Vietnam Actor Duc Tien's Inheritance Fight Over Signature Authenticity

A civil court dispute in Ho Chi Minh City involves the estate of the late Vietnamese actor Duc Tien. The parties are his wife, Nguyen Binh Phuong – a U.S. resident – and his mother, Nguyen Ngoc Anh. The conflict centers on a will drafted in the United States on 9 August 2023 that leaves all assets to the wife. A forensic examination ordered by the appellate court found that the signature on the will does not match sample signatures from 2009‑2023, indicating it was not made by the same hand.

The court also ordered a fresh valuation of the contested assets, which together exceed VND 8.7 billion. The holdings include a house in Thu Dúc valued at about VND 6.2 billion and a land plot in Long An (now in Tây Ninh) worth roughly VND 1 billion. Earlier rulings had recognized the will as legitimate and allocated more than 70 % of the estate to the wife, while the mother received a portion of about VND 2 billion. The appellate court has postponed the hearing to consider the new forensic report and the re‑valuation.