I am the eldest of three brothers. Believing that we would never get rich if all three of us stay in the countryside, I moved to HCMC the day I finished my high school graduation exam. That day, I rushed home, packed a few sets of clothes into a plastic bag and asked my father for permission to go to the city. After thinking it over for a while, my father reluctantly agreed.
I then spent years studying and working in HCMC, facing countless challenges as I struggled to survive in the city all on my own. I graduated, got a job, saved up some money, got married, and bought a small house in Nha Be District. I also send some money home each month to help my parents pay for my younger brothers’ education. As we siblings got older, we talked less, but we understood and cared for each other deeply. They have lived together in one house even after they got married and had children.
My parents owned a 400-square-meter house with a frontage, along with 12,000 square meters of farmland where they grew rambutan, durian, and a few other fruits for leisure. Some time ago, they asked my middle brother to build a house behind theirs. They gave him some money for construction, and I also contributed.
Seeing the house completed and looking so nice made me genuinely happy for him. However, my father never completed the land title transfer. So although my brother built the house, the property remained under my father’s name.
Everything went by smoothly until one day in 2018, my brother called to say our mother was seriously ill and needed to be moved to HCMC for treatment. She was later diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. Our whole family sat down to discuss how we would care for her and, more urgently, how we would cover the enormous cost of treatment. Without hesitation, I decided to sell my house in the city while my two younger brothers focused on taking care of her emotionally and physically. In 2022, my father suddenly passed away from a stroke. My mother followed a year later. I covered all the funeral expenses for both of them.
Then it was time for the three of us to sit down and divide the inheritance they had left behind.
As the eldest, I proposed this arrangement: our parents’ house would go to the youngest brother so he could take care of the property and family ceremonies. The house in the back would go to the middle brother. I offered to help them get their own title deeds. As for me, I would not take any house.
Regarding the farmland, I proposed dividing it into three equal parts, each measuring 4,000 square meters each, and letting my brothers choose their plots first.
But as soon as I said this, both of my younger brothers voiced their disagreement. They insisted the land should be split into only two equal parts, one for me and the other for the two of them to share.
And just like that, we divided the inheritance without any hard feelings. No arguments, no bitterness. Each of us was content with our share. Our neighbors were surprised, as they had assumed the three of us would end up fighting tooth and nail over family assets.
In the end, what is considered a fair inheritance really depends on family dynamics and mindset. If we can be thoughtful and keep our greed in check, then fairness does not always have to mean an exactly equal split.
*The opinion was translated into English with the assistance of AI. Readers’ views are personal and do not necessarily match VnExpress’ viewpoints.