When siblings fall into dispute over how to divide an inheritance, a single plot of land or the family home left by parents can turn relatives against one another, drag them through years of litigation and freeze the entire estate, simply because no one will give way or because one sibling has quietly transferred the title first. When parents die without a will and each child has a different view, are you bound to accept the plan put forward by whoever is holding the property? If one sibling has unilaterally transferred the whole estate into their own name, can you still recover your share? And if you live abroad and cannot return to Vietnam to pursue the matter, who will protect your interests? This article explains the rights of each heir, the two routes for dividing an estate and the mistakes that most often cost siblings their entitlements.
How siblings inherit an estate under Vietnamese law
The first step is to determine whether the estate passes under a will or under the law. If the deceased left a valid will, the estate is divided according to their wishes. If there is no will, the will is invalid, or the named beneficiary has died or declined the inheritance, the estate is divided under the law, that is, by order of heirs. This is the most common situation that triggers disputes among siblings: parents pass away suddenly, leaving no clear documents disposing of their assets.
When an estate is divided under the law, all children of the deceased, whether sons or daughters, married or not, living in Vietnam or settled abroad, fall within the first rank of heirs and receive equal shares. Just as importantly, a lawfully adopted child has the same inheritance rights as a biological child, and holding a foreign nationality does not strip a person of the right to inherit.
In practice this means: if one of your parents is still living, or your grandparents are still alive, they too fall within the first rank of heirs and share the estate alongside the children. Siblings belong only to the second rank of heirs, inheriting only where the estate is that of a sibling of theirs who leaves no one in the first rank. Understanding exactly where you stand among the heirs is the starting point for knowing how large your share is and with whom you must reach agreement.
Route one: a notarized agreement to divide the estate
While the co-heirs are still on speaking terms, the fastest and least costly route is to reach their own agreement. The law encourages heirs to meet and settle how the estate will be divided, and every agreement must be put in writing. This written agreement (or written declaration) of the estate is then notarized at a notarial practice organization.
Notarization is more than signing papers. The notarial organization must post a public notice of the estate division for 15 days at the People's Committee of the commune where the deceased last resided and where the real property is located, so that anyone who believes they have been left out has the chance to come forward. This is the single most important legal safeguard of the agreement route.
The practical consequence is clear: a single objection from one brother or sister during the posting period means the notary cannot complete the notarization. The agreement route then stalls and the division must move to court. Conversely, if everyone consents, the notarized division document is the basis for registering the transfer of the house, land and savings accounts to each beneficiary.
Route two: suing to ask the court to divide the estate
When siblings cannot agree, or one of them deliberately holds on to the property and refuses to cooperate, an heir has the right to sue and ask the court to divide the estate, because disputes over the inheritance of property fall within the jurisdiction of the courts. You file a statement of claim together with the death certificate of the deceased, documents proving the inheritance relationship (birth certificate, household registration and the like) and documents relating to the estate (land use right certificate, savings book and so on).
Which court to file in is a question that often trips people up. Where the estate is real property, jurisdiction does not follow where the defendant lives but is tied to the location of the property.
One major change to note: from 1 July 2025 the district-level court system was abolished, and the court of first instance is now the regional People's Court (under Law No. 85/2025/QH15 amending the Civil Procedure Code). A dispute over dividing an estate, including one in which a co-heir is an overseas Vietnamese or a foreign national, is now heard at first instance by the regional People's Court, no longer routed separately up to the provincial level as before. After accepting the case the court conducts conciliation; if conciliation fails, the case proceeds to trial. In practice, a contested estate-division case usually takes several months to a few years, depending on its complexity and whether the property must be revalued or resurveyed.
For heirs living abroad there is one important anchor: a dispute relating to real property in Vietnam falls within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Vietnamese courts. In other words, whatever your nationality and wherever you live, no one can take a dispute over a house or land in Vietnam to a foreign court to push you out of the picture. You are fully entitled to authorize a lawyer in Vietnam to pursue the lawsuit on your behalf.
Time limits and the mistakes that cost siblings their entitlements
The costliest mistake is letting the time limit lapse. Many people assume that "our parents' estate can be divided whenever we like", which is a dangerous misconception.
The consequence: if more than 30 years pass for real property (10 years for cash, gold and other movables), the brother or sister directly managing it may be recognized as the owner, while those far away lose the right to request a division. For families with a member who has settled abroad for many years, this is a very real risk.
The second mistake is being left out of the declaration. Some co-heirs in Vietnam carry out the estate declaration themselves and "forget" to name a brother or sister who lives far away. The law provides a mechanism: the public notice must expressly invite complaints and denunciations about the omission or concealment of heirs; and if the estate has already been divided when an omitted heir comes to light, that heir is entitled to require those who already received shares to pay back a corresponding amount in money (Article 662, Civil Code 2015). But to use that mechanism, you must discover the problem in time and sue to have the estate re-divided.
The third mistake is disposing of the joint estate unilaterally. While the estate is undivided, the person managing it may not sell, give away or mortgage the property without the written consent of all the heirs. A "quiet" transfer of this kind can be declared void, but if the property has already passed to a bona fide third party, recovering it becomes far more complicated. Two other common misunderstandings are the belief that a daughter who has married out, or an adopted child, has no share (wrong, they remain first-rank co-heirs), and confusing the deceased's separate estate with the surviving spouse's share of joint marital property, which leads to wrongly dividing assets that never belonged to the deceased.
How DEDICA supports you when siblings dispute an estate
An inheritance dispute between siblings is rarely just a legal matter; it is also a family one. The role of DEDICA's lawyers is to help you protect your interests clearly and on a sound legal footing, while opening the way to the least damaging solution. DEDICA reviews the file to pinpoint exactly what your share is and how much of the time limit remains, represents you in negotiations among the co-heirs toward a notarized agreement and, when court becomes unavoidable, represents you in the proceedings, including a suit to re-divide an estate where heirs were left out.
For clients living abroad who cannot return to Vietnam, DEDICA helps prepare and consularly legalize documents from your country of residence, accepts a power of attorney to work with notaries, the courts and the enforcement authorities, and stays with the matter through to transferring title or selling the property and lawfully remitting your share of the inheritance overseas to you.
Conclusion
When siblings dispute the division of an estate, follow this sequence: (1) determine whether the estate passes under a will or under the law, and correctly list the same-rank heirs entitled to equal shares; (2) check the time limit immediately (30 years for real property, 10 years for movables), because letting it lapse means losing the right to request a division; (3) if agreement is still possible, draw up and notarize a document dividing the estate, taking care to monitor the 15-day posting period so you are not left out; (4) if agreement is impossible, sue at the regional People's Court, and for real property, the court where the property is located. The three mistakes that most often cost heirs their entitlements are letting the time limit lapse, being left out of the declaration while living far away, and allowing someone to transfer the joint estate unilaterally. If you cannot be present in Vietnam, authorizing a lawyer to act from the very first file review will help you keep your share.
Every inheritance dispute among siblings has its own particular facts as to the will, the time limit, the documents and where each person resides. DEDICA Law Firm walks beside you from establishing your entitlements and negotiating among the co-heirs through to representing you in litigation and securing your share, even when you are abroad. Contact DEDICA for legal 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 advice precise to your situation.
