Making a will in Vietnam for a foreign child under 18: commonly overlooked conflict-of-law issues

If you are a foreign national owning a house, bank deposits, or capital contributions in Vietnam, and your heir is a minor (i.e., under 18 years old), an important question arises: will your will be implemented exactly as you intended?

In practice, there are many cases in which a will is validly made in Vietnam but later encounters obstacles and cannot be implemented at the time of inheritance declaration, particularly when the heir is a minor. In such cases, these obstacles are often irreversible and cannot be remedied at the stage of inheritance declaration.

In this article, BLawyers Vietnam shares our lawyers’ practical experience in assisting foreign nationals with will preparation in Vietnam, with the aim of ensuring that our clients’ intentions are carried out lawfully and effectively. These insights are drawn from our in-depth legal research, our working experience with competent State authorities and notary organizations, and our experiences in inheritance settlement procedures relating to real estate in Vietnam inherited by foreign nationals.

1. A will made by a foreigner is considered a civil matter involving foreign elements

What many foreign nationals do not realize is that the mere fact that the testator holding a foreign nationality is sufficient for the making of a will in Vietnam to be considered a civil relationship involving foreign elements.

Because the making of a will involves at least one foreign party, under the Civil Code 2015 of Vietnam (“Civil Code 2015”), it is regarded as a civil matter involving foreign elements. Accordingly, the applicable law is determined in the following order:

1. As a general principle, priority is given to international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member, or Vietnamese law;
2. Where international treaties or Vietnamese law allow the parties to choose the applicable law, the governing law shall be determined according to the lawful choice of the parties;
3. If the applicable law cannot be determined under (i) and (ii), the law of the country having the closest connection with the civil relationship involving foreign elements shall apply.

One question we often raise with our clients is whether they assume that, simply by making a will in Vietnam, that all related legal issues will automatically be governed by Vietnamese law.

2. Applicable law for making a will in Vietnam

2.1. Capacity to make a will

What legal basis is used to determine whether a foreign national has the capacity to make a will?

Under the Civil Code 2015, the capacity to make, amend, or revoke a will is determined according to the law of the country of which the testator is a national at the time the will is made, amended, or revoked.

2.2. Form of the will

Under the Civil Code 2015, the form of a will is determined in accordance with the law of the country where the will is made. A will may also be recognized in Vietnam if it complies with the law of one of the following countries:

1. The country where the testator resides at the time of making the will or at the time of death;
2. The country of the testator’s nationality at the time of making the will or at the time of death;
3. The country where the real estate is located, if the estate includes real property.

Therefore, if a foreigner makes a will in Vietnam, the form of the will must, in principle, comply with Vietnamese law.

The analysis in Section 2 indicates that even for the same will, the outcome of its implementation may vary depending on the jurisdiction involved.

3. Applicable law upon inheritance

According to the Civil Code 2015, the inheritance matters are governed as follows:

1. Inheritance in general is governed by the law of the country of which the deceased was a national immediately before death;
2. The exercise of inheritance rights with respect to real estate is governed by the law of the country where such real estate is located.

This means that even if the will is made in Vietnam, the actual distribution of the estate may still be subject to foreign law.

4. Special considerations where the heir is a minor

In practice, where the heir is a minor, the testator often wishes to appoint a person to represent the child in managing the inherited assets until the heir reaches 18 years of age.

However, this is also the aspect that most commonly raises legal risks in wills involving foreign elements. In many cases, the testator’s intentions are not implemented as expected, even though the will itself was validly made.

Based on the practical experience of BLawyers Vietnam, the appointment of a representative for a minor in a will made in Vietnam may not be recognized or may give rise to conflicts of law when inheritance procedures are carried out overseas, especially if the law of the testator’s nationality provides different rules on legal representation of minors or different mechanisms for managing a minor’s assets.

Therefore, where the heir is a minor, the testator should carefully review both Vietnamese law and the law of the relevant foreign jurisdiction to ensure that the appointments set out in the will do not adversely affect its validity or enforceability at the stage of inheritance declaration in the future.

How does BLawyers Vietnam assist in this matter?

Making a will for a child under 18 in a cross-border context is not a matter of form or wording of the will, but rather a question of the applicable law and the practical feasibility of the heir in carrying out the inheritance declaration.

BLawyers Vietnam supports foreign clients in:

1. Providing comprehensive legal opinion tailored to each specific case, helping clients understand procedures, implementation methods, and optimal solutions in accordance with Vietnamese law;
2. Assisting clients in drafting wills for execution at the competent authorities abroad or the notary office in Vietnam;
3. Providing will custody services and safekeeping of related documents for future inheritance procedures or amendments;
4. Supporting clients who require legal letters on Vietnamese law issued by a law practice organization for use in inheritance procedures abroad; and
5. Providing other related services upon request.

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: 5 March 2026

Writer: Thanh Huynh