Do children at 11 years old need a guardian in Vietnam?
Do children at 11 years old need a guardian in Vietnam? Who are guardians for minors in case of their mothers and fathers have lost?
The family Nguyen Van An (born 1997) and Nguyen Thi Binh (born 2009) include 4 people: father, mother and two brothers An and Binh. After graduating from high school, An went to work as a worker in a shoe factory 40km from home. In 2020, An and Binh's parents passed away in a traffic accident. An and Binh's house was close to their grandparents, so after the death of their parents, the two brothers stayed with their grandparents to facilitate Binh's schooling when An was away from work. Please ask if Binh is 11 years old, does he need a guardian and who will be the guardian for Binh? Thank you.
Do children at 11 years old need a guardian in Vietnam?
According to the provisions of Article 21 of the 2015 Civil Code:
1. Minors are persons who are under eighteen years of age.
2. Civil transactions of each child under six years of age shall be established and performed by his/her legal representative.
3. Each person who is from six to under eighteen years of age must have the consent of his/her legal representative to enter in and perform civil transactions, except for civil transactions which are performed for the purpose of meeting the needs of daily life suitable for the age group.
4. Each person who is from fifteen to under eighteen years of age is entitled to enter in and perform civil transactions by himself/herself, except for civil transactions related to real estate, movables required registration and other civil transactions as prescribed by law that are subject to the consent of his/her legal representative.
According to this Article, Binh was a minor (11 years old) when Binh's parents died. Therefore, a guardian in Vietnam is required for Binh.
Who are guardians for minors in case of their mothers and fathers have lost?
According to Clause 1, Article 47 of the 2015 Civil Code, wards include:
1. Wards include:
a) Minors who have lost their mothers and fathers, or whose parents are unidentifiable;
b) Minors whose parents are both incapacitated persons; parents have limited cognition or behavior control; parents have limited capacity of exercise; parents have their parental rights restricted by a court; and parents do not have the means to care for or educate such minor and the parents request the minor to be a ward;
c) Incapacitated persons;
d) Persons with limited cognition or behavior control.
At the same time, Article 52 of the 2015 Civil Code provides:
A natural guardian of a minor prescribed in Points a and b Clause 1 Article 47 of this Code shall be determined as follows:
1. The eldest brother or sister shall be the guardian of the ward; if the eldest brother or sister fails to satisfy all requirements for acting as a guardian, the next eldest brother or sister shall be the guardian, unless otherwise agreed that another biological brother or sister shall be the guardian;
2. If there is no guardian prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article, the paternal grandfather, grandmother or the maternal grandfather, grandmother shall be the guardian; or those persons shall agree to appoint a person or some persons to be guardian(s);
3. If there is no guardian prescribed in Clause 1 and Clause 2 of this Article, a biological uncle or aunt of the ward shall be the guardian.
Due to meeting the conditions of the individual as a guardian in Vietnam, An will be the natural guardian for Binh. However, if An is not qualified to act as Binh's guardian, his grandfather or grandmother shall be the guardian or these persons agree to appoint one or both of them as guardians for Binh.
Best Regards!
