Vietnam: How to handle loss and damage of wills?

Vietnam: How to handle loss and damage of wills? (Internet image)

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

1. How to handle loss and damage of wills?

According to Article 642 of the Civil Code 2015, loss and damage of wills shall be handled as follows:

- If, from the commencement of the inheritance, the will is lost or damaged to the extent that it is incapable of indicating clearly the wishes of the testator and there is no evidence of the true wishes of the testator, it shall be deemed that no will exists and inheritance at law shall apply.

- Where the will is found prior to distribution of the estate, the estate shall be distributed according to the will.

- Within the prescriptive periods for requesting estate distribution, if a will is found after the distribution of the estate, the estate shall be distributed according to the will at the request of the heir under will.

2. Regulations on lawful wills in Vietnam

Regulations on lawful wills according to Article 630 of the Civil Code 2015 are as follows:

- A will must satisfy the following requirements in order to be lawful:

+ The testator was of sound mind when he or she made the will; and he or she was not deceived, threatened or coerced into making the will;

+ The contents of the will are not contrary to law or social morals and the will complies with legal formalities.

- A will made by a person between fifteen and eighteen years of age must be made in writing and with the consent of the parents or guardian of such person.

- A will made by a person who is incapacitated or illiterate must be made in writing by a witness and must be notarized or certified.

- A written will which is not notarized or certified shall be deemed lawful only if it satisfies the requirements provided in Clause 1 of Article 630 of the Civil Code 2015.

- An oral will shall be deemed lawful only if the testator orally expressed his or her last wishes before at least two witnesses who immediately thereafter recorded those wishes in writing and signed or fingerprinted the document.

Such will must be notarized or certified within five working days of the date on which the testator orally expressed his or her last wishes.

3. Legal effectiveness of wills in Vietnam

Legal effectiveness of wills according to Article 643 of the Civil Code 2015 is 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.

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