations on prescriptive periods with respect to inheritance in Vietnam.

Best regards!