When an adopted child holding foreign citizenship and the biological children living in Vietnam all stand before the estate left by their parents, a single misunderstanding about "who is truly a lawful heir" can drag the whole family into years of litigation, and may even leave those far away with nothing. Inheritance disputes between biological and adopted children with a foreign element are highly prone to error, from establishing heir status to choosing the correct court, especially after Vietnam's court system was reorganized in mid-2025.
Does an adopted child with a foreign passport still inherit equally with biological children, or has citizenship "erased" that right? If the biological children in Vietnam have already gone to a notary to declare the estate and "forgotten" to name the adopted child living abroad, can the omitted heir reclaim their share? And when going to court becomes unavoidable, where is the lawsuit properly filed now that district-level people's courts no longer exist? These obstacles leave many families stuck for months, even years. This article analyzes the current legal framework, the resolution procedure, and the risks to avoid, so that every heir, whether in Vietnam or abroad, can protect their rightful share.
Biological and adopted children: who is a lawful heir and how the estate is divided
Vietnamese law places biological and adopted children in the same position when an estate is divided under the law. Both fall within the first rank of heirs, together with the spouse and the parents of the deceased; and heirs of the same rank receive equal shares.
This means that if the parents die without leaving a valid will, a lawful adopted child receives exactly the same share as a biological child. Citizenship or place of residence does not change this ratio. This is also the point that many families misunderstand, and the root of most disputes.
Everything turns on the word "lawful". The adoptive relationship gives rise to full rights and obligations, including the right to inherit, only once the adoption has been registered with a competent state authority.
In other words, a child raised in practice but never registered is, in principle, not yet an "adopted child" under the law, and this is precisely the ground biological children often invoke to exclude them. Even so, the law leaves a path open for adoptions established before 1 January 2011 that were never registered: that adoptive relationship may be registered for recognition if it meets the statutory conditions, and once registered it takes legal effect from the time the relationship arose (Article 50, Law on Adoption 2010). For overseas Vietnamese families who adopted decades ago but have lost the paperwork, restoring and proving this relationship often decides the outcome of the entire case.
Does foreign citizenship cancel the right to inherit, and in what form is the estate received
One of the most common misconceptions is that "holding foreign citizenship means you cannot inherit in Vietnam". This is not correct. The right to inherit attaches to one's status as an heir and is not stripped away by a passport. The real question is not "whether you may inherit", but "in what form you receive it".
As to the governing law, the Civil Code 2015 sets out clear principles for inheritance involving a foreign element:
Thus, if the parent who left the estate held Vietnamese citizenship, then determining who the heirs are and how the estate is divided applies Vietnamese law, even if the adopted child has acquired another country's citizenship. As for real estate in Vietnam, Vietnamese law always applies, regardless of where the heir resides.
The biggest difference arises when the estate is real estate. Here one must clearly distinguish two groups of "adopted children with foreign citizenship", because the Land Law 2024 treats them very differently:
| Group the adopted child belongs to | Rights over the inherited real estate |
|---|---|
| A person of Vietnamese origin residing abroad who is permitted to enter Vietnam | May inherit residential land use rights (and the house attached to it) and may be named on the Land Use Right Certificate like a domestic individual (Article 28, Land Law 2024). |
| A foreign national, or a person of Vietnamese origin not eligible to own housing in Vietnam | Is not issued a Certificate, but receives the value of the inherited share by transferring or gifting the land use rights (Clause 3 Article 44, Land Law 2024). |
This has major practical significance: even without being named on the land title, an adopted child holding foreign citizenship does not in fact "lose their share", because that share is converted into value and remitted to them. Disputes typically arise when co-heirs in Vietnam deliberately misinterpret this rule to seize the entire property.
Where disputes are resolved and by what procedure after the court reorganization of 1 July 2025
Not every matter has to go to court. If all heirs reach agreement, they may jointly execute a document agreeing on the division of the estate at a notary organization, which is faster and far less costly than litigation. A dispute truly begins only when the parties do not agree: on who is a lawful adopted child, on the share to be received, or when one party has unilaterally declared the estate and left someone out.
When litigation becomes necessary, disputes over inheritance of property fall within the jurisdiction of the courts (Clause 5, Article 26 of the Civil Procedure Code). And here is the change that many people, including more than a few advisory articles circulating online, still get wrong: from 1 July 2025, the court system was reorganized under the two-tier local government model, district-level people's courts ceased to exist, and first-instance trial jurisdiction passed to the Regional People's Courts.
