Learn about wills, inheritance, inheritance property, and gifts according to Vietnamese law

1. What is a will?

Based on Article 624 of the Civil Code, a will is the expression of an individual's will to transfer their property to others after death.

In terms of form, the current law in Article 627 of the Civil Code stipulates that a will must be made in writing; if a will cannot be made in writing, it can be made verbally.

Therefore, to ensure the rights and obligations of the parties involved, as well as to ensure the implementation of an individual's will to transfer their assets to others after death, the Civil Code encourages making wills in writing more than verbal wills, except for cases where it is impossible, limits the ability of the testator, sudden death, etc.

2. What is inheritance?

According to current law, based on the concept of a will, inheritance is understood as the transfer of the deceased's property to the living, the property left behind is called an inheritance.

Currently, based on Article 624 of the Civil Code and Article 649 of the Civil Code, inheritance is divided into 2 main forms: inheritance according to a will and inheritance according to the law:

- Inheritance according to a will: transferring the deceased's property to the living according to the deceased's will while they were alive.

- Inheritance according to the law: inheritance according to the legal order, conditions, and procedures set by the law

Based on Article 612 of the Civil Code, inheritance property: includes the deceased's personal property, the deceased's share of property shared with others.

Therefore, inheritance property is all property owned by an individual that they leave behind after death, including goods, money, paper of value monetarily, property rights...

Based on Article 613 of the Civil Code, the heir must be an individual who is alive at the time the inheritance is opened or born and alive after the inheritance is opened but was conceived before the deceased left the inheritance.

If the heir according to a will is not an individual, they must exist at the time the inheritance is opened.

4. What is a gift?

Based on Article 646 of the Civil Code, a gift is when the testator allocates a portion of the inheritance to gift to someone else. The gift must be clearly stated in the will.

In addition, the conditions for the recipient of the gift must be an individual who is alive at the time the inheritance is opened or born and alive after the inheritance is opened but was conceived before the deceased left the inheritance. If the recipient of the gift is not an individual, they must exist at the time the inheritance is opened.

Furthermore, the recipient of the gift is not obliged to fulfill property obligations for the gifted portion, except in cases where the entire inheritance is not enough to pay off the property obligations of the testator, then the gifted portion is also used to fulfill the remaining obligations of the testator.

Wills and inheritance according to Vietnamese law