Ms. Linh, an Australian citizen, asked DEDICA:
"My mother passed away in Ho Chi Minh City, leaving a house. While she was alive, she always said it would be divided equally among her three children. But after the funeral, my youngest sibling in Vietnam suddenly produced a 'handwritten will' claiming that our mother had left the entire house to them, yet the signature on it does not look like my mother's handwriting. I am living abroad and suspect the will has been forged. How will the person who forged the will be dealt with, and what must I do to reclaim my share?"
DEDICA ADVISES Forging a will to seize inheritance is dealt with on two fronts at once. On the civil side, a forged will has no legal effect, so the estate is divided according to law; more importantly, the person who forged the will also forfeits the very share they would otherwise have inherited. On the criminal side, this conduct may be prosecuted as fraudulent appropriation of property, and even as forgery of documents if forged papers of an agency or organization are used. The immediate priorities are to preserve evidence, request a signature examination, and file a lawsuit or a criminal complaint. You can handle all of this from abroad through an authorized lawyer.
Forging a will is dealt with on two fronts: civil and criminal
A will, by its very nature, is the expression of a deceased person's intent to dispose of their property after death. A forged will does not reflect that true intent and therefore has no legal effect. When a will is invalid, the estate is divided among the heirs at law (or under another lawful will, if one exists).
More notably, the law punishes the forger directly by excluding them from those entitled to inherit. A person who forges, alters, destroys, or conceals a will in order to enjoy the estate against the deceased's wishes loses the right to inherit, including the share they would otherwise have received at law.
In other words, the sibling in the situation above not only cannot use the forged will to take the house, but if proven to be the forger, will also lose their own lawful inheritance share.
Alongside the civil consequences, forging a will to appropriate property may incur criminal liability. Using a forged will to make others believe and hand over property is precisely the "deceitful means" that constitutes the crime of fraudulent appropriation of property:
The penalty escalates with the value of the property appropriated. Where the estate is real property, often worth many billions of dong, the conduct readily falls into the most serious bracket: appropriating property valued at VND 500,000,000 or more may be punished by imprisonment from 12 to 20 years or life imprisonment.
If the forgery also involves papers or seals of an agency or organization, for instance forging a notarized document, forging a government certification, or forging personal identification papers to legitimize the will, the offender may face an additional, separate offense:
What to do when you suspect a will has been forged (even while you are abroad)
Suspicion alone is not enough; evidence is what counts. The process typically involves the following steps:
- Preserve the status quo and gather evidence. Keep the suspected forged will, documents proving the inheritance relationship (birth certificate, civil status records), and, most importantly, genuine samples of the deceased's signature and handwriting to serve as a basis for comparison.
- Request a forensic examination. Examination of the signature and handwriting (and, where needed, of the age of the ink and paper) is key to proving that the will was forged. The examination's conclusion is the pivotal evidence for both the civil lawsuit and the criminal complaint.
- File a civil lawsuit. Sue to ask the Court to declare the will invalid and to divide the estate according to law. You may also request provisional emergency measures to prevent transfer of title or disposal of the property while the matter is being resolved.
- Report conduct showing signs of a crime. Submit a denunciation together with evidence to the investigating authority. The criminal track may proceed in parallel with the civil track.
- Authorize a lawyer if you are abroad. You are not required to be present in Vietnam. A valid power of attorney (which, if executed abroad, must be consular-legalized and notarially translated) allows a lawyer to gather evidence, request a forensic examination, file the lawsuit or complaint, and work with notaries, banks, and courts on your behalf.
Conclusion
In short, forging a will to seize inheritance is dealt with both civilly and criminally: a forged will has no effect, so the estate is divided according to law; the forger loses the right to inherit (Article 621, Civil Code 2015); and they may be prosecuted for fraudulent appropriation of property (Article 174, Penal Code), and even for forgery of documents (Article 341) if forged papers of an agency or organization are used. If you suspect a will has been forged: (1) preserve the evidence and genuine signature samples; (2) request a forensic examination; (3) sue to have the will declared invalid and the estate re-divided, and file a criminal complaint if there are signs of an offense. From abroad, you can entrust this entire process to a lawyer through a power of attorney.
If you suspect that a will has been forged to take your inheritance share, DEDICA can review the file, arrange a signature examination, represent you in a lawsuit to have the will declared invalid and the estate re-divided, and work with notaries, banks, and litigation authorities in Vietnam on your behalf, even while you are abroad. Contact DEDICA for legal advice tailored to your specific case.
The content above is for reference only; each case has its own particular circumstances, so please consult a DEDICA lawyer for precise advice on your situation.
