Can the land my parents gave my brother during the marriage period be considered common property of my brother and his wife in Vietnam?

Can the land my parents gave my brother during the marriage period be considered common property of my brother and his wife in Vietnam?

My parents gave my biological brother a plot of land (after he got married). Now when my brother sells it, his wife wants to divide it into 2. My brother doesn't accept it. My parents only care for my brother. In this case, does my brother have to share with his wife?

Reply:

Article 33 of the Law on Marriage and Family 2014 stipulates the common property of husband and wife as follows:

1. Common property of husband and wife includes property created by a spouse, incomes generated from labor, production and business activities, yields and profits arising from separate property and other lawful incomes in the marriage period; except the case prescribed in Clause 1, Article 40 of this Law; property jointly inherited by or given to both, and other property agreed upon by husband and wife as common property.

The land use rights obtained by a spouse after marriage shall be common property of husband and wife, unless they are separately inherited by, or given to a spouse or are obtained through transactions made with separate property.

2. Common property of husband and wife shall be under integrated common ownership and used to meet family needs and perform common obligations of husband and wife.

3. When exists no ground to prove that a property in dispute between husband and wife is his/her separate property, such property shall be regarded as common property.

Thus, whether parents give land to your brother during the marriage period needs to be considered whether it is for both spouses or just for your brother. If it's just for your brother, this is his personal property. The yield and income from that land is determined to be common property.

Is it possible to divide common property during marriage to avoid debt repayment obligations in Vietnam?

I have a business relationship with a friend who borrowed 700 million VND from me. This friend pledged to repay my debt within 2 years. If he could not repay the debt, he would sell the house to repay the debt, so I agreed to lend him the loan. When the due date came and I had not yet seen the debt paid, I went to the house and learned that the couple had divided their common property during the marriage, and the wife owned the house, with a certificate from the notary office. Now I don't know how to get back the money I lent. Could you please tell me whether it is legal to divide common property during marriage to avoid debt? I hope you can advise me, thank you very much.

Reply:

According to the provisions of Article 42 of the Law on Marriage and Family 2014:

Common property division during the marriage period shall be invalidated when:

1. It seriously harms the family’s interests; or lawful rights and interests of minor children or adult children who have lost their civil act capacity or have no working capacity and no property to support themselves;

2. It aims to shirk the following obligations:

a/ Raising and support obligations;

b/ Damages payment obligations;

c/ Payment obligations when declared bankrupt by a court;

d/ Debt payment obligations;

dd/ Tax payment obligations or other financial obligations toward the State;

e/ Other property obligations as prescribed by this Law, the Civil Code and other relevant laws.

Thus, according to the above regulations in Vietnam, division of common property during the marriage period to avoid paying debts to individuals and organizations will be invalid.

Therefore, in this case you can file a lawsuit with the Court to declare the division of common property during the marriage invalid and request the other friend to fulfill the debt repayment obligation in Vietnam.

Can a husband take common property to pay gambling debts in Vietnam?

My husband and I have been married for 3 years and have 2 children. For a long time, he was determined to do business, but recently he followed his friends into gambling. Now he owes people a lot. Now he wants to sell our land and car to pay debt. But I did not accept it and we had an argument. So please ask: Can my husband take common property to pay debt?

Reply:

Article 33 of the Law on Marriage and Family 2014 stipulates the common property of husband and wife. According to this regulation, the common property of husband and wife includes:

1. Common property of husband and wife includes property created by a spouse, incomes generated from labor, production and business activities, yields and profits arising from separate property and other lawful incomes in the marriage period; except the case prescribed in Clause 1, Article 40 of this Law; property jointly inherited by or given to both, and other property agreed upon by husband and wife as common property.

The land use rights obtained by a spouse after marriage shall be common property of husband and wife, unless they are separately inherited by, or given to a spouse or are obtained through transactions made with separate property.

2. Common property of husband and wife shall be under integrated common ownership and used to meet family needs and perform common obligations of husband and wife.

3. When exists no ground to prove that a property in dispute between husband and wife is his/her separate property, such property shall be regarded as common property.

In Clause 3, Article 45 of the Law on Marriage and Family 2014: There are regulations on separate property obligations of husband and wife.

3. The obligations arising from transactions established and made by himself/herself not for meeting the family’s needs;

Thus, your husband's self-borrowing to gamble is a transaction that he established not for the family's needs, so it is his private obligation to repay the debt. Your husband does not have right to use marital property or family assets to pay debt. And you also have no responsibility to repay your husband's debt in Vietnam.

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Best regards!