Thread: Advice needed on Thai law

The estate of the dead person includes his or her debts!
Is she the sole heir?

^ Don't know if the wife's mother was still married to him at the time of signing. My wife and her brother inherited a property on his death. My wife borrowed money to buy her half share out of the property so she could go work in Taiwan.

Originally Posted by baby maker

I have used local Lawyers....and are happy to say they are beyond incompetent....

Take it as a try....this system will screw money out of anyone....
apparently even the dead...

She and her brother can't possibly be liable for a surety given by a dead man....unless property has been put up as a guarantee....

I was absolutely amazed at the stupidity and incompetence of the Thai lawyer I once hired. He was clueless about the legal and practical aspects of the matter I consulted him for, and he came hightly recommended by one of the expat associationsl
Be careful who you take advice from.

As I believe and understand, anyone can call themselves a lawyer and give legal advice in Thailand, but they cannot represent someone in court. That lawyer must be real lawyer.

Superman: I did come across that practicing in the US, and it was in the form of a lien recorded against the guarantor's (also the father's) house. Probably the same in Thailand, since that is the most logical way to do it.

Find a good Bangkok Lawyer, your wife may have other defenses she can assert, including the fact they apparently waited 8 years. I also found (surprisingly) that some Judges are quite sympathetic to things like this. I would suggest calling your embassy for a referral to someone who knows what he or she is doing.

Originally Posted by superman

That lawyer must be real lawyer.

A bit of a quandary really, as the lawyer has to be Thai and they're all completely useless and corrupt here.

Clifford Chance are the only lawyers I would trust here to answer this, and they would probably charge more than ThB 60,000 for their advice.

Where a person dies, his debts and liabilities must be settled from the estate. Nothing can be distributed to the beneficiaries unless and until all debts are settled. Debts do not pass on.

If someone stands surety for bail or provides some other form of guarantee, that surety dies with him. Thus if someone had acted as guarantor for a loan, and then died, that guarantee would end and the debtor would either have to pay it or find a new guarantor.

I have a strong suspicion that this is the result of some misunderstanding.

Originally Posted by Thormaturge

Clifford Chance are the only lawyers I would trust here to answer this, and they would probably charge more than ThB 60,000 for their advice.

They're good.

My wife has just told me if he only stood as guarantor, then the debt dies with him, not your wife's problem.

But she did say was any land or chanoute used as security that was in your wifes name.

She said it's difficult to give you an accurate answer without seeing the paper work.

Never used them, myself....had favourable reports...


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Originally Posted by FarangRed

My wife has just told me if he only stood as guarantor, then the debt dies with him, not your wife's problem. But she did say was any land or chanoute used as security that was in your wifes name.

I also believe that the debt dies with the person, but this is Thailand. If he'd used land papers as proof of finance then he would have placed those papers with the court, in my opinion. When the father was alive, my wife had no assets to her name. His signing as guarantor is a thing that no one knew of.
Unfortunately the use of a lawyer isn't possible before her 9am Tuesday court appearance request. The court is near BKK and we liive 360km away. Chances of getting telephone advice, from a lawyer, is remote.
So it looks like her brother is going to have to go unless a phone call to the courts, on Monday, can sort things out. Thanks to all who contributed post.

Originally Posted by superman

So it looks like her brother is going to have to go unless a phone call to the courts, on Monday, can sort things out. Thanks to all who contributed post.

Try the firm above....for a few bucks they would probably put in an appearance and get another date set for the hearing, give you time to get sorted....better than a no show....or a compliant Thai fearful of authority...

up2u...best.

Originally Posted by baby maker

Never used them, myself....had favourable reports...

a quick search on TD will reveal the other side of this coin

Originally Posted by Marmite the Dog

Originally Posted by superman

That lawyer must be real lawyer.

A bit of a quandary really, as the lawyer has to be Thai and they're all completely useless and corrupt here.

Not all corrupt, my wife's not and neither is her brother in-law

Originally Posted by superman

My wife's father died 8 years ago. He was a school teacher and he stood guarantor for someone who was facing court proceedings.
Yesterday my wife received a letter from the courts asking her to attend on Tuesday.

Sorry, cannot add anything useful, but one thing did catch my eye.

The father was the guarantor, and yet the letter is for your wife to attend? The letter was addressed to your wife? her name? her name in the attendance request? - sorry to belabour the obvious, but often I find dealing with Thais, you need to ask the same question six times to make sure some angle is not being missed.

I just wonder how the courts would know the father had died, and then how they would know who was the next of kin ?

You are sure this is not a letter address to the father, with the Thai family jumping around unecessarily?

Originally Posted by Mid

Originally Posted by baby maker

Never used them, myself....had favourable reports...

a quick search on TD will reveal the other side of this coin

Fair enough....as i said , i've never used them....
would still put in an appearance though....
i am already on record what i think of Thai lawyers...

Originally Posted by FarangRed

Originally Posted by Marmite the Dog

Originally Posted by superman

That lawyer must be real lawyer.

A bit of a quandary really, as the lawyer has to be Thai and they're all completely useless and corrupt here.

Not all corrupt, my wife's not and neither is her brother in-law

Practising Thai 'law' involves knowing the bigger man, not knowing the intricacies of the law. So, the more successful you are the more corrupt you are.

Practices like Clifford Chance generally deal with international business law and wouldn't risk going head to head with a Thai 'lawyer' in what would undoubtedly end up as a pissing contest rather than following the law to protect their client. Also, all their lawyers are foreigners, but the have Thai muppets to sign the dotted line after the work has been done.

^
Clifford Chance do have Thai lawyers as partners, and they are very competent. They are also far more expensive than a regular Thai lawyer.

For something like this they will be very competent, but expensive. ThB 60,000 is the bottom end of what I would expect from them, so you would get the right answer but it would cost far more than the sum involved.

I have used them to assist with the legal niceties of disputes involving the Revenue Department. Where you are dealing with millions of Baht it is worth it, but otherwise not.

Originally Posted by nidhogg

The father was the guarantor, and yet the letter is for your wife to attend? The letter was addressed to your wife? her name? her name in the attendance request? - sorry to belabour the obvious, but often I find dealing with Thais, you need to ask the same question six times to make sure some angle is not being missed.

I just wonder how the courts would know the father had died, and then how they would know who was the next of kin ?

You are sure this is not a letter address to the father, with the Thai family jumping around unecessarily?

You're right about asking a Thai 6 times, my wife is doing my head in. Basically she doesn't know anything regarding what her father owned or did. He was a bit of a butterfly and never saw him much.
Two letters arrived. One addressed to my wife, the other to her brother. Both requested their attendance in court on Tuesday. The brother now says he ain't going to attend.
My wife says they would know her father was dead because he was a teacher, and therefore on the government computer system. The computer will have his details and that of his children, so she says. She doesn't know how they knew where to address the letters to, being as the house they were posted to wasn't his main home.

also if he registered a will it will have received probate

Originally Posted by BobR

I was absolutely amazed at the stupidity and incompetence of the Thai lawyer I once hired.

I am surprised by that. You've been here long enough to expect incompetence and stupidity in everything these people do.

Originally Posted by Nostradamus

Originally Posted by BobR

I was absolutely amazed at the stupidity and incompetence of the Thai lawyer I once hired.

I am surprised by that. You've been here long enough to expect incompetence and stupidity in everything these people do.

Will be surprised if you get descent on that....but lets hear from the loony tunes....how about it butters...