That's redworthy mate, he's still my brother even if he's a godbotherer - i'll let you off this once.3 kids is enough to last a foking priest for a while isn't it?
That's redworthy mate, he's still my brother even if he's a godbotherer - i'll let you off this once.3 kids is enough to last a foking priest for a while isn't it?
Sorry Scamp, didn't know he was your real brother I just thought he was part of the crew my nigga.
Actually I did kind of guess he was, but wanted to use the line. I will accept the red like a man.
You have been pardoned... run along now.
Now, immediately you should be noticing one startling exception to the list of 6 - your loved one (i.e. husband/wife)! The fact is, your spouse is a statutory heir, but as class 7! In other words, if any member of class 1-6 is surviving, spouse only gets a proportionate share:
1. at the same % share as each surviving child
2. 50%
3. 50%
4. 75%
5. 75%
6. 75%
ONLY if NO class 1-6 heir exists, will the spouse get 100% of the estate- so those of you with assets in your wife's names, without a will, better start putting pen to paper as you read this. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED
this is very interesting, and i do not dispute the information or the source, but i have been advised differently by three different legal entities (thai attorneys) and they seem to be of the opinion that:
the spouse is entitled to the first 50%
the remaining 50 percent is then split between the children, the mother and the spouse again , so in my case, 50percent for me, 12.5percent for each of my two children, 12.5 percent to her mother and another 12.5 percent to me, totalling 62.5percent for the spouse.
we will be going to court on these grounds, since the father laid claim to the land and managed to get her land transferred to his name under false pretences after her death.
i am told by all the thais that i speak to that the asset split happens in this way.i.e. this is the way it happens in thailand.
can anybody please clear up the confusion?
^it's possible. Dying without a will means the division of the assets is subject to the court's discretion. Usually this means that a blood relative, of which a child is the highest order, has a stronger call than a non-blood relative - such as a spouse. This is even more so if the marriage has not been registered at the amphur.
The above split you quote is as prescribed by the Civil and Commercial Code, but again it is subject to court discretion, so should not be taken as outright correct. It is one of the dangers of dying without a will that your assets will be subject to court discretion - and my experience of this in Thailand is that this can mean almost anything. Hence the need to ensure it doesn't happen to you.
Unfortunately most of us believe we will have sufficient time to put our affairs in order before we die, so put the thing off. Experience has shown me that this is rarely the case.
and would the court decision be swayed if the father of the deceased had had himself appointed executor of the estate, then made a fraudulent claim, stating that he was the sole heir, that the deceased had no spouse, nor any children, and had the land transferred into his name after her death?
he seems to think he has sole right to the land since he had signed it over into her name about fifteen years ago, so that justifies his actions.
it looks like i will have to go to court on this one, and i dont want to be paying for the lawyer's new car if i am backing a loser. i am not interested in making a claim for my share, but i do insist that the land is transferred into my (the deceased's) children's names.
the lawyer assures me that a marriage certificate from ANY country is valid in thailand, whether it was registered in the amphoe or not.
i have a certified translation of the original south african certificate, and he seems to be happy with that.
sorry to be a pain in the butt, but i do not want to be setting myself up to be taken for a ride by the lawyer as well............
Last edited by Marmite the Dog; 07-04-2008 at 01:31 PM. Reason: sorted out the quote
After inquiring about obtaining a POA for me to represent my 89yr old father at the US consulate for sworn affidavit of pension for my 89 yr old father who is under my care and at this point, he is barely able to walk, they sent me a list of local Chiang Mai attorneys and i contacted one that I was familiar with and their fee for that simple doccument was 2kbaht. I then asked for their fee for drawing up a simple will naming me as my father's beneficiary of his two Thai bank accounts [currently amounting to 500kbaht].....one page of 'boiler plate' [standard fill in the empty spaces doccument] and they wanted 8kbaht.
Leading me to ask the following questions....
1] what are the standard attorney fees for these simple doccuments?? POA & will
2] can I DIY [do it myself by typing up the forms and getting three witnesses to sign?? Legally??
3] it was [just casually] mentioned that the POA would be useful for one transaction only and would have to be drawn up on a yearly basis to satisfy
Thai immigration requirements for retirement visa. Is this true??
4] and would Eglish only suffice for these doccuments??
any competent or experienced advise would be greatly appreciated as I feel that attorneys here in LOS are 'sharks' like their counterparts in America.
Thanks in advance.....
Great thread William!
BUT Will or no Will , if Tilak dies before you - the land and house you paid for in her name can never be yours by Thai law - right??
What's your thoughts on clauses in Wills to protect non Thai benefactors - liquidation of all property assets on death?
Seems that the Falang might get caught in the middle and the kids or the inlaws might be the landlord??
Be nice to your inlaws and kids!!
I was advised, by a Thai lawyer, to keep minimal assets in Thailand. I am following this advice.
My answers are in bold below
Leading me to ask the following questions....
1] what are the standard attorney fees for these simple doccuments?? POA & will
The charges you were quoted were very cheap. For the will alone I would probably have charged in the region of 30K - and that's assuming it was not difficult.
