Foreign investors: a complete guide to making a will for your properties in Vietnam

If you own property in Vietnam, have you considered how to secure it for your loved ones? To this concern, a will ensures that your property is distributed according to your wishes, providing peace of mind for you and your family. Without a will, your property may be subject to lengthy legal processes and potential disputes.

BLawyers Vietnam would like to point out 5 issues that you as a foreign investor should consider when making a will:

1. Applicable laws to your will

As a foreigner, the civil relation regarding your will-making and inheritance is considered the relation with a foreign element pursuant to Civil Code 2015 of Vietnam. In principle, international treaties between Vietnam and your home country take precedence, followed by Vietnamese laws.

So, you should check if there are any treaties between Vietnam and your country that regulate will-making and inheritance.

2. The testator, heirs and the administrator

There are 3 notable issues as follows:

1. Capacity of the testator to make the will
   • For a will to be valid in practice, you must have the legal capacity to make a will according to the laws of your home country.
2. Conditions of the heirs under the will
   • An heir under a will is the person who has the right to inherit and receive the inherited properties after the testator’s death. The heir must be alive at the time of commencement of the inheritance or, if such person is born and alive after the commencement of inheritance, must have been conceived prior to the time when the deceased dies pursuant to Civil Code 2015.
   • You also need to know which cases the heirs cannot inherit the property under the Civil Code 2015.
3. Administrator of the inherited property and distributor of the inherited property
   • Pursuant to Civil Code 2015, the will should mention who is the administrator of the inherited property and who is the distributor of the inherited property.

3. Steps to make your will valid in Vietnam

a. Content of the will

Pursuant to Civil Code 2015, the contents of the will shall cover:

1. The date on which the will is made;
2. The full name and residential address of the testator;
3. The full names of the subjects entitled to inherit the property (i.e., the beneficiaries/heirs under the will);
4. The inherited properties and their location; and
5. Other contents (if any).

The contents of the will should not be contrary to laws or social morals of Vietnam.

Regarding the inherited properties stated in the will, you as a testator have the right to leave your own property as an inherited property after your death.

Pursuant to Civil Code 2015, the property comprises objects, money, valuable papers and property rights which are divided into movable and immovable property. Immovable property includes:

1. Land;
2. Houses and constructions attached to land;
3. Other property attached to land, houses and constructions;
4. Other property as prescribed by law.

Accordingly, the property right attached to the immovable property is also considered as immovable property right.

Another issue that a testator making a will should pay attention to is that, at present, Vietnam does not have specific regulations on inheritance for assets such as cryptocurrencies, virtual currencies, in-game virtual items, digital assets, or rights to manage/use/monetize profitable social media channels, etc. Therefore, when leaving these types of assets as inherited properties, the testator should carefully study or consult with the competent State authorities beforehand to minimize risks for his/her heirs.

b. Validity of the will under the laws of Vietnam

The will takes effect from the time of the testator’s death, but could be considered invalid in whole or in part in the following cases:

1. All heirs die or no longer exist before or at the same time as the testator;
   • If there are many heirs under the will, and one of them dies or is no longer living before or at the time of the testator’s death. Upon the testator’s death, only the part of the will related to that heir will not take effect.
2. The inherited properties are no longer available at the time of the testator’s death; if only part of the properties remains, the will on such remaining part is still valid.
   • If a will has an illegal part that does not affect the validity of the remaining parts, only that illegal part is invalid.

c. Formality of the will

The formality of the will must comply with the law of the country in the place where the will is made or the countries other than Vietnam that are included in one of the following cases under Civil Code 2015:

1. The country in which the testator resides at the time of making the will or at the time of the testator’s death;
2. The country of the testator’s nationality at the time of making or at the time of the testator’s death;
3. The country where the inherited immovable property is located (that is Vietnam in this case).

Thus, you can make your will in the countries listed above. If you make your will in a country other than Vietnam, you should check whether such will’s formality shall be recognized under Vietnamese laws.

Another issue is the language of the will: If such will was made in a foreign language, it must be translated into Vietnamese with a certification by the authority of Vietnam.

Legal support from BLawyers Vietnam

BLawyers Vietnam can assist you with the following:

1. Pointing out common pitfalls for making a will, and how to mitigate them
   • Not checking legal capacity: We help you verify your capacity to make a will under your home country’s laws.
   • Incomplete information: We help you check whether all required details are included in the will.
   • Ignoring formality: We navigate you through the correct formalities to ensure the will is recognized in Vietnam.
2. Making a will and offering support for notarizing it in Vietnam
3. Supporting you in the required procedures for receiving inherited properties in Vietnam
4. Representing you in will dispute settlements

The above is not official advice from BLawyers Vietnam. If you have any questions or suggestions about the above, please contact us at info@blawyersvn.com. BLawyers Vietnam would love to hear from you.

Date: 4 December 2025

Writer: BLawyers Vietnam