Preparing to marry a new wife, the ex-wife who was once declared dead by the Court suddenly returned

Reader T.N. B (in Can Tho) asked: "My wife and I got married in 2010 and had 2 children. The first child was born in 2011, the second child was born in 2014. My wife stays at home to take care of the children, I go to work alone. I earn all the money and give it to my wife to take care of the family. However, my wife is a person who likes to show off, beautify herself, is reluctant to do housework and take care of children.

Many times when I came home from work, I saw my wife send her two children to the neighbors to take care of them to get beauty treatments. Looking at the two children being scruffy, sometimes I was also angry and told my wife, so the two of us occasionally argued.

In 2016, when I came home from work and saw my 2 children at home, starving and crying because my wife was busy doing her nails, I went to the shop door to call my wife home and also said a few harsh words. My wife was angry and ran away from home. I thought my wife was angry and ran away somewhere and then came back in the evening because she still had 2 children, but all day and a month later she still didn't come back.

My family and I have been searching for many years, also notifying everywhere but no news. More than 1 year ago, I completed the procedures to declare one person dead and the Court issued a Decision confirming that my ex-wife was dead. The two children are still taken care of by me and the common property with my ex-wife is land and a house built on land bought in 2014.

Recently, a woman near my house sympathized with my situation and we wanted to build a family together. My two children also strongly supported my father remarrying. We have researched, determined to be together and plan to get married at the end of this year.

Unexpectedly, 2 months ago, my ex-wife suddenly returned. She said that in the past time she followed people to work and trade, but because she was angry with me, she did not contact me. Now she is less angry, so she returned home to raise her children with me.

Now I am very confused. After so many years of silence, I no longer have feelings for my ex-wife. I just want to build new happiness to feel secure in raising my children. I want to ask, how was our marital relationship and common property resolved in the past? Please advise me, lawyer.

Regarding the legal issue you asked, Lawyer Duong Thu Hien - Thanh Lam Law Company Limited (Hanoi Bar Association) - advises as follows:

Clause 1, Article 67 of the Law on Marriage and Family 2014, amended and supplemented in 2025 stipulates the personal relationship and common property of husband and wife who are declared dead but return as follows:

Article 67. Personal and property relations when husband and wife are declared dead and return

1. When the Court issues a decision to cancel the declaration that a person has died and the spouse of that person has not married another person, the marital relationship is restored from the time of marriage. In case there is a decision to divorce by the Court according to the provisions of Clause 2, Article 56 of this Law, the decision to divorce is still legally valid. In case the spouse of that person has married another person, the marital relationship is established after legal effect.

Thus, according to legal regulations, when the wife or husband is declared dead and returns but the wife or husband of that person has not married another person, the marital relationship is restored from the time of marriage. In your case, when your ex-wife disappeared from 2016 and was declared dead by the Court, now she has returned, the marriage between you and your ex-wife is automatically restored because you have not married another person.

In case you do not want to continue the marriage relationship with your wife because your feelings are gone, you must file for divorce from your wife in court.

Regarding the house and land purchased by you and your ex-wife in 2014, in point a, clause 2, Article 67 of the Law on Marriage and Family 2014, amended and supplemented in 2025, regulations on the property relationship of the person declared dead returning to the spouse are resolved as follows: "a) In case the marriage is restored, the property relationship is restored from the time the Court's decision to cancel the declaration of the husband and wife as dead takes effect. The property obtained by the husband and wife from the time the Court's decision on declaring the husband and wife as dead takes effect until the decision to cancel the declaration of the husband and wife as dead takes effect is the personal property of that person;"

This house and land is common property built by you and your ex-wife, so when your wife returns, it will be restored to be common property of husband and wife. In case you divorce, your ex-wife has the right to request division and according to the principle, it will be divided in half but taking into account factors such as: Family and husband and wife's circumstances; Contribution of each party to the creation, maintenance and development of common property; Protecting the legitimate interests of each party in production, business and occupation so that the parties have conditions to continue working to generate income.... Your house and land are divided in kind, if you cannot divide in kind, divide according to value; whichever party receives the part of property in kind with a value greater than the part you receive, must pay the other party the difference.

The above is the advice of the lawyer. Hopefully, it will help you have a basis to solve your problems.