Khang, an Australian citizen, asked DEDICA:
"My father passed away in Da Nang, leaving a house and a savings account. My siblings in Vietnam disagree about how to divide the estate, and some even say that because I have lived abroad for so long, I should not claim a share. I live in Australia, and my job does not allow me to return to Vietnam many times to pursue the matter. Can I hire a lawyer in Vietnam to act on my behalf and resolve this dispute, or must I be present in person?"
DEDICA ADVISES You absolutely can hire a Vietnamese lawyer to resolve your inheritance dispute on your behalf. The law allows an individual to authorize another person, including a lawyer, to enter into transactions and take part in court proceedings in their name, even while living abroad. An inheritance dispute is not among the few matters a party must handle personally (such as divorce). What matters is a valid power of attorney: if you sign it abroad, it must be certified at a Vietnamese representative mission or consularly legalized before it can be used at home. Below are the legal grounds and the practical steps.
Your right to authorize a lawyer to handle an inheritance dispute
An inheritance dispute usually moves through two stages, and you can hand both of them to a lawyer. The first stage is negotiation among the fellow heirs and the declaration and agreement on dividing the estate at a notary office, which are, in essence, civil transactions. For these tasks, the law allows you to authorize another person to act in your name.
In other words, the lawyer you authorize can sign documents in your name and deal with the notary, the bank, and the other heirs. You do not need to be present at every step.
The second stage arises when the parties cannot reach an agreement and must take the matter to court. Many people worry that litigation requires them to attend court in person. In fact, civil procedure law allows a party to authorize another person to take part in proceedings on their behalf, and it excludes only a few matters of a personal nature, divorce being the typical example. An inheritance dispute does not fall into that excluded group.
Beyond acting as the authorized representative, a lawyer may also take part as the person protecting the lawful rights and interests of the party (Article 75 of the Civil Procedure Code 2015 (Điều 75, Bộ luật Tố tụng dân sự 2015)), directly defending your share when the case goes to court. (How much you are entitled to and who belongs to which class of heirs is a separate story; here we answer only the question of who can act for you.)
Steps to authorize a lawyer while you are abroad
The biggest hurdle for someone far away is not whether authorization is allowed, but how to make a power of attorney signed abroad valid for use in Vietnam. The process usually has four steps:
- Define the scope of authorization clearly. List specifically what the lawyer may do on your behalf: negotiate with the fellow heirs; declare or agree on dividing the estate at a notary office; deal with banks and the land registration office; file suit and take part in court proceedings if litigation becomes necessary; and receive and hand over the results to you.
- Prepare and validate the power of attorney from abroad. There are two ways: go to a Vietnamese representative mission (embassy or consulate general) in the country where you live to certify your signature on the document; or have it notarized or certified locally, then consularly legalized and rendered into Vietnamese by a certified translation.
- Send the original to your lawyer in Vietnam so the lawyer can complete the procedure for accepting the authorization.
- The lawyer acts on your behalf: negotiating, declaring the estate, working with the relevant authorities, or representing and defending your interests in court, while reporting on progress and transferring the results back to you.
Conclusion
So you are not required to be present in person: Vietnamese law allows you to authorize a lawyer to resolve your inheritance dispute on your behalf, from negotiation and estate declaration to taking part in court proceedings. There are three things to do: (1) define the scope of authorization clearly, including the rights to file suit, take part in proceedings, and dispose of assets if needed; (2) prepare the power of attorney and have it certified at a Vietnamese representative mission or consularly legalized if you sign it abroad; (3) send the original to your lawyer to begin the work. Do these three steps right, and you can stay abroad while still pursuing your share of the estate.
DEDICA regularly represents clients abroad in inheritance matters in Vietnam: guiding you to prepare and legalize the power of attorney from your country of residence, negotiating with the fellow heirs, declaring the estate at a notary office, and filing suit and taking part in proceedings when needed, all without you having to travel back and forth. Contact DEDICA to have a lawyer review your family situation and propose a suitable authorization plan.
The content above is for general reference; each inheritance matter has its own facts and documents, so you should consult a DEDICA lawyer for advice tailored to your case.
