An heir living abroad may well win an inheritance lawsuit in their country of residence, only to discover that the judgment cannot touch the house in Vietnam they set out to claim. Everything turns on a question that seems simple yet decides the entire outcome: which country's court actually has jurisdiction over a dispute concerning an estate located in Vietnam.
Your parents left behind real estate or a bank account in Vietnam, while you have settled overseas and now disagree with the other heirs. Should you sue in the country where you live, or must you litigate in Vietnam? If you litigate in Vietnam, which court do you file with, when you can hardly fly back to attend hearings again and again? And will a Vietnamese court apply Vietnamese law or the law of your country of nationality? Answer these questions wrongly at the outset, and an heir far from home can spend years pursuing a futile lawsuit. This article analyzes when Vietnamese courts have jurisdiction, whether that jurisdiction is general or exclusive, where to file after the 2025 court reform, and the jurisdictional mistakes that cause many people to lose their rights.
When Vietnamese courts have jurisdiction over cross-border inheritance disputes
An inheritance dispute is regarded as involving a foreign element, or what is commonly called a cross-border inheritance dispute, when at least one party is a foreigner or a Vietnamese citizen residing abroad, or when the estate is located abroad. First, it must be clear that this is a matter the courts accept and resolve, not something the parties simply settle among themselves: the Civil Procedure Code classifies disputes over inheritance of property as civil disputes within the jurisdiction of the courts (Clause 5, Article 26).
For matters involving a foreign element, the law sets out a fairly broad list of cases in which Vietnamese courts have jurisdiction. The two grounds most relevant to heirs living far away are these: the defendant has assets within the territory of Vietnam, and the disputed relation concerns property located in Vietnam.
In other words, the mere fact that the estate is located in Vietnam is enough to bring the dispute within the jurisdiction of the Vietnamese courts, regardless of the heirs' nationality or where they live. This is the starting point for answering the central question in the title: where the estate is in Vietnam, the answer is almost always yes.
Exclusive jurisdiction when the estate is real estate in Vietnam
It is important to distinguish two levels of jurisdiction. General jurisdiction means Vietnamese courts are entitled to resolve the matter, but a court in another country may also have concurrent jurisdiction if that country's law so permits. Exclusive jurisdiction is entirely different: these are matters that only Vietnamese courts may resolve, with no court of any other country able to take their place. A dispute relating to real estate in Vietnam falls squarely within this exclusive category.
The consequence of this rule is highly practical, and it is precisely what many people abroad overlook. If the disputed estate is a house or land in Vietnam, a foreign court's judgment over that property will not be recognized or enforced in Vietnam, because it encroaches on the exclusive jurisdiction of the Vietnamese courts. You may spend effort and money pursuing a lawsuit in your country of residence, only to be left holding a judgment that offers no way to retitle or sell the house in Vietnam. This rule is reinforced by the substantive law as well, since the exercise of inheritance rights over real estate must follow the law of the country where the real estate is located.
Jurisdiction to adjudicate is not the same as the governing law
A common misconception merges two questions that are in fact separate: which country's court hears the case, and which country's law applies. Vietnamese courts having jurisdiction does not mean that everything follows Vietnamese law. Article 680 above draws a clear line according to the type of property. For movable property such as deposits, savings, and shares, the law governing the division of the estate is the law of the country of which the deceased held nationality immediately before death. For real estate, Vietnamese law always applies because that is where the property is located.
This leads to an entirely lawful situation: in a single inheritance matter, a Vietnamese court may apply Vietnamese law to the real estate while also having to consider foreign law for the accounts and shares the deceased left behind. Likewise, a will made abroad is not automatically invalid in Vietnam: as to form, a will may still be recognized if it conforms to the law of the country where it was made, the country where the testator resided or held nationality, or the country where the real estate is located (Article 681 of the Civil Code). The issue is usually not whether the will is valid, but whether its legality can be proven under the correct legal system.
Identifying the correct court level and place of filing after the reform of 1 July 2025
Once you know that Vietnamese courts have jurisdiction, the next step is to identify the specific court. This is exactly where many online guides have fallen out of date. From 1 July 2025, the court system was reorganized under Law No. 85/2025/QH15: district-level people's courts were abolished and regional people's courts were established. Previously, civil disputes involving a foreign element were tried at first instance by provincial-level people's courts; now first-instance jurisdiction belongs to the regional people's courts.
Because disputes over inheritance of property fall under Article 26, they come within the first-instance jurisdiction of the regional people's courts, even where a party is abroad. If you read an old guide stating that you must file with a provincial-level court, you may well file in the wrong place and lose further time waiting for the file to be transferred.
Which locality you file in depends on the type of estate. If the estate is real estate, the rule is firm and admits no exception based on the parties' place of residence.
Where the estate is movable property and the defendant does not reside in Vietnam, the law gives the plaintiff the right to choose the court of the place where the plaintiff resides or works in which to bring the suit (point c, clause 1, Article 40). To pinpoint the competent court quickly, an heir far away can work through three questions in order:
- Does the matter involve a foreign element, and does it fall within the jurisdiction of the Vietnamese courts? Where the estate is in Vietnam, the answer is almost always yes (Article 469).
