Pursuant to Clause 1, Article 43 of the Law on Marriage and Family 2014, the property of the husband and wife is determined to include assets each of them had before marriage; assets inherited separately, donated separately during the marriage; assets divided separately between husband and wife according to the provisions of Articles 38, 39 and 40 of the Law on Marriage and Family 2014; assets serving the essential needs of husband and wife and other assets under the provisions of law that are the property of the husband and wife.
Therefore, when the husband dies, all of the husband's assets, including private assets and the assets in the husband and wife's common property, will be divided into inheritance according to the provisions of law.
(1) In case the husband dies, leave a will
Pursuant to Clause 1, Article 659 of the 2015 Civil Code, if the will does not clearly define the inheritance of each person, the inheritance will be divided equally among all heirs mentioned in the will.
However, according to Article 644 of the 2015 Civil Code, there are still subjects entitled to inherit even if their names are not mentioned in the will, including: minors, parents, spouses of the testator, and children who are minors but are unable to work.
Therefore, in case the wife is not named in the will, she still has the right to receive the inheritance, unless she has refused or has no right to receive it. In reality, wives are usually entitled to 2/3 of the inheritance rights of a legal person.
(2) Cases where the husband dies without leaving a will
If there is no will, the entire assets of the couple and the husband's own assets before the marriage will be divided by inheritance according to the law.
According to Article 651 of the 2015 Civil Code, all inheritance will be divided equally among the first line of inheritance including: wife, husband, parents, adoptive parents, biological children, adopted children of the deceased.
Accordingly, the entire inheritance will be divided equally among heirs according to the provisions of Article 651 of the 2015 Civil Code. At this time, the wife is the first heir, so she will receive 1 inheritance fee.
Thus, the wife has the right to inherit land owned entirely by her husband before marriage. If the husband leaves a will, the wife is still eligible for inheritance under Article 644 of the 2015 Civil Code, unless she refuses or has no right to receive it.
If there is no will, all inheritance, including the husband's own assets before marriage and the husband's common assets, will be divided according to the law; the wife is a member of the first line of inheritance, so she is entitled to a certain inheritance quota.
