Property disputes after a divorce in Vietnam

Property disputes after a divorce in Vietnam

Issues that husband and wife must resolve upon divorce include: termination of the marital relationship, right of children custody, alimony obligations, division of property, and debt repayment obligations. In case when the parties divorce, the parties do not ask the Court to settle the property issue and then cannot reach an agreement on the division of property and debt repayment obligations, the property disputes will arise.

The following article will help you learn about how to determine the property of husband and wife and the procedure to ask the Court to settle a property dispute after the divorce judgment has taken legal effect.

What is a property dispute after a divorce in Vietnam?

In fact, there are many cases when a husband and wife divorce and do not ask the Court to settle the property issue, but then cannot agree on the division of property, leading to a dispute.

Thus, a property dispute after a divorce is when one party requests the Court to divide property after the divorce judgment has taken legal effect.

How to determine the joint property of husband and wife in Vietnam?

Upon divorce or after a divorce, the parties have the right to request the division of property for the joint property of the husband and wife, not the right to request the division of the other party’s separate property.

Joint property of husband and wife in Vietnam include:

According to the provisions of the Law on Marriage and Family, the joint property of husband and wife includes:

1. Property created by a husband or wife during their marriage.

2. Income from labor, production and business activities of husband and wife during the marriage period.

3. Yields and profits from separate property of husband and wife arising during the marriage, including:

– Profits from the separate property of a husband and wife are natural products that a husband and wife obtain from their own property.

– Income from separate property of husband and wife is the benefit that husband and wife get when exploiting their own property.

4. Other lawful income during the marriage period, including:

– Bonuses, lottery winnings, allowances (except for allowances and incentives for people with meritorious services to the revolution and other property rights associated with personal identity).

– Property has established ownership over derelict objects, sunken objects, buried objects, dropped objects, forgotten objects, lost livestock and poultry, and aquatic animals.

– Other lawful incomes.

5. Property of husband and wife is jointly inherited during the marriage.

6. Property of husband and wife is jointly given as gifts during the marriage.

7. Other property agreed by husband and wife is joint property.

8. Land use rights acquired by husband and wife after marriage (except for land use rights that spouses are separately inherited, given as gifts or used separate properties for transactions)

Separate property of husband or wife in Vietnam includes:

According to the provisions of the Law on Marriage and Family, the separate property of husband, wife include:

1. Property that husband or wife have before marriage.

2. Property that husband or wife inherit separately during the marriage.

3. Property that husband or wife are given as gifts separately during the marriage.

4. Property is divided among husband and wife separately according to the written agreement on division of joint property during the marriage; yields and profits arising from such property.

5. Property to serve the essential needs of husband or wife.

6. Property formed from separate property of husband or wife.

7. Property rights to intellectual property objects (copyright, inventions, industrial designs, trademarks, …).

8. Property that husband or wife establish separate ownership according to a judgment or decision of a court or other competent agency.

9. Allowances and incentives received by husband or wife in accordance with the law on incentives for people with meritorious services to the revolution; other property rights associated with personal identity.

Principle of division of property of husband and wife in Vietnam

Division of marital property according to the prenuptial agreement in Vietnam

If before marriage, husband and wife have an agreement on the property regime, then this agreement must be made in writing, notarized or authenticated. In this case, the division of property of husband and wife upon divorce shall be applied according to that agreement.

Division of marital property according to the Vietnamese law

The division of property of husband and wife according to the law is applied when the husband and wife do not have an agreement on the property regime before marriage or, although there is an agreement, this agreement is invalid or incomplete or unclear.

The principle when dividing property of husband and wife according to the law is to divide it in half, but taking into account the following factors:

– Circumstances of the family, circumstances of husband and wife.

– Contribution of husband and wife to the creation and development of joint property. The fact that husband and wife work in the family is also considered an income earner.

– Protect the legitimate interests of each spouse in production, business and professional activities so that the husband and wife have conditions to continue working to generate income after the divorce.

– The fault of husband and wife when violating the rights and obligations of husband and wife during the marriage period.

The division of property of husband and wife is done in kind. If the property is an indivisible kind, it shall be divided according to its value; whoever receives the object of greater value must pay the other person an amount corresponding to the value of the difference.

Where separate property and common property of husband and wife are mixed or merged but cannot be divided, they shall be divided according to value. Those who do not receive in kind will be paid an amount corresponding to the value of their share of the property.

Division of common property of husband and wife in some specific cases:

1. In case husband and wife are lending money to others or have common debts, such transactions will still be valid after the couple’s divorce, unless otherwise agreed upon between the couple and related parties.

2. In case husband and wife live together with family, if it is not possible to determine the part of the property of husband and wife in the common property of the family, the husband and wife are entitled to share a part of the common property of the family on the basis of to the contributions of husband and wife.

– If the common property is the right to use agricultural land for planting annual crops or land for aquaculture: In case both husband and wife have direct needs and conditions for land use, it shall be divided according to agreement between the husband and wife. Where only one party has the demand and conditions to directly use the land, that party may continue to use the land and must pay the other party for the value of the land use right that he/she has received.

– If the common property is the right to use agricultural land for planting perennial crops or forestry land for afforestation or residential land, it shall be divided according to the usual principles as stated above.

4. In case the house which the husband and wife are living in is the separate property of one of the spouses, upon divorce, if the other person has difficulty in accommodation, he or she is entitled to stay there for a maximum of 06 months from the date of divorce.

5. In case a husband and wife put their common property into business, upon divorce, the husband and wife may receive such property and must pay the other person the value of the property he/she received.

Procedures for settling property disputes after divorce in Vietnam

After the divorce, if the two parties have a dispute over the division of common property during the marriage, one party shall file a lawsuit requesting the division of property.

The lawsuit file in Vietnam includes:

1. Petition (according to form).

2. Copy of ID card of spouse.

3. Copy of the court’s judgment on divorce.

4. Copies of papers proving property ownership for properties required to be divided (for properties subject to ownership registration).

5. Copies of contracts and agreements related to the husband and wife’s common rights and obligations towards a third party.

6. Pre-marital agreement of husband and wife (if any).

Where to file lawsuits in Vietnam:

Competent Court is the People’s Court of the district where the defendant is residing.