100-year-old father struggles to transfer inheritance

For over a year, my family has made numerous trips trying to finalize the inheritance transfer of part of my parents’ land to my youngest sister. However, the process is still incomplete, and with my father now frail at 100 years old, time is running short.

Our family hails from central Vietnam, where my parents raised eight children. Over the years, my siblings and I have spread out across the country, leaving only my youngest sister near home. About 20 years ago, my parents moved in with me in Vung Tau, a southern city, to make their care easier.

When my mother passed away five years ago, I fulfilled her final wish by bringing her remains back to our hometown and restoring the family home, including the worship area.

With our father’s health deteriorating, my siblings and I agreed to designate a portion of our parents' 800-square-meter property to our youngest sister, allowing her to care for the family altar. However, despite our unanimous decision and harmonious family relations, we’ve faced administrative delays that have hindered the process for almost a year.

The first major challenge is that the property was jointly registered under both parents’ names, so after our mother’s passing, each sibling must formally waive their claim to her portion.

This process requires all of our birth certificates, which is difficult because we were born between 1947 and 1963, and most of these documents have been lost or are no longer accessible. Additionally, many of us left our hometown 40-50 years ago to join the military or settle elsewhere, making local birth records unavailable.

Another challenge is the legal requirement to provide death certificates for any heirs who have passed away. Two of my siblings died before my mother, including my older sister, who passed over 40 years ago in Hanoi, where we have no close relatives remaining. Her only child now lives with me in southern Vietnam, making it impossible to obtain her death certificate.

Additionally, since my mother passed away while staying with me, the notarization process must be handled in Vung Tau. However, because the property is located in our hometown, all land division and notarization steps must also take place there, which complicates matters further.

These are just a few of the obstacles we’ve faced over the past year, and I’m unsure what other issues may come up. Now in our 70s and 80s and scattered across Vietnam, my siblings and I feel discouraged by the ongoing travel demands as our 100-year-old father’s health continues to deteriorate.

I genuinely hope for administrative reforms that could ease these burdens on citizens. Only with such changes can families like ours avoid the prolonged difficulties over an uncontested inheritance.

Are you also encountering challenges with administrative processes?