Case 1: There is a will
An aunt, uncle, or other individual is entitled to inherit if there is a valid will and the testator grants the inheritance.
Clause 1, Article 630 of the 2015 Civil Code stipulates that a valid will must have the following conditions:
(1) The testator must be of sound mind and clear-headed when making the will; he/she must not be deceived, threatened or coerced.
(2) The content of the will does not violate the prohibitions of law and is not contrary to social ethics.
(3) The form of the will does not violate the provisions of law.
There are two forms of wills: written wills (written wills without witnesses, written wills with witnesses, notarized written wills, certified written wills) and oral wills.
Note: An oral will is considered legal if the testator expresses his or her last will in front of at least two witnesses and immediately after the testator expresses his or her last will, the witnesses record it, co-sign or fingerprint it.
Within 5 working days from the date the oral testator expresses his or her final will, the will must be certified by a notary or a competent authority to confirm the signature or fingerprint of the witness.
Case 2: No will
In case there is no will or there is an illegal will, the aunt or uncle will not be entitled to inherit and also has no right to request division of the inheritance.
The reason for not being entitled to inheritance according to the law is because the conditions for inheritance according to the law are not met.
Clause 1, Article 651 of the 2015 Civil Code stipulates that legal heirs are determined in the following order:
- First order of inheritance includes: Wife, husband, biological father, biological mother, adoptive father, adoptive mother, biological children, adopted children of the deceased.
- Second order of heirs includes: paternal grandfather, paternal grandmother, maternal grandfather, maternal grandmother, full brothers, full sisters of the deceased; grandchildren of the deceased who is the paternal grandfather, paternal grandmother, maternal grandfather, or maternal grandmother.
- Third-order heirs include: paternal and maternal great-grandparents of the deceased; paternal and maternal uncles and aunts of the deceased; nieces and nephews of the deceased who is the paternal and maternal uncle and aunt; great-grandchildren of the deceased who is the paternal and maternal great-grandparents.
Although they are eligible for inheritance and are in the line of inheritance, aunts and uncles are not entitled to inherit because there are still people in the first line of inheritance (in this case, the nephew).
Accordingly, aunts and uncles are entitled to inherit if the child's parents make a will to inherit the estate; if there is no will, they are not entitled to inherit because there are still people in the first order of inheritance, which are the deceased's wife, husband, biological father, biological mother, adoptive father, adoptive mother, biological children, and adopted children.