- Does the estate include real estate in Vietnam? If so, this is the exclusive jurisdiction of the Vietnamese courts, and the suit must be brought before the court of the place where the real estate is located (Articles 470 and 39).
- Which court level hears the case at first instance? Since 1 July 2025 it is the regional people's court, no longer the provincial-level court as before (Article 35).
As for pursuing the lawsuit from afar, an heir abroad is not required to fly back and attend hearings in person. The law allows them to authorize a lawyer in Vietnam to represent them through almost the entire proceedings. A power of attorney signed abroad must be notarized and consularly legalized to be usable domestically. The court's service of procedural documents on parties abroad follows the specific methods set out in Article 474 of the Civil Procedure Code, and this is the step that usually makes a case take longer than usual.
Legal risks and common mistakes in practice
Cross-border inheritance cases rarely collapse because the person far away is in the wrong. They collapse because of mistakes about jurisdiction and procedure from the very first steps. Below are the most frequent errors.
Suing abroad over an estate located in Vietnam. Reluctant to face procedures in Vietnam, some choose to sue in the country where they live. For real estate in Vietnam, this is a dead end: the foreign judgment will not be recognized because it runs into exclusive jurisdiction, and in the end the case must be started over from scratch before a Vietnamese court, by which point far more time and money have been lost.
Filing with the wrong court level based on outdated guidance. Many online articles still state that matters involving a foreign element are handled by provincial-level courts. After 1 July 2025, that information is obsolete. Filing in the wrong place does not forfeit the right to sue, but it causes the file to be returned or transferred, prolonging the matter needlessly.
Underestimating the time required for a matter with a foreign element. A matter in which a party resides abroad or the disputed property is located abroad cannot be resolved under the simplified procedure (Article 317), and procedural documents must be served abroad. These two factors mean the time to resolution is usually counted in years, making thorough preparation of the file and early authorization of a representative all the more important.
Letting the limitation period for suing expire. This is the quietest trap for those far away, who often assume that a parent's property can be divided whenever they return. The law does not allow that.
Separately, the right to request confirmation of one's own status as an heir, or to deny another person's inheritance rights, carries a limitation period of only 10 years. For this reason, the first thing a person abroad should do is not to wait until they can arrange a trip back, but to check straight away how much time remains.
DEDICA's role in determining jurisdiction and pursuing cross-border inheritance lawsuits
For heirs abroad, the most costly mistake often occurs even before going to court, right at the stage of deciding where to sue and under which law. DEDICA reviews each matter from the outset to answer three foundational questions: whether Vietnamese courts have jurisdiction, whether that jurisdiction is general or exclusive, and which regional court the suit should be filed with, thereby sparing clients the scenario of suing in the wrong country or filing at the wrong court level. In parallel, we check the remaining limitation period and standardize the file from abroad, including guidance on consular legalization and notarized translation of all personal documents and the power of attorney.
On that basis, DEDICA acts under a power of attorney for clients abroad so they need not fly back again and again, takes part in proceedings before the competent court, including suits to re-divide an estate where an heir was omitted, accompanies the matter through to the enforcement stage, and advises on options for transferring the proceeds home, including selling or transferring the real estate and then remitting the money abroad lawfully. The constant aim is to enable someone half a world away from Vietnam to protect their inheritance rights without having to abandon their work and life.
Conclusion
A direct answer to the question in the title: where the estate is in Vietnam, Vietnamese courts have jurisdiction over a cross-border inheritance dispute, and if the estate is real estate, this is exclusive jurisdiction that no other country's court can replace. To proceed correctly, follow this order: (1) confirm that the matter falls within the jurisdiction of the Vietnamese courts because the estate is in Vietnam (Article 469); (2) if there is real estate, sue before the court of the place where the real estate is located, under exclusive jurisdiction (Articles 470 and 39); (3) file at the correct level, now the regional people's court at first instance rather than the provincial-level court (Article 35); (4) clearly distinguish which court hears the case from which country's law applies, since the movable portion may follow the law of the country of the deceased's nationality (Article 680); (5) check the limitation period immediately, because exceeding 30 years for real estate or 10 years for movable property forfeits the right to request division; (6) consularly legalize all documents and authorize a lawyer to pursue the suit from afar. The three mistakes that cost heirs abroad the most are suing abroad over property in Vietnam, filing at the wrong court level based on outdated guidance, and letting the limitation period expire. If you cannot return to Vietnam, the first thing to do is to have a lawyer determine the correct jurisdiction and check the limitation period.
Every cross-border inheritance dispute has its own particulars of nationality, type of estate, number of heirs, and where they reside. DEDICA Law Firm accompanies you from determining the court with jurisdiction and the applicable law, checking the limitation period, and standardizing the file from abroad, through to taking part in proceedings and transferring the proceeds to you, even when you cannot be present in Vietnam. Contact DEDICA to have a lawyer review your specific situation and determine straight away where you should sue and whether the limitation period is still open.
This article is for reference based on the legal provisions in force at the time of writing. Each case has its own particulars; please consult a DEDICA lawyer for accurate advice on your situation.
