If my husband cohabitate as husband and wife with another person, can they enjoy each other's inheritance in Vietnam?

If my husband cohabitate as husband and wife with another person, can they enjoy each other's inheritance in Vietnam?

According to Article 613 of the 2015 Civil Code, there are regulations on heirs 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.

In Article 651 of the 2015 Civil Code, there are also provisions on 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, the law does not recognize that people cohabitating as husband and wife are entitled to inheritance. Therefore, the woman who cohabitated as husband and wife with your husband before passing away will not be entitled to inheritance in Vietnam.

If my husband cohabitate as husband and wife with another person, can they enjoy each other's inheritance in Vietnam? (Image from the Internet)

Is it legal to give testamentary gifts without a will in Vietnam?

In Article 646 of the 2015 Civil Code, there are regulations on testamentary gifts as follows:

Testamentary gifts

1. A testator may designate part of his or her estate as a testamentary gift to another person. The testamentary gift must be expressly stated in the will.

2. The grantee of the testamentary gift must be alive at the time of commencement of the inheritance or he/she must bear and alive after the time of commencement of the inheritance he/she must be conceived before the death of the estate leaver. If the grantee of the testamentary gift is not a natural person, it must exist at the time of commencement of the inheritance.

3. The grantee of a gift shall not be required to fulfill property obligations with respect to that part of the estate granted as a gift, unless the whole estate is insufficient to satisfy all property obligations of the grantor, in which case the part of the estate granted as a gift shall also be applied towards satisfying the remainder of the obligations of the grantor.

According to this Article, testamentary gifts must be clearly expressed in the will. If your husband dies without leaving a will, it cannot be considered a testamentary gift. Therefore, it is not correct for this woman to request a house according to your husband's will before he passed away.

In what cases can inheritance distribution be limited in Vietnam?

Article 661 of the 2015 Civil Code stipulates limited distribution of estates as follows:

Where it was the wish of a testator, or where the heirs agree, that an estate is to be distributed only after a certain period of time, it shall be distributed only after such period of time has expired.

If there is a request to distribute an estate but such distribution will seriously and adversely affect the life of the remaining wife or husband and family, such spouse has the right to request a court to fix the share of the estate to which other heirs are entitled but not to allow distribution of the estate during a certain period of time. Such period shall not exceed three years from the date of commencement of inheritance. When such period fixed by the court has expired or such remaining spouse has remarried, the other heirs have the right to request the court to permit distribution of the estate.

Thus, there are three cases that limit the distribution of inheritance: according to the will of the testator, according to the agreement of the heirs and according to the decision of the Court in Vietnam.

Best regards!