Cases of inheritance at law in Vietnam

Cases of inheritance at law in Vietnam (Internet image)

Regarding this issue, LawNet would like to answer as follows:

1. Cases of inheritance at law in Vietnam 

Cases of inheritance at law according to Article 650 of the Civil Code 2015 are as follows:

- Inheritance at law shall apply in the following cases:

+ There is no will;

+ The will is unlawful;

+ 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;

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

- Inheritance at law shall also apply to the following parts of an estate:

+ Parts of an estate in respect of which no disposition has been made in the will;

+ Parts of an estate related to an ineffective part of the will;

+ Parts of an estate related to heirs under the will not having the right to inherit, having disclaimed the right to inherit, or having died prior to or at the same time as the testator dying; and parts of an estate related to bodies or organizations entitled to inherit under the will but no longer existing at the time of commencement of the inheritance.

2. Regulations on heirs at law in Vietnam

Regulations on heirs at law according to Article 651 of the Civil Code 2015 are as follows:

- Heirs at law are categorized in the following order of priority:

+ The first level of heirs comprises: spouses, biological parents, adoptive parents, offspring and adopted children of the deceased;

+ The second level of heirs comprises: grandparents and siblings of the deceased; and biological grandchildren of the deceased;

+ 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.

- Heirs at the same level shall be entitled to equal shares of the estate.

- 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.

3. Procedures for preparation of wills at notary office or people's committee of commune in Vietnam

According to Article 636 of the Civil Code 2015, the preparation of a will at a notary office or the people's committee of the commune must comply with the following procedures:

- The testator shall declare the contents of his or her will to a notary public officer or a member of the people's committee of the commune who has the authority to certify it. The notary public officer or the person having the authority to certify must record the wishes stated by the testator.

The testator shall sign or fingerprint the will after acknowledging that it has been recorded accurately and that it expresses faithfully the intentions of the testator. Thereafter, the notary public officer or the member of the people's committee of the commune shall sign the will;

- Where the testator is not able to read or hear the will or not able to sign or fingerprint it, there must be a witness who must acknowledge the will by signing it before a notary public officer or a member of the people's committee of the commune who has the authority to certify it.

The notary public officer shall notarize the will, or the member of the people's committee of the commune who has the authority to certify the will shall certify it, in the presence of the testator and the witnesses.

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