Wife, mother of late actor Duc Tien sue each other over inheritance

The suit against Nguyen Ngoc Anh is being heard by the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court.

Tien died at age 44 in the U.S. in May 2024. Phuong, a former winner of the Miss Ao Dai Dallas pageant, lives in the U.S. with their daughter, and has authorized a representative to file the suit in Vietnam.

Phuong’s contention is that Tien left a will granting her ownership of a house in Linh Dong Ward in Thu Duc City in HCMC, and some land in Long An Province in the Mekong Delta. He bequeathed to his mother and daughter VND666 million (US$26,110) each.

His mother has made a counterclaim against Phuong, demanding half of the disputed assets. She and her son jointly bought the house in Thu Duc in 2009 as a simple one-story structure that they later expanded into a three-story house, she has claimed.

She had entrusted the ownership paperwork to her son because of her advanced age, poor health and lack of familiarity with legal procedures, and her daughter-in-law has misunderstood the property's ownership history, she has further claimed.

Actor Duc Tien and wife Miss Ao Dai Dallas Nguyen Binh Phuong. Photo courtesy of Binh Phuong

The property title was reissued solely in Tien’s name on Apr. 25, 2011, 10 days after he registered his marriage with Phuong. The couple relocated to the U.S. shortly afterward, leaving the property in the care of Anh, who has lived in the house with her daughter ever since.

"Duc Tien was a devoted son who intended to transfer the house’s ownership back to me, but he passed away unexpectedly before completing the process." She is also contesting the legality of her son’s will, drawn up in the U.S., saying it is not compliant with Vietnamese law.

She has asked the court to invalidate the U.S.-issued will, declare the Thu Duc house and Long An land as her joint assets with her son and award her half their values of VND2.7 billion and VND300 million. She also sought an equal split of the remaining half between herself, Phuong and her granddaughter of the total inheritance of approximately VND3 billion. She further sought full ownership of the Thu Duc house and offered to pay compensation to the two.

Tien, born in 1980 in Dong Nai Province near HCMC, became well-known as a model and actor in the 2000s. He won the Model Star award in South Korea in 2010 and starred in several popular Vietnamese TV series.

After moving to the U.S. he focused on hosting events within the Vietnamese-American community. Shortly before his death, he founded a media and event management company and participated in numerous shows both in Vietnam and abroad.

He and Phuong welcomed their daughter in July 2020, a decade after their marriage.