The story about a single woman who suddenly died, leaving assets worth $50 million, is socially observed by psychologists as a typical example for the habit of “working hard, practicing thriftiness and building up money of Vietnamese people.

Property owned by Ms. Phan.

Psychologist cum lawyer Vo Thi Minh Hue from HCM City said in Vietnam, many people, especially women, usually work very hard and live thriftily to accumulate assets for their children. In many cases, after they died, their descendents discover jars of gold buried under beds or in gardens.

Hue said that it is a problem that Vietnamese do not have the habit of making wills because they are subjective and afraid that they will be abandoned by, or displease their relatives if they divide assets when they are still alive. However, without leaving testaments, it is highly possible to have disputes among related people.

Hue cited the story about a single woman named Phan, 66, in HCM City, who suddenly passed away, leaving assets worth around $50 million. This story has stirred up the public for a week.

This woman did not get married. She lived with a woman and a charlady in a house in Tan Phu district. She had an adopted daughter, who is 25 years old.

The woman died in early February 2011. She did not make a will so when she died, dispute occurred between her adopted daughter and her siblings, who said that the huge assets had contribution from the woman’s overseas siblings.

There is a similar story about a woman named Hien, 82, in Da Lat city. The woman died suddenly at hospital and did not make a testament when she owned a lot of gold and several saving books, totaling over VND2 billion ($100,000). 

Hien’s neighbor said that since she lived there she did not do anything. She was a widower and had an adopted daughter who lives in the US and a sister in Hanoi. They never thought that she was a rich woman because her living style was very simple and close. Until she died, they knew that the single woman who lived in a very small in a deep alley in Da Lat owned big property.

Hien’s younger sister said that Hien accumulated the assets when she was young to prepare for her old age. There was no conflict in this case because Hien’s sister committed to transfer the assets to the adopted daughter in the US.

Hue said that Vietnamese people should make will when they still have sound minds to avoid dispute.

Psychologist Nguyen Trung Nguyen from the Institute for Application of Psychology had the same advice, saying that he witnessed many families were broken because of property disputes.

Source: VNN