When there is no will, dividing an estate is not a matter of whoever lives closest, nor a decision for the eldest child to make alone. It is the law that determines who inherits and how much each person receives, following a strict order known as the classes of heirs. Misread that order and a whole family can stay stuck for years: real estate that cannot be transferred, savings accounts held back by the bank, and heirs living abroad at risk of being left off the file entirely.
A parent passes away suddenly without having made a will, so who will the house and land go to? Does the child who has settled overseas, or the grandchild whose father died young, still have a share? And if the siblings cannot sit down together, who has the right to carry out the division? These are the questions that leave many families at a loss at the most painful of times. This article analyses the statutory classes of heirs, the principles for dividing an estate, the procedure as updated for 2026, and the risks most commonly encountered, so that you can protect the interests of your whole family.
When an estate is divided under the law and who counts as an heir
First, a point many people misunderstand: statutory inheritance does not apply only when there is no will at all. It also applies where the will is unlawful, where a person named in the will died before the testator or declined the inheritance, and to any portion of the estate that the will does not mention.
When one of these situations arises, the estate is divided among the heirs across three classes, ranked by closeness of marriage, blood line and the relationship of care and support with the deceased.
What does this mean for your family? The first class consists of those closest to the deceased: the surviving spouse, the parents (both biological and adoptive) and the children (both biological and adopted). A common misconception: the spouse of a son or daughter belongs to no class and so does not automatically inherit. The second class covers grandparents, full siblings, and grandchildren where the deceased was the grandparent. The third class covers great grandparents, biological aunts and uncles, and the corresponding nieces, nephews and great grandchildren.
How shares are split: equal shares within a class, the next class only after the first
Once the heirs have been identified, the division follows two core principles. First, persons in the same class receive equal shares. Second, a later class inherits only when no one remains in the earlier class, whether because they have died, been deprived or disqualified, or declined the inheritance.
Take a common example: a person dies leaving a spouse and two children, while both parents have already passed away. All three sit in the first class of heirs, so the estate is split equally, one third each. The deceased's own siblings, however close and however much they helped with care, receive nothing, because they sit in the second class while the first class still has members.
So what about the grandchild whose father died young? Suppose one of those two children had died before their own parent, leaving a child behind. That grandchild is not shut out of the division. Under the mechanism of inheritance by substitution, the grandchild receives exactly the share that their father or mother would have received if still alive.
Where the estate is an asset that is hard to split in two, such as a single house, the joint heirs may request division in kind; if that is not possible, they may agree that one person takes the house and pays the balance to the others, and if no agreement can be reached, the asset is sold and the proceeds divided.
The procedure from declaration to title transfer, updated for 2026
Knowing who inherits and how much is only half the story. The other half is completing the procedure so the assets actually reach the heirs. There are four steps.
The first step is to identify the full estate (real estate, bank deposits, shares, vehicles) and to draw up a complete list of the heirs across the classes described above. Leaving someone out at this stage creates problems at every step that follows.
The second step is to execute an estate division document at a notarial practice organisation. This is the notable change for 2026: the 2024 Law on Notarization, in force from 1 July 2025, has merged the two former instruments, namely the estate acknowledgement document and the estate division agreement, into a single instrument called the estate division document, applicable even where there is only one heir.
The notarization file requires the death certificate of the deceased, documents proving the family relationship between the deceased and the heirs, and documents proving ownership or use rights over the estate, such as the land use right certificate or the savings passbook.
The third step is public posting. The notarial organisation posts the estate division for a period of 15 days and may only notarize after that period ends with no complaint. The posting step exists precisely to surface cases where an heir has been omitted or concealed.
Under the local government model now operating at two levels, the posting is carried out at the headquarters of the commune or ward People's Committee where the deceased last resided, rather than at district level as before. Where the estate is real estate, the document is also posted at the commune where the property is located.
In the fourth step, once the estate division document has been notarized, the heirs use it to transfer the title to real estate at the land registration office, to collect deposits at the bank, and to pay the taxes and fees due. Only at this point does the asset formally stand in the name of the person entitled to it.
Overseas Vietnamese and foreign nationals inheriting where there is no will
For families with relatives abroad, the first question is which country's law applies. The general principle is that inheritance is governed by the law of the country of which the deceased was a national before death, but real estate specifically always follows the law of the country where the property is located.
