Legal Q&A on Inheritance Rights

(Baonghean) - 1. The parents had two children, Mr. A and his younger sister, Mrs. B. Mr. A got married and lived with his parents in the countryside. Mrs. B and her husband worked far away from home. In 2002, Mrs. B passed away. Mrs. B had four children (including one stepchild). In 2004, Mr. A's mother passed away, and in 2009, his father also passed away, but did not leave a will. The land use rights certificate still bears his parents' names. Currently, he wants to transfer the land use rights certificate from his parents' names to his, but Mrs. B's children object. These people believe that they have the right to receive part of the inheritance from their deceased mother.

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Ask:Is it right or wrong for Ms. B's children to request a division of the inheritance? If their request is correct, how much is the value of the inheritance they will receive?

Reply:

Article 677 of the 2005 Civil Code stipulates on inheritance as follows: “In case the child of the testator dies before or at the same time as the testator, the grandchild shall inherit the inheritance that his or her father or mother would have inherited if he or she were still alive; if the grandchild also dies before or at the same time as the testator, the great-grandchild shall inherit the inheritance that his or her father or mother would have inherited if he or she were still alive.”

Accordingly, in 2002, his sister passed away (before his parents), then Mrs. B's children will inherit Mrs. B's inheritance. Therefore, the request to divide the inheritance of Mrs. B's children is well-founded.

The value of inheritance each person receives is as follows:

Because his parents did not leave a will when they passed away, the inheritance will be divided according to the law. First, the order of inheritance must be determined. Article 676 of the 2005 Civil Code stipulates that the first order of inheritance includes: wife, husband, biological father, biological mother, adoptive father, adoptive mother, biological children, and adopted children of the deceased. Heirs of the same order receive equal shares of the inheritance. Accordingly, the first order of inheritance, as in his case, includes him and Mrs. B. Each person receives 1/2 of the inheritance. Because Mrs. B has passed away, Mrs. B's share will be divided equally among the four children, regardless of whether they are biological or stepchildren.

Because he lives with his parents and takes care of and protects the inheritance, in addition to the inheritance he receives, he is also entitled to a portion of the inheritance value corresponding to his care.

2. Ms. A stated: My grandmother has 3 sons, all of whom have families and stable housing. She lives with my family on a plot of land with an area of ​​900 square meters. Due to her old age and poor health, in 1996 she made a will, leaving the entire plot of land to my father. Unfortunately, in 1997 my father suddenly passed away. In 1998 my grandmother also passed away. Currently, my uncles have asked my mother to divide her inheritance.

Ask:Is the will my grandmother made for my father legally valid? Do my uncles have the right to claim the inheritance?

Reply:

Article 667 of the 2005 Civil Code stipulates the legal validity of wills:

1. A will takes legal effect from the time of inheritance opening.

2. A will is not legally valid in whole or in part in the following cases:

a) The testamentary heir dies before or at the same time as the testator.

The time of inheritance opening is the time when the testator dies. In your case, the time of inheritance opening was 1998, when your grandmother passed away. However, at the time of inheritance opening, your father had passed away a year earlier. Therefore, the will that your grandmother made to dispose of all the assets for your father did not take effect legally and had no legal value. Thus, in this case, the inheritance will not be divided according to the will that your grandmother made in 1996 but will be divided according to the provisions of the law on inheritance and the heirs will be determined according to the order of inheritance. Therefore, your uncles have the right to request the division of the inheritance.

The time of opening the inheritance is from 1998. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to the statute of limitations for filing a lawsuit to request the division of inheritance. Article 645 of the 2005 Civil Code stipulates: the statute of limitations for filing a lawsuit for an heir to request the division of inheritance, confirm his/her inheritance rights or reject the inheritance rights of others is ten years, from the time of opening the inheritance. Up to now, the statute of limitations for filing a lawsuit to request the division of inheritance of your family has expired. Therefore, your uncles no longer have the right to file a lawsuit but will make the request to divide the common property. Point 2.4, Article 2, Section I, Resolution No. 02/2004/NQ-HDTP dated August 10, 2004 of the Council of Judges of the Supreme People's Court stipulates: In the case that within ten years from the time of opening the inheritance, if the co-heirs have no dispute over the inheritance rights and have a written confirmation that they are co-heirs, or after the end of the 10-year period, if the co-heirs have no dispute over the inheritance line and all acknowledge that the inheritance left by the deceased has not been divided, then that inheritance will become the common property of the heirs. When there is a dispute and a request for the court to resolve it, the statute of limitations for filing a lawsuit regarding the inheritance rights will not apply, but the provisions of the law on division of common property will be applied to resolve it.

Law Office of Trong Hai and Associates