2] can I DIY [do it myself by typing up the forms and getting three witnesses to sign?? Legally??
Ordinarily I would say yes, but Thai law has a few technical issues; so I would be reluctant to suggest you do this. Nothing to do with lost fees
3] it was [just casually] mentioned that the POA would be useful for one transaction only and would have to be drawn up on a yearly basis to satisfy
Thai immigration requirements for retirement visa. Is this true??
True to a degree. It all rather depends on what the POA states. More to the point is that a POA can be revoked at any time. Under Thai law, a POA is seen more in the realm of an agent/principal relationship. I think that is the reason why you were advised as you were.
4] and would Eglish only suffice for these doccuments??
Yes and no. English is fine, but in the case of a will it's inventive that you will need to involve Thai authorities, so best to have a Thai translation of an English deed/agreement.
any competent or experienced advise would be greatly appreciated as I feel that attorneys here in LOS are 'sharks' like their counterparts in America.
I make no comment as to the 'sharks'
Thanks in advance.....[/quote]
The Land Code is very clear that you can be the beneficiary of land. There are conditions attached with retaining the right to own the land. As such, it is likely you would need to sell the land - but you could structure the transaction in a friendly manner.
My thoughts on the will provisions are clear - make you the beneficiary and then see what happens. You never know, you could get lucky!!
Thanks William
Seems's it's really no more risky than a western divorce settlement
Hi William, going back to your article you recommend more than one Will when there are assets outside of Thailand.
I believe UK Wills must containing a clause revoking all other Wills.
What to do?
William hasn't posted on here in a long time, scrumpy.
However the situation is easily dealt with by keeping the Thai and UK assets seperate (hence the two wills). You're correct that a valid will should rescind all prior ones, however that's only in relation to the assets that you choose to list in it.
You can have two contemporaneous wills as long as they don't purport to deal with the same assets.
^What he said - and keep in mind that you are dealing with two different jurisdictions and legal systems
Many thanks to you both.
Assume this all pertains to Thailand assets and not assets back in the mother land. What would be the scenario if assets were maintained outside of Thailand? Will back west for assets back west and a Thai will for Thai assets? Could get confusing if that were not the case.
^Lorenzo - to the extent possible, any Thai will should only include Thai assets. You can include beneficiaries that are outside Thailand, but the assets should be in Thailand.
Hi All,
Got an Intestate Succession Q. from a European son whose Father passed away not-residing in Thailand but with a property in the country. Confused as to what the succession rules are. Biggest one is whether or not the surviving spouse is entitled to 50% of all the assets immediately before the rest of the estate is divided between statutory heirs...
Any help would be massively appreciated.
Tom
I want to make a simple Will which states, " Lek " the Bar girl is entitled to my worldly possessions if I get run over by a Tuk Tuk.
It's the " Handbag " actually, I want to make sure she can get to my cash that's sitting in " Bangkok Bank."
I've told her to rip it all out using my Bank Card but she is a tad scared that the Filth may bang her up for accessing my account when it ain't really hers.
I see her point so I'm gona make a proper Will using a Thai Lawyer.
No kids, No house, no nothing complicated. Just making it legal so she can access my Bank.
Do not want my Buks going to the Bank Manager.
So around about, what would I be lookin at paying these vultures. ?
And No, I ain't putting her name on my account.
^I paid 10k Baht for my latest local Will a few months back. It's quite basic and is in place mainly to ensure Mrs Worx (who's actually only my de-facto) would have legal access to money in my Thai bank accounts. Your Missus's worries about breaking the law if you kicked the bucket and she used your ATM card to access your local money are well warrented, for her to do so would be illegal.
^
Thanks very much mate,
Your situation is exactly the same as mine.
10 K baht is fokin expensive, that's $ 400 AUD.
I was bitchin about paying $300 in Perth.
Whatever Huh.
Anyway,
I'm onto a Lawyer here regards this issue so I've got something to go of.
Thanks again.
^Most welcome. Something else possibly worth thinking about is your partners immediate access to money, even with a Will in place she won't be able to get at the money left to her in your bank account for a while. In my case that's a problem, Mrs Worx would need instant access to funds for my funeral and her immediate financial well being. I get around this by keeping a quantity of gold in a place she can access that could be converted to cash in 5 minutes.
It's a fairly macabre topic but we have to be realistic and have plans in place, more so as we get older. I've seen guys here pass away unexpectedly with nothing in place and it's a complete nightmare, you do NOT want your partner and kids (in many cases) to have to go thru courts to get access to assets you wanted her/them to have in the first place.
^
Yes I agree totally, one must have ones shit sorted.
I have a Safe at home which contains a heap of Cash plus all my important stuff like Bank books, Passport and such.
If I kick off she can call on my mate. He has my spare Safe key and will come over and Pop it open for her.
I've tuned her into taking it all down to Superich, covert it to Baht and smash it in her Bank account.
It's the Money in my Bank I need to get squared away, she needs to be able to get it.
I want to see my Handbag set up if I Kick.
She's been a great girl.
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