The case, brought to court last month, concerns the family’s eldest son, Quach Van Hien, 68, who was accused by his seven sisters and their youngest brother of trying to seize the entire inheritance without having contributed anything. work costs related to the maintenance of the property.
The Hiep Hoa District People’s Court opened the civil trial on February 23 aimed at resolving inheritance-sharing disputes.
The plaintiff representing the eight siblings is the second eldest sister, Quach Thi That, 71, and the defendant is Hien.
The inheritance includes a large piece of land and a house.
Despite the siblings’ collective efforts to maintain and improve the family home, tensions arose over the division of assets, leading to a legal battle.
According to the lawsuit, the parents had nine children: two boys and seven girls, That being the second eldest and Hien being the eldest son and third child.
Since 1994, after the eight eldest children started their own families, the parents have lived with the youngest son, Hau, in the now-contested family home.
The father died in 2001 and the mother continued to live with Hau, his wife and children.
“Every member of the family took comfort in knowing that my parents lived with Hau and his wife,” That said in the lawsuit.
At the end of 2015, the mother died without leaving a will. The assets she left behind include savings of VND230 million ($9,288), the family home and five plots of land totaling 6,377 square meters, of which 360 square meters is residential land and the rest is agricultural land. All funds and assets are in the mother’s name.
According to the lawsuit, in 2018, the seven sisters agreed to pool their resources to rebuild the house so that Hau’s family could continue to live there and at the same time, and that the house could serve as a gathering place for the extended family. as well as a place where family can worship their deceased relatives.
As originally planned, the construction and finishing costs exceeded 900 million VND, and apart from the savings left by parents, the seven sisters contributed 80 million VND each, while Hau paid 600 million VND.
Payment has been confirmed by the contractors and the material supplier.
The plaintiff claims that the eldest son, Hien, “did not contribute financially or provide effort” to the construction process.
But in February 2021, he returned from Hanoi, “took possession intentionally” [of the house]used it and kicked everyone out of the house.
“Currently, all the property left by my mother and all land use right certificates are occupied, managed and used by Hien,” the prosecutor said.
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Quach Van Hien shows his family’s disputed farmland in Bac Giang province, March 2024. Photo by VnExpress/Danh Lam |
The Hiep Hoa District Court was asked to intervene and divide the assets in accordance with the law, with the seven sisters expressing their preference to receive their share of the inheritance in kind.
This accused his younger brother Hien of unauthorized construction, demolition of existing structures and adding new construction, which affected the disputed assets.
“There are signs of procedures to amend land use rights certificates,” she said.
On the other hand, Hien claimed that the situation put him in great distress, saying he felt wrongly accused by his sisters and insisted on his right to property based on traditional practices and verbal statements. parents now deceased.
He argued that land and property were supposed to be his responsibility, especially in performing ancestral rites, in line with common cultural practices whereby sons of Vietnamese families typically inherit and maintain the family home.
Responding to VnExpressHien claimed that his siblings’ accusations are “baseless”, intentionally defamatory and slanderous with malicious intent.
He said that while his parents were alive, they “often declared” that the estate belonged to him, since he was the eldest son, so that he would take responsibility for the family’s ancestor worship.
He mentioned that according to local and family traditions, married girls are considered “sedentary” and do not have the right to demand a share of property with their biological family or brothers.
Regarding accusations of having contributed nothing but “returning from Hanoi to seize the ancestral land”, Hien said he regularly returned to worship at his parents’ house during traditional holidays and celebrations.
As he became old and weak, he said it was now “natural” for him to return to his hometown to live in the house.
Hien claimed the house was “left to him in writing by the parents.” He accused his sisters of trespassing on the property by hiring contractors to destroy the place while he was away.
He also insisted that he was reasonable and “not blaming his sisters”, so when he found out about the situation, he arranged a family meeting to share the property.
For the land of more than 4,650 square meters, where the house and 360 square meters of residential land are located, he declared that he shared it equally between him and his youngest brother, given that they are sons.
The remaining plots were divided equally among the seven married sisters, according to Hien.
“After reaching an agreement, everyone happily agreed, but a few days later the sisters ‘changed their minds’ and wanted to divide everything,” he said.
He said he then agreed to divide the inheritance “completely”, but was unhappy about being vilified by his sisters over his morality. He added that he was upset that his sisters had chaotically divided an otherwise harmonious family into factions.
He also said that he had done well in business and had always taken care of his parents and siblings.
He claimed that after opening a business in Hanoi, he even created jobs for many members of his family and now feels “betrayed.”
Hien also sent two complaints to the court expressing his desire to change the jury.
During the Feb. 23 trial, Hien said he had not received the complaint resolution document as previously requested and wanted to postpone the trial.
The court granted the postponement and the trial will be reopened on March 20.
