Persons not permitted to notarize or certify wills in Vietnam

Persons not permitted to notarize or certify wills in Vietnam (Internet image)

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

1. Persons not permitted to notarize or certify wills in Vietnam

A notary public officer or a member of the people's committee of the commune who has authority shall not be permitted to notarize or certify a will if such person is:

- An heir of the testator under the will or at law;

- A person whose father, mother, wife, husband or child is an heir under the will or at law;

- A person having property rights or obligations relating to the will.

(Article 637 of the Civil Code 2015)

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

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.

(Article 636 of the Civil Code 2015)

3. Cases of written wills valid as though notarized or certified

Specifically, Article 638 of the Civil Code 2015 stipulates cases of written wills valid as though notarized or certified including:

- A written will made by a serving soldier who is not able to request a notarization or certification of his or her will provided that such will is certified by the head of his or her unit having the rank of a company commander or higher.

- A written will made by a person travelling on a seagoing vessel or aircraft provided that the will is certified by the captain of the vessel or aircraft.

- A written will made by a person undergoing medical treatment in a hospital or other medical establishment or sanatorium provided that the will is certified by the person in charge of such hospital or establishment or sanatorium.

- A written will made by a person conducting surveys, explorations or research in mountainous areas, forests or offshore islands provided that the will is certified by the person in charge of the unit.

- A written will made by a Vietnamese citizen residing abroad provided that the will is certified by a Vietnamese consular or diplomatic representative mission in that country.

- A written will made by a person held in temporary detention, serving a prison sentence or administrative penalty, or at an educational or medical facility provided that the will is certified by the person in charge of such facility.

4. Regulations on the legal effectiveness of wills in Vietnam

Pursuant to Article 643 of the Civil Code 2015, regulations on the legal effectiveness of wills are as follows:

- A will shall become legally effective from the time of commencement of the inheritance.

- All or part of a will shall be legally ineffective in any of the following cases:

+ An heir under the will dies prior to or at the same time as the testator dying;

+ A body or organization named as an heir no longer exists at the time of commencement of the inheritance.

Where there are several heirs under a will and one of them dies prior to or at the same time as the death of the testator or one of the bodies or organizations named as an heir under the will no longer exists at the time of commencement of the inheritance, only that part of the will which relates to the individual, body or organization no longer existing shall be legally ineffective.

- A will shall not be legally effective if the estate left to the heirs no longer exists at the time of commencement of the inheritance. If only part of the estate left to the heirs remains, only that part of the will which relates to such part of the estate shall be legally effective.

- Where a will contains provisions which are unlawful but such provisions do not affect the effectiveness of the remainder of the will, only such provisions shall be legally ineffective.

- Where a person leaves behind more than one will with respect to certain property, only the most recent of such wills shall be legally effective.

Ho Quoc Tuan

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