Ms. Ngan from Ho Chi Minh City messaged the An Tam Lawyers fanpage seeking advice on inheritance matters. Her message read as follows: (The client’s name and address have been changed to maintain confidentiality according to An Tam Lawyers’ privacy policy)
Hello Lawyer! My father passed away leaving behind a single-story house with a mezzanine in Ho Chi Minh City without a will. From what I understand, according to the law, the heirs are me, my mother, and my paternal grandparents. However, my paternal grandparents passed away a long time ago, and currently there are no documents proving the relationship between my father and them, so the inheritance cannot be divided. Could you please advise me on how to resolve this?
Lawyer Diep Quoc Hoang – in charge of consultation; Legal Assistant Nguyen Thi Ngoc Ha
(To help readers easily grasp the situation and understand the content, we have edited and presented it in a Q&A format)
Ms. Ngan: If my father did not leave a will, will the inheritance be divided according to the law, Lawyer?
Lawyer Hoang:
Clause 1, Article 650 of the 2015 Civil Code stipulates:
Article 650. Cases of inheritance according to law
Inheritance according to law applies in the following cases:
a) There is no will;
b) The will is invalid;
c) The heirs named in the will die before or at the same time as the testator; the agency or organization entitled to inheritance according to the will no longer exists at the time of opening the inheritance;
d) Those designated as heirs in the will do not have the right to inherit the estate or refuse to accept the estate.
Therefore, according to regulations, if your father did not leave a will, the inheritance will be divided according to the law.
Ms. Ngan: So, I, my mother, and my grandparents are all first-degree heirs of my father, right? Will my children inherit?
Lawyer Hoang:
Article 651 of the 2015 Civil Code stipulates:
Article 651. Legal heirs
Legal heirs are stipulated in the following order:
a) First-degree heirs include: spouse, biological father, biological mother, adoptive father, adoptive mother, biological children, adopted children of the deceased;
b) Second-degree heirs include: paternal grandfather, paternal grandmother, maternal grandfather, maternal grandmother, biological brothers, biological sisters, biological siblings of the deceased; biological grandchildren of the deceased where the deceased is the paternal grandfather, paternal grandmother, maternal grandfather, or maternal grandmother;
c) Third-degree heirs include: great-grandparents of the deceased; The deceased’s paternal uncles, maternal uncles, paternal aunts, maternal aunts; the deceased’s nephews and nieces whose uncles, maternal uncles, maternal aunts, or maternal aunts are all heirs.
Heirs of the same degree are entitled to equal shares of the inheritance.
Those in a later degree of inheritance are only entitled to inherit if there are no heirs in the preceding degree due to death, lack of entitlement to the inheritance, disqualification from inheriting, or refusal to accept the inheritance.
According to Article 651 of the 2015 Civil Code, the first degree of inheritance in your case would include your grandparents (your father’s parents, your mother, and you). If we consider that, your child would be in the second degree of inheritance.
Ms. Ngan: As I explained to the lawyer, what do I need to do to determine the relationship between my grandparents and my father, since there are currently no documents proving the kinship between my father and my grandparents?
Lawyer Hoang:
If there are no documents proving the family relationship between your grandparents and your father, there are two options:
Option 1: It is mandatory to obtain a copy of the birth certificate or records from the archives where your father – the deceased – was born.
Records include:
+ Household registration book
+ Residence information
+ Other relevant documents to establish the family relationship
Option 2: You can go to the People’s Committee of the commune/ward where your father – or where you reside – to submit a request for confirmation of the family relationship. You will be the one to certify that the family relationship between the parties is true. However, this method may only be accepted by the notary office if they handle it flexibly. Possible scenarios include:
– Will the People’s Committee confirm the family relationship for you or not?
– Will the notary office accept or not accept it?
Ms. Ngan: What content should the application for confirmation of family relationship include? Do I need to prepare it in advance?
Lawyer Hoang:
The application for confirmation of family relationship does not have a common form; each People’s Committee will have its own regulations on the form. You can go to the People’s Committee for guidance or refer to the following basic sample:
See more details at: Sample of confirmation of family relationship
The above is an online consultation for Ms. Ngan in Ho Chi Minh City regarding inheritance. Readers can refer to and apply it if appropriate. An Tam Lawyers provides online legal consultation – Anytime, anywhere – Consultation fee is only 350