From the time of opening the inheritance to the time of division of the estate, the estate needs to be preserved from damage and loss. From the time of opening the inheritance, the heirs have the property rights and obligations left by the deceased. Therefore, after the person who owns the property dies, the estate belongs to the heir from the moment the heir receives the inheritance. In case the estate is an asset that must have its ownership registered, then after registration , the heir will have the ownership right. Thus, it is necessary to distinguish between two cases of heritage being assets registered for ownership:
– In principle, the heir who receives the inheritance is their actual inheritance (actual possession).
– The heir is the owner of that property from the time the certificate of ownership is issued.
The above issue will relate to the statute of limitations of inheritance and ownership rights arising according to the statute of limitations. From the time of opening the inheritance, the heir receives the inheritance but does not request to divide the inheritance. If anyone has bona fide possession of that inheritance for 30 years, he or she will have the right to ownership (Article 236 of the 2015 Civil Code ).
After opening the inheritance, the transfer of the undivided estate to anyone for preservation is decided by the heirs (except in the case where in the will the person leaving the estate appoints a person to manage the estate and divide the assets). There are assets used by heirs (such as parents giving their children a house to use or assets that have not been given to anyone to use or manage). Heirs can let the current user continue to use the property until the inheritance is divided, but for property that has not yet been handed over to anyone to manage, the heirs will agree to assign it to an appropriate person to manage. suitable for each specific situation. When there is a request to divide the inheritance, it will be divided but it is necessary to pay the costs of preserving the estate and the obligations of the deceased that have not yet been fulfilled.
According to the provisions of Clause 2, Article 149 of the 2015 Civil Code on the statute of limitations, the court only applies the statute of limitations at the request of one or more disputing parties. In cases of disputes over inheritance where the time of opening the inheritance occurred more than 30 years ago and the disputing parties do not request the application of the statute of limitations on inheritance, the court will apply the regulations on inheritance to resolve the matter. dispute and pay the person managing the estate a reasonable remuneration if requested by that person.
1. Pay the property obligations left by the deceased
The beneficiary under the law or will is responsible for fulfilling the property obligations left by the deceased corresponding to the portion of property he or she has received. However, in reality there are cases where the deceased leaves behind many obligations that the inheritance is not enough to pay. Therefore, according to Article 658 of the 2015 Civil Code, the payment priority order is as follows:
– Reasonable costs according to customs for burial;
– Lack of alimony;
– Subsidies for dependents;
– Labor wages;
– Compensation for damages;
– Taxes and other payables to the state budget;
– Other debts to individuals and legal entities;
– Fine;
– Other costs.
After paying the property obligations left by the deceased in order of priority and other expenses related to inheritance, the remaining property will be divided among the heirs.
2. Division of inheritance
2.1. Divide the estate according to the will
The division of the estate is carried out according to the will of the person leaving the will. If the will does not clearly determine the share of each heir, the estate is divided equally among the people designated in the will, except in cases where If otherwise agreed by the heirs.
2.2. Divide assets according to law
Heirs have the right to request division of the estate in kind; If it is not possible to divide equally in kind, the heirs can agree on the valuation of the kind and the recipient of the kind; If no agreement can be reached, the objects will be sold for division (Clause 2, Article 660 of the 2015 Civil Code ).
When dividing an inheritance, if there is an heir of the same rank who has been conceived but not yet born, a portion of the inheritance must be reserved equal to the portion that another heir is entitled to, so that if that heir is still alive at birth, he or she will be entitled to the inheritance. enjoy; If he dies before being born, the other heirs will receive benefits (Clause 1, Article 660 of the 2015 Civil Code ).
3. Limitation of inheritance division
According to the provisions of Article 661 of the 2015 Civil Code, in cases where according to the will of the testator or according to the agreement of all heirs, the estate can only be divided after a certain period of time, then only when After that time limit has expired, the inheritance will be divided. Limiting the division of the estate can be according to the will of the person leaving the estate as prescribed in Article 260 of the 2015 Civil Code.
In case there is a request to divide the inheritance, and the consequences of that division will cause serious impacts on the life of the surviving spouse and family, the surviving party has the right to request the court to The judgment determines the portion of the estate each heir is entitled to but has not yet divided within a certain period of time. The time limit for dividing inheritance is no more than three years from the time of opening the inheritance. If the surviving party has married someone else or the time limit for dividing the estate determined by the court has expired, the other heirs have the right to request the court to divide the inheritance. According to the provisions of Article 661, the time limit for division of the estate must not exceed 3 years from the time of opening the inheritance. After the 3-year period expires, if the surviving party can prove that the division of the estate still seriously affects their family’s life, they have the right to request the court to extend it once but not to exceed 3 years.
4. Division of inheritance in some specific cases
According to the provisions of Article 662 of the 2015 Civil Code, the division of inheritance in cases where there is a new heir or an heir whose inheritance rights are denied is resolved as follows:
– In case the inheritance has been divided and a new heir can be identified, the inheritance in kind will not be redistributed. The heirs who have received the divided inheritance are obliged to pay the inheritance. The new heir receives an amount of money corresponding to that person’s portion of the inheritance at the time of opening the inheritance in proportion to the portion of the inheritance received, unless otherwise agreed.
– In case the inheritance has been divided and an heir is denied the right to inherit, that person must return the inheritance or pay an amount equivalent to the value of the inheritance at the time of inheritance. to the heirs, unless otherwise agreed .
