How long after the death of a loved one can an inheritance be divided?

May I ask, what is the law on this matter?

Advisory lawyer

According to Clause 1, Article 611 of the 2015 Civil Code, the time to open the inheritance is the time of death of the person owning the property. According to Article 614 of the Civil Code 2015, from the time of opening the inheritance, the heirs have the property rights and obligations left by the deceased.

Thus, it can be understood that after the person who left the property dies, the heirs are entitled to divide the inherited property. However, based on article 661 of the 2015 Civil Code, the following cases will limit the division of inheritance:

Firstly, according to the will of the testator or by agreement of all the heirs, the estate is distributed only after a certain period of time, only after that time limit has expired.

Example 1: In the content of the will, the maker requests that “after 2 years of death, the people who are entitled to the property under the will are entitled to divide the inheritance”. Thus, within 2 years from the date of death of the person leaving the estate, the inheritance cannot be divided.

Example 2: All heirs agree that “within 5 years from the date of death of the estate leaver not to divide the inheritance (even if the testator does not request)”, the restriction on the division of the inheritance shall be made pursuant to this agreement.

Second, in the case of a request for the division of the inheritance, where the division of the estate seriously affects the life of the surviving spouse and family, the surviving party has the right to request the Court to determine the portion of the estate that is not part of the estate. the heirs are entitled to but have not distributed the estate within a certain period of time. This time limit shall not exceed 3 years from the time of opening the inheritance. At the end of the 3-year time limit, if the surviving party proves that the division of the estate still seriously affects their family’s life, it may request the Court to extend it once but for no more than 3 years.

Example 3: In case the husband dies, the husband’s parents request to divide the couple’s common house (the sole inheritance) to his parents-in-law according to the provisions of law, which leads to the wife having difficulty in housing. , seriously affecting the life of the wife and children, the wife has the right to request the Court to temporarily not divide the inheritance for a certain period of time.

Lawyer Pham Thanh Huu
Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association