I do not want to share $270K land inheritance with my sister

People have different opinions about how parents divide properties and land among their children. But when it happened to me, I realized it was more complicated than I thought.

I am 37, married with two children. My family owns an apartment in Ha Dong, Hanoi, 25 km from our hometown, and a car we have used for four years. Both my wife and I work office jobs and have no debt. Our life is not wealthy but it is stable, and we save money every month.

My parents live with my maternal grandmother, who only had my mother after my grandfather died at war. Both are retired and co-own two plots of land.

One plot is 150 m2 in the center of the commune, with two street fronts and space for container trucks to park in the front. My family stays here when we visit my parents and grandmother on the weekends. The other plot is 160 m2 inside the village, also with two street fronts and a paved road, accessible by car, valued at around VND7 billion (US$270,000).

Recently, with all the children and in-laws present, my parents announced their decision. The 150 m2 plot will remain as ancestral land for me, their only son, to inherit and preserve, but it cannot be sold. The 160 m2 plot will be divided into two equal parts for me and my sister.

My sister’s family is financially better off. She and her husband have three children. They live in Ha Dong, Hanoi, and have stable jobs. My wife’s family lives in a distant province with limited means and cannot support us. Sometimes we have to help them instead.

In my hometown, it is tradition for the daughter to receive a dowry of gold, cash, or property. If the government requests for our land and gives compensation, it is divided equally among family members. It is rare for daughters to inherit land.

I know the land belongs to my parents and they have the right to decide its division, yet I still feel dissatisfied. My sister’s share amounts to more than VND3 billion (US$114,000), which keeps troubling me.

I feel gutted and worry about my two children, who have always relied on their paternal family. My sister’s children inherit from both sides and have a far easier life. The sense of unfairness is hard to shake.