This move made the public question because before that, Ms. Phuong had agreed with many of the contents that the first instance court had declared.
In an interview with reporters on the afternoon of November 27, Ms. Phuong said that the reason for the appeal stemmed from the fact that Ms. Anh (Duc Tien's biological mother) had appealed the entire verdict just two weeks ago. In the petition, Ms. Anh requested the court of appeal not to recognize Mr. Duc Tien's will made in the US, in which he left all of his assets to his wife to raise children.
Mrs. Anh also requested to receive the house and land left by her son. Therefore, Ms. Phuong was forced to pursue the appeal process to protect the legitimate rights and interests of her minor daughter, as well as protect the legality of the will.
"I have to appeal to protect the rights of my daughter and Mr. Tien because Mr. Tien's mother appealed the entire verdict of the First instance Court. Now we will wait for the appeal court to try the case and decide on the inheritance based on Mr. Tien's will" - Binh Phuong said.
In the appeal, Ms. Phuong requested the court of appeal to consider amending part of the first instance judgment related to the determination of 50% of the common assets between her and her husband in the assets under Mr. Duc Tien's name. The plaintiff also requested to deduct the costs of treatment and burial of Mr. Tien from the remaining heritage block; at the same time, reject Ms. Anh's counter-attack request for the management and restoration efforts to increase the value of the heritage.
Previously, in October 2025, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Court issued a first-instance verdict, recognizing the will left by the late actor as legal. However, according to regulations, Mr. Duc Tien's mother and children are in the inheritance line and do not depend on the content of the will, so they are still entitled to inherit according to the law.
The first instance judgment determined that the entire house in Linh Dong ward (old) and the land plot in Long An (old) were heritage. The panel of judges declared that Ms. Anh was entitled to 10% of the house value due to management efforts, along with 70% of the land plot value. Ms. Phuong was assigned the entire real estate and was responsible for returning Ms. Anh 2 billion VND. Children under 18 years old are entitled to 1.4 billion VND from inheritance.
The fact that both sides appealed together shows that the inheritance dispute has not yet been resolved. The case has now been transferred to the appellate court and the case will be considered in the near future. The final verdict will determine the legality of the will, and at the same time clearly define the legitimate rights between the mother, wife and children of the late actor Duc Tien.