In other words, if the deceased was a Vietnamese citizen and left real estate in Vietnam, the classes of heirs and the method of division set out above apply in full. A child, wife or husband who has settled abroad remains a lawful heir and does not lose that right merely by living far away.
The point to watch lies in holding title to real estate. An overseas Vietnamese of Vietnamese origin who is permitted to enter Vietnam may inherit land use rights and hold title like a domestic resident; a person who does not fall within that category instead receives the value of their share, meaning the land portion is converted into money for them.
For an heir who is a foreign national of no Vietnamese origin, a share consisting of land use rights is likewise generally received as value rather than held directly under title, depending on the individual's specific circumstances. Movable assets such as bank deposits, by contrast, carry no restriction on the right to inherit; the only remaining issue is the procedure for transferring the money abroad in accordance with foreign exchange regulations.
Risks and common mistakes when dividing an estate without a will
Most inheritance cases fall apart not because the law is difficult, but because of a few mistakes that recur again and again. Recognising them in advance helps a family avoid having to start over.
The first is omitting an heir. A stepchild raised as one's own, a child born out of wedlock, a grandchild entitled by substitution, or a child abroad who cannot be reached, are all lawful joint heirs. If the division document passes them over, that document may be declared invalid, and the person left out retains the right to sue for a fresh division even after the assets have been transferred to others.
The second is letting the limitation period lapse. Many families leave a parent's house untouched for decades, reluctant to broach the subject of division, only to find when they finally wish to divide it that the moment has passed.
The third is a dispute where one person takes possession and disposes of the asset unilaterally. When a joint heir registers the title in their own name or puts the joint property up for sale, the others are forced to sue in court to protect their shares, a process far more costly and drawn out than reaching agreement from the outset.
The fourth is the assumption that any relative automatically inherits. The law excludes certain cases, such as a person convicted of an intentional act against the life of the deceased, or a person who has seriously breached the duty to support the deceased.
Fifth, for heirs abroad in particular, personal documents and documents proving relationship issued overseas will be refused by notaries and banks if they have not undergone consular legalisation and notarial translation into Vietnamese, bringing the whole file to a halt at the very first step.
How DEDICA helps in dividing an estate without a will
The greatest value a law firm brings to an intestate estate lies in getting it right from the start. DEDICA helps a family identify the correct category and class of heirs, including the cases easily overlooked, such as adopted children, stepchildren raised within the family, heirs by substitution and relatives abroad, while checking the limitation deadline so the right to request division is not lost.
On that basis, DEDICA standardises the entire file, guides the consular legalisation of documents issued abroad, and acts under power of attorney before the notarial organisation, the commune People's Committee for the posting step, the land registration office and the bank, so that heirs far away need not travel back and forth. Where the joint heirs have not yet agreed on an approach, DEDICA represents them in negotiation or in a division lawsuit, and handles the value share for those not eligible to hold land in their own name.
Conclusion
In short, where there is no will, an estate is divided by classes of heirs: the first class comprises the spouse, the parents and the children; only when no one remains in an earlier class does the next class inherit; persons in the same class share equally; and grandchildren and great grandchildren inherit by substitution the share of a parent who died earlier. As to procedure, the steps are: (1) identify the full estate and all the heirs; (2) execute the estate division document at a notarial organisation; (3) post it publicly for 15 days at the commune People's Committee where the deceased last resided; (4) have the division document notarized, then transfer title, collect the assets and pay the taxes and fees. The three mistakes that most often derail a case are omitting an heir, letting the limitation period for requesting division lapse (30 years for real estate, 10 years for movable property), and failing to obtain consular legalisation for the documents of heirs abroad. Identifying these three points correctly from the outset will spare a family from having to start again from zero.
Every family has its own inheritance map, especially where there are adopted children, stepchildren, heirs by substitution or relatives settled abroad. DEDICA Law Firm helps you determine precisely who inherits and how much, standardises the entire file, and acts on your behalf before the notarial organisation, the commune People's Committee, the bank and the land registration office until the assets stand in the right name. Contact DEDICA for advice tailored to your family's specific situation.
This article is for reference only, based on the law in force at the time of writing. Each case has its own facts; please consult a DEDICA lawyer for precise advice.