The most easily confused point lies precisely in the foreign element. Previously, a dispute with a party or assets abroad had to be tried at first instance by the Provincial People's Court. That rule has now been repealed: such cases are also resolved at first instance by the Regional People's Court, while the Provincial People's Court only conducts appellate, cassation and reopening review. Filing at the wrong court level will have the file returned or transferred, costing additional time that is already scarce for those living abroad.
For real-estate estates, two principles must be remembered: only the court where the immovable property is located has jurisdiction (point c, Clause 1, Article 39 of the Civil Procedure Code), and disputes relating to immovable property within Vietnamese territory fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Vietnamese courts (point a, Clause 1, Article 470), which no foreign court can replace. Heirs abroad therefore almost always need a representative in Vietnam to pursue the case.
Alongside choosing the right court, documentation is the second front. Heirs living abroad usually must prepare and consular-legalize a series of documents before filing in Vietnam, typically including:
- Documents proving the adoptive relationship: the adoption decision or certificate, and the extract of adoption registration.
- Personal documents: passport, birth certificate, and documents proving Vietnamese origin (if any).
- The death certificate of the person who left the estate and documents proving the relationship with the deceased.
- A power of attorney to a lawyer or representative in Vietnam, notarized and consular-legalized.
Legal risks and common mistakes in practice
The greatest risk for an adopted child is being unable to prove a lawful adoptive relationship. When the registration papers are lost or the adoption was never registered, co-heirs who are biological children will immediately invoke this to deny heir status. If the file is not restored in time or the registration procedure under the transitional provisions is not carried out, the adopted child may be excluded from the division of the estate even after living as a child of the family for decades.
An equally common situation is being "left out of the declaration". Biological children in Vietnam go to a notary and declare the estate themselves without listing the adopted child living abroad, then transfer the title and even sell the property. The omitted person still has the right to sue for the estate to be re-divided and to request that the notarized document which left them out be declared invalid, but the longer the delay, the easier it is for the assets to be dissipated and the harder it becomes to recover them.
The statute of limitations is the quietest trap. People abroad often think "our parents' assets can be claimed whenever I return", whereas the law sets very specific deadlines:
That means there are only 10 years from the opening of the inheritance to request confirmation of one's own inheritance right or to reject another's. Past this mark, protecting one's heir status becomes very difficult. Another procedural mistake that has become common since mid-2025 is filing at the Provincial People's Court out of old habit, which leads to the petition being returned or transferred to the Regional People's Court and prolongs the case by months.
DEDICA's role in handling inheritance disputes between biological and adopted children with a foreign element
Given that heirs are often abroad and unable to return to Vietnam to pursue the case, DEDICA acts under a power of attorney to handle everything remotely: reviewing and proving lawful adopted-child status (or rebutting it where the status is abused), standardizing and consular-legalizing the entire set of documents sent from abroad, and then determining the type of estate and the appropriate form of receipt for each group.
While the co-heirs can still talk, DEDICA represents them in negotiations to reach a division agreement at a notary, the fastest option and the least damaging to family relationships. Where agreement is impossible, our lawyers represent clients in filing suit and in proceedings before the competent Regional People's Court, request the necessary measures to prevent dissipation of assets, follow the matter through to the enforcement stage, and ultimately remit the value of the inherited share to the client abroad lawfully.
Conclusion
To resolve an inheritance dispute between biological and adopted children with foreign citizenship, the process should follow four steps: (1) establish and prove heir status, especially the lawfulness of the adoptive relationship, since biological and lawful adopted children are divided equally; (2) determine the estate and the governing law, clarifying whether, for real estate, the person abroad receives in kind or only in value; (3) prioritize negotiation and a division agreement at a notary, and sue only when there is no consensus; (4) if suing, file at the correct Regional People's Court where the estate is located and within the statutory limitation period. The three mistakes that most often cause loss of rights are: skipping the registration or proof of the adoptive relationship, letting the limitation period lapse (10 years to confirm or reject an inheritance right, 30 years to request division of real estate), and filing at the wrong court level after the 2025 reorganization. If you are abroad, authorizing a lawyer to act from the document-review stage onward helps you avoid having to start over.
Every inheritance dispute between biological and adopted children with a foreign element has its own particulars regarding adoption papers, citizenship and the type of estate. DEDICA Law Firm accompanies you from reviewing heir status and legalizing documents from abroad, through negotiation among co-heirs, to representing you in court and securing your share of the estate, even when you cannot be present in Vietnam. Contact DEDICA for legal advice on your family's specific situation.
This article is for reference based on the law in force at the time of writing. Each case has its own particulars; please consult a DEDICA lawyer for accurate advice.
