According to Article 624 of the Civil Code 2015, a “will” is an expression of the wishes of a person to bequeath his or her property to others after death.
Forms of the Will:
- Written wills include:
+ Written wills which are unwitnessed;
+ Written wills which are witnessed;
+ Written wills which are notarized;
+ Written wills that are certified.
- Oral wills
+ In case a person’s life is threatened by death and they can’t make a written will, this person may make an oral will.
+ After 03 months from the time of making an oral will, if the testator is still alive and clear-sighted, the will shall be automatically annulled.
What is a lawful will?
A lawful will shall meet all conditions as follows:
- The testator is clear-sighted when making the will; and is not deceived, threatened or coerced into making the will;
- The contents of the will must not be contrary to law or social morals, and the form of the will must comply with legal regulations.
A lawful will must also meet some other conditions depending on the given circumstances:
- A will made by a person from fifteen to under eighteen years old must be made in writing and with the consent of the parents or guardian.
- A will made by a person who is incapacitated or illiterate must be made in writing by a witness and must be notarized or certified.
- A written will that is not notarized or certified shall be deemed lawful only if it satisfies the conditions provided in Clause 1 of this Article.
- An oral will shall only be deemed lawful if the testator orally expressed their last wishes before a minimum of two witnesses who immediately thereafter recorded those wishes in writing and signed or fingerprinted the document. Within 05 working days from the date on which the testator orally expressed their last wishes, that will must be notarized or certified by the Notary Public or competent agency.
Thus, a will can be made orally or in writing, notarized, authenticated, or it can be not required to be notarized or authenticated. However, in reality, wills that are not notarized or authenticated are often disputed about their legality and proving them is often difficult because the time from when they are made to when they are used is often long.
Therefore, our advice is that when you intend to leave your heritage to someone else, you should make a will in writing and have it notarized/authenticated so that the recipient can easily declare inheritance later.
Procedures for making notarized/certified wills
| Process | Detailled description |
| Step 1 | Application preparation and submission
The testator prepares a dossier following the instructions of the Notary Public or a competent person of the commune-level People’s Committee. |
| Step 2 | Checking application
The Notary Public or competent person of the commune-level People’s Committee shall check the documents in the submitted application. After checking the application, in accordance with legal regulations, the request shall be accepted and the professional department will be assigned to draft the content of the Will. |
| Step 3 | Drafting the will
Immediately after receiving all applications, the professional department will draft the will according to the wishes of the testator. After being drafted, the will will be transferred to a Notary Public or competent person of the Commune-level People’s Committee for content appraisal, technical appraisal for review, and lastly forwarded to the testator to read or listen or translate. |
| Step 4 | Signing the will
The testator, after reading/listening/translating, will then sign/fingerprint the will if there is no request for correction. Witnesses (if any) and the Notary Public will sign to transfer the will to the department of stamping, keeping and returning. |
| Step 5 | Paying fee and receiving copies of the Will
The testator pays the notary fees and receives notarized copies of the will at the counter. |
