Who is not entitled to inherit under the law in Vietnam?

Who is not entitled to inherit under the law in Vietnam? (Internet image)

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

1. Who is not entitled to inherit under the law in Vietnam?

(i) The following persons are not entitled to inherit:

- Persons convicted of having intentionally caused the death of or harmed the health of the deceased, of having seriously mistreated or tortured the deceased, or of having harmed the honor or dignity of the deceased;

- Persons having seriously breached their duty to support the deceased;

- Persons convicted of having intentionally caused the death of another heir in order to obtain all or part of the entitlement of such other heir to the estate;

- Persons deceiving, coercing or obstructing the deceased with respect to the making of the will, or forging, altering or destroying the will in order to obtain all or part of the estate contrary to the wishes of the deceased.

(ii) Persons provided in (i) may, nevertheless, inherit the estate if the deceased was aware of such acts but, nevertheless, allowed them to inherit the estate under the will.

Thus, the people who follow the above provisions are not entitled to inherit the inheritance; however, if the person leaving the estate knows his or her actions but still allows them to enjoy the estate, the above-mentioned people will still enjoy it.

(Article 621 of the Civil Code 2015)

2. What are the cases of heirs at law in Vietnam?

- 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.

(Article 651 of the Civil Code 2015)

3. Cases of inheritance at law in Vietnam

According to Article 650 of the Civil Code 2015, 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.

Nguyen Ngoc Que Anh

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