Is it possible to reclaim an inheritance that was previously disclaimed in Vietnam?

Is it possible to reclaim an inheritance that was previously disclaimed in Vietnam?

After my father's death, he did not leave a will, so his assets include house and land divided according to the law, my family has 04 brothers, because I am doing business, I am well off and about to go abroad, so when distribution, I refused to receive the inheritance, leaving it to 03 brothers, the refusal was clearly expressed in writing. A few years later, my business failed, I was heavily in debt, so I came back and wanted to claim the inheritance, can I get my inheritance back now?

Answer: According to the provisions of Article 620 of the 2015 Civil Code, an heir may disclaim an inheritance, unless such disclaimer is for the purpose of avoiding the performance of its property obligations to other persons.

As far as you have shown, your refusal is valid because the refusal is in writing and shown before the time of division of the estate.

Therefore, the refusal to receive the estate is completely voluntary, and legally expressed in writing, so now you have no right to reclaim that inheritance in Vietnam.

Can illegitimate children inherit in Vietnam?

Hello, I have a problem that I need advice on: I am in a relationship with an elderly man. And I gave him a 5-month-old daughter. Last week he died suddenly in a car accident. Can you tell me if my child can inherit from her father in this case? Please advise.

Answer: For the case of division of inheritance, it is necessary to consider whether the person left a will or not? If that person leaves a will, the property is distributed according to the will. If there is no will, the property will be distributed according to the law.

In case the deceased did not leave a will:

According to the provisions of Article 613 of the 2015 Civil Code, "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."

Besides, according to the provisions of Article 651 of the Civil Code 2015, there are 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.

Therefore, your children in the first line of heirs to inherit the estate will be divided into the estate by the heirs of the same level in Vietnam.

In case the deceased left a will but the will does not divide the inheritance to your children:

According to the provisions of Article 644 of the 2015 Civil Code:

Article 644. Heirs notwithstanding contents of wills

1. Where a testator does not grant any of the following persons an inheritance, or grants any such person an inheritance which is less than two-thirds of the share that person would have received if the estate had been distributed according to law, such person shall be entitled to a share of the estate equivalent to two-thirds of the share that he or she would have received if the estate had been distributed in accordance with law:

a) Children who are minors, father, mother, wife or husband of the testator;

b) Children who are adults but who are incapable of working.

2. Clause 1 of this Article shall not apply to persons who have disclaimed their inheritance as prescribed in Article 620 or person who are not entitled to inherit as prescribed in Clause 1 Article 621 of this Code.

According to you, your child is only 5 months old, so your child is an heir who does not depend on the content of the will. Therefore, in case the deceased left a will but the content of the will does not divide the assets or divide the assets less than two-thirds of the inheritance rate, your children will still enjoy the estate in Vietnam.

Conclusion: In case of illegitimate children, they still enjoy the right to inherit from their fathers like other co-heirs in Vietnam. However, because they are minors (have not yet had full civil capacity), the part of the inheritance your children will enjoy will be managed by the natural guardian (or appointed) until the child reaches adulthood (full capacity for civil acts).

If father dies before grandfather, will child lose the inheritance right in Vietnam?

My father passed away due to a traffic accident nearly 2 years ago, now my grandfather has only died for about 1 month, because he did not leave a will, his property is divided by everyone in the family according to the law. You have 04 children, my father is the eldest, my grandmother passed away a long time ago, now I want to ask if my father died before my grandfather, can I replace my father as the heir according to the law? (My parents have only me).

Answer: As you mentioned, your grandfather died but did not leave a will, so according to the provisions of Clause 1, Article 650 of the Civil Code 2015, cases of inheritance at law:

1. Inheritance at law shall apply in the following cases:

a) There is no will;

b) The will is unlawful;

c) All heirs under the will died prior to or at the same time as the testator dying, or the bodies or organizations which are entitled to inherit under the will no longer exist at the time of commencement of the inheritance;

d) The persons appointed as heirs under the will do not have the right to inherit or disclaimed the right to inherit.

According to this regulation, the first level of heirs comprises: spouses, biological parents, adoptive parents, offspring and adopted children of the deceased. Heirs at the same level shall be entitled to equal shares of the estate. (Article 651 of the Civil Code 2015). Thus, the estate will be divided equally among 4 children of your grandfather, including your father.

However, your father died before your grandfather, so when dividing his inheritance, the part that your father received according to the regulations will be inherited by you, specifically: Where a child of a testator died prior to or at the same time as the testator, the grandchildren of the testator shall inherit that part of the estate which their father or mother would have been entitled to inherit had such father or mother still been alive. If the grandchildren also died prior to or at the same time as the testator, the great-grandchildren of the testator shall inherit that part of the estate which their father or mother would have been entitled to inherit had such father or mother still been alive. (Article 652 Civil Code 2015)

Therefore, your inheritance is not lost, because you can receive the inheritance that your father has inherited from his property in Vietnam, you receive in the form of inheriting the position of the father's property but because your father died before him.

Here is the content of the consultation.

Best regards!