Family torn apart as 11 siblings clash over 1,200 sqm ancestral land in Vietnam

On Sept. 17, the Phu Tho People's Court reopened the case after a 16-month pause, summoning the warring family from Thanh Thuy District of the northern province back to the dock.

Presiding judge Nguyen Quang Vu reminded them before testimony began: "At the end of the day, no one is more important than siblings who share the same parents." He urged calm and warned against insults or disrespect.

At the center of the feud are two brothers: Nam, 75, the eldest of the family, and Dung, 66, the fourth sibling. Nam, representing seven siblings and the children of a deceased brother, accuses Dung of unlawfully taking over more than 1,000 square meters of their parents’ land. He insists only 138 square meters were gifted to Dung in the 1980s, while the rest should be divided equally among all 11 siblings to fund the construction of a family ancestral house.

Dung rejects that claim, saying their father formally transferred the entire 1,213-square-meter property to him in 1992. He points out that he has maintained the land for decades, building walls, planting trees, and paying taxes, with the local district issuing him a land-use certificate in 2005.

"The inheritance was settled long ago," Dung argues.

The dispute has already seen dramatic turns. In an earlier ruling, the provincial court sided with Nam, ordering the land, valued at VND6.7 billion (US$254,020), to be split among all siblings, leaving Dung with just his original 138 square meters. But that verdict was later overturned by the Hanoi High People’s Court, which found serious procedural flaws and ordered a retrial.

Family divisions run deep. While most siblings back Nam, their sister Lan is the only one to side with Dung. She told prosecutors that Nam’s allegations, that Dung secretly filled ponds and cut trees to seize land, were untrue.

"Dung improved the property openly, with everyone’s knowledge and support," she said, adding that the siblings had once been "the most prosperous family in the district" before the lawsuit tore them apart. The siblings suddenly wanted a share only after land prices surged in 2020, she said.

Even attempts at compromise have failed. Dung once agreed to give up half the land, around 600 square meters, for the construction of the ancestral house. But Nam refused, saying as the eldest he must hold the land title, though he promised to mark it "ancestral land, never to be sold or transferred."

The trial is ongoing.