Tiếng Việt
Table of Contents
1. What is a will?
2. How does the law regulate heirs regardless of the content of the will?
3. How does the law regulate the division of inheritance according to the will?
1. What is a will?
According to Article 624 of the 2015 Civil Code, “Will means an expression of the wishes of an individual, made in order to bequeath his or her property to others after his or her death.”
Thus, according to the above provisions, the content of the will is an expression of the deceased’s personal will to wish and desire to transfer his/her property to another person after death.
2. How does the law regulate heirs regardless of the content of the will?
Pursuant to Article 644 of the 2015 Civil Code, the provisions on heirs do not depend on the content of the will:
“Article 644. Heirs notwithstanding contents of wills
1. Where a testator does not grant any of the following persons an inheritance, or grants any such person an inheritance which is less than two-thirds of the share that person would have received if the estate had been distributed according to law,98 such person shall be entitled to a share of the estate equivalent to two-thirds of the share that he or she would have received if the estate had been distributed in accordance with law:
(a) Children who are minors, father, mother, wife or husband of the testator;
(b) Children who are adults but who are incapable of working.
2. The provision in clause 1 of this article shall not apply to any person who disclaims his or her inheritance pursuant to article 620 or who is not entitled to inherit as provided in article 621.1 of this Code.”
These provisions shall not apply to persons who refuse to receive the inheritance or are not entitled to receive the inheritance as prescribed in other provisions of the Civil Code. The right to inherit regardless of the will is guaranteed to those specifically prescribed such as minor children, father, mother, wife, husband and adult children who are incapable of working. According to the above provisions, in case the wife is not named in the will left by her husband, she will still receive a portion of the inheritance equal to two-thirds of the portion of a legal heir if the inheritance is divided according to the law.
3. Legal regulations on division of assets according to wills
Pursuant to Article 659 of the 2015 Civil Code, which stipulates the division of inheritance according to wills:
“Article 659. Distribution of estates in accordance with wills
1. An estate shall be distributed in accordance with the wishes of the testator. If the will fails to specify the share of each heir, the estate shall be divided equally between the persons named in the will, unless otherwise agreed.
2. Where a will provides for the distribution in kind of an estate, each of the heirs shall be entitled to receive his or her share in kind, plus the benefits and income derived therefrom, or must bear the depreciation in value of such share in kind up to the time when the estate is distributed. If the property [which is the subject of a share in kind] has been destroyed due to the fault of another person, the heir has the right to demand compensation for loss and damage.
3. Where a will provides for the distribution of an estate according to certain proportions of the total value of the estate, such proportions shall be calculated on the basis of the value of the estate at the time of distribution.”
Thus, the division of the inheritance is carried out according to the will of the person leaving the will. The heir may receive the inheritance in different forms such as equal inheritance, inheritance in kind along with benefits and profits, or in proportion to the value of the inheritance. Legal provisions create fairness and satisfy the wishes of the person leaving the will in the division of the inheritance.