Is it correct that the time of publication of the will is the same as the time of the death of the testator in Vietnam?

Is it correct that the time of publication of the will is the same as the time of the death of the testator in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 641 of the Civil Code in 2015 stipulating custody of wills as follows:

1. A testator may request a notary office or another person to keep custody of the will of the testator.

2. Where a will is kept in custody by a notary office, it must be taken care of and looked after in accordance with the law on notaries.

3. An individual keeping custody of a will has the following obligations:

a) Keep the contents of the will confidential;

b) Take care of and look after the will. If the will is lost or damaged, the person must notify immediately the testator;

c) Upon the death of the testator, to deliver the will to his or her heirs or to the person authorized to announce the will. The delivery of the will must be recorded in writing and signed by the person delivering the will, and by the person receiving it, in the presence of two witnesses.

Pursuant to Article 623 of the Civil Code in 2015 stipulating prescriptive periods with respect to inheritances 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.

Thus, when the person who made the will dies, the person holding the will must hand over the will to the heir or the person publishing the will. However, there is still no regulation that the time for announcing the will must be at the same time as the time of the testator's death. Therefore, when your father passes away, the time to announce the will can still be some time after your father's death but must not exceed the prescriptive periods.

Is it correct that the time of publication of the will is the same as the time of the death of the testator in Vietnam? - Source: Internet

Who is the person who publishes the will in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 647 of the Civil Code in 2015 stipulating announcement of wills as follows:

1. Where a written will is kept by a notary office, the notary officer shall be the person announcing the will.

2. Where a testator has appointed a person to announce the will, such person shall announce the will. If the testator fails to appoint a person or has appointed a person but the appointee refuses to announce the will, the heirs shall agree on the appointment of a person to announce the will.

3. After the time of commencement of an inheritance, the person announcing the will must send copies of the will to all persons with an interest in the contents of the will.

4. A recipient of a copy of a will has the right to verify the copy against the original.

5. Where a will has been prepared in a foreign language, it must be translated into Vietnamese and notarized.

Therefore, the person who publishes the will will depend on whether the testator designated a person to do so, or whether the testator sent the will to be kept at a particular location. In your case, your father sent the will to the D Notary Office, so the notary of that office is the one who will publish the will for your family.

Best regards!