khaepmu

My Thai wife and I had a very good will done by a lawyer in Korat. We have no kids. If one of us dies the other gets all our assets. There is some land and a house which I am not sure if I am not entitled to because I am not Thai but I am not concerned. The will was done in both Thai and English. If both of us die at or around the same time, my wife's niece, who lived with us for a number of years, is the beneficiary. She charged us 8000 Baht for both wills. I was told that if you are a foreigner, the will should be done in both Thai and English.

The last 2 years I did not get the  the form. I have no idea why not.  I made copies of the last time I got the form, about 3 years ago and used one of those copies to send in and attached a short note explaining  that I had not received the 7162.. Two weeks later I sent  a copy again just to make sure. Last year I sent an email to the the embassy in the Philippines asking why my form7162 did not arrive at my address in Thailand like it always used to. They just sent an email  with a form7162 as an attachment with no explanation. 

I went to Bangkok to the US Embassy to get my passport renewed. I wanted to go to Bangkok anyway so I went online, made my appointment, and when I got to the embassy it was super easy and fast. i filled out a short form, paid my fee, bought the required envelope from the Thai post office which is located just outside  the citizen services section, printed  my mailing address on the envelope and gave it to the clerk who told me it will take 4-6 weeks to get to my mailing address.

I am thinking of renewing my passport by mail as many of you are. But I might just do it in person like I did nine and a half years ago. My passport expires  early November of this year. If my memory is correct, I remember making an appointment and then going to the embassy and getting my passport easily and quickly. You could even get your photos done there. I went on the embassy's website a few weeks ago and it stated that you have to go to the embassy eight weeks before for a new passport. Could that be right? I then emailed the embassy asking them how long in advance I should go to the embassy to renew my passport and they emailed me back the same website info. Eight weeks. I don't remember having to go to the embassy eight weeks in advance. So i guess eight weeks it is.  I hope you can get the passport the same day.

On 3/2/2025 at 2:33 PM, gargamon said:

You can get a Schwab international brokerage account if you live in Thailand. US citizenship not necessary. 25k minimum. You can get their wonderful ATM card with no foreign transaction fee and they pay the 250 baht foreign ATM fee. I'm sure they would convert your account.

 

They are quite strict in tax withholdings. I only keep roth stuff there do no withholdings.

What do you mean "they are quite strict in tax withholdings". 

I have been getting my SS payment sent directly to my US  bank for the last twelve years  (direct payment). I have been using my bother's US address for my bank address since they don't appear to allow accounts with a foreign address (I live in Thailand now) So far, no problems. Even with recent dodge stuff I have received my payments right up to May, 2025. But I am seriously thinking of going through with the cumbersome steps of having my payments made to a bank in Thailand. But with all this dodge stuff, I am a bit wary as any glitch might cause a  delay in payments and result in lots of paperwork, emails and tel. calls to make sure my payment makes it to my Thai bank account. 

If anyone who gets their payments made to a Thai bank and would be willing to share their experiences of what was involved in making the change it would be greatly appreciated.

Kind reagrds.

I'll be driving into Bangkok Monday morning from Sakao and plan to park at the airport and take the train into central Bangkok and use the BST for a few days to get around. I am hoping  roads in and around Bangkok have not been severely damaged and BST will be fully operational.

I went to the local tax office in my amphur and told them I wanted to do my income tax and they had no idea why I would want to do that since I don't work here. I told her that in 2024 I transferred 140,000 baht from the USA to my bank account in Thailand. I told her that about 90000 baht of that was social security and because of the tax agreement with Thailand it is exempt. I told her the rest of the money was earned prior to 2024 and had already been taxed in the USA. She repeated that there was no need to file. She obviously didn't have a clue about who needs to file and what all the possible exemptions are.

I I neither received a 7162 last June/July nor one in November. I didn't received a tax statement for 2023 either. This has never happened before. I copied a form 7162 from that I received last year, filled it out and sent it with a short note, I did it again a week later. I don't know what else to do.

Did you attach an explanation?

Thanks guys great advice. I am presently using a Lenovo Ideapad. I bought it about 6 years ago at Bananas at Pattaya Festival.  Lots of little things seem to be going wrong with it. 

I need to get a new laptop not  too pricy. I don't do much on it except YouTube, emails, google searches and download an occasional torrent or document to print.  No graphics or detailed spread sheets etc.

Still haven't received the 7162 form. I made some copies of the 7162 form I received last year before I filled it out and returned it to the USA. I filled  out a copy of last years 7162 and sent it with a short explanation. Hope it works. Can't understand why I haven't received the   latest 7162form, I seem to get all my other post from the states. Maybe I'll get a form in November. 2 years ago I didn't get the from so I di the same as above. It's very annoying.

Still haven't received the 7162 form. A few years ago it came in November. Last year I got it but very late in July. It is kind of annoying and one wonders why it is so inconsistent. I seldom if ever have problems getting mail from overseas. It get everything I order from Amazon, i-herb, magazine subscriptions, IRS forms and letters. 

I sent a message to Wise and they actually called me back. They told me there is an updated verification process that I have to complete before I can make a transfer. They told me that they would email me the procedures. It entails selfies and photos of a drivers license or passport. This was not necessary for my previous transfers. I ask him where my money is now and he  said they have it. I actually cancelled the transfer before he called. He told me the money would be sent back to my bank in a few days. 

Using Wise, I transferred some money  from my  bank  six days ago.. They assured me it would arrive in a few days. It has yet to arrive. I called my Thai bank and they have yet to receive it. I went onto the Wise website. and it said that my transaction is pending. What changed I wonder. It wasn't pending when I made the initial  transaction. I was then told to go to my mobile phone and open an email they sent me. I then had to follow a set of instructions. I followed the instructions and nothing happened. Then a notice appeared stating that they were sorry and having problems and should try again. I wonder where my 5000 is. It's not in my bank in Canada or in Thailand. This is beginning to worry me. Maybe it's unwise to use Wise. A few month back I go my money in about 20 minutes. What has happened.

I checked my status at account membership and this is what it said: 

I signed up for  one month subscription for YouTube premium. As far as I remember it was for 150 Baht a month to be paid with AIS. I went to my mobile banking  to pay but there is no indication of the transaction. It has been one month and now I don't seem to be able to get YouTube on my Cell phone.

I found the  following link very helpful regarding my death and things my Thai wife should be aware of and things she will have to do. 

https://isaanlawyers.com/death-of-foreigner-in-thailand/

My limited understanding is that, in the event of my death, my Thai wife informs the village headman (we live in a small village upcountry) and someone from the local hospital who exams the body and signs a document confirming the death. Don't know about autopsies unless there are suspicious circumstances surrounding the death. I never heard about the requirement of the body having to be sent to Bangkok.  The body is then sent to the local hospital and a death certificate is issued. My Thai wife makes arrangements at the local temple for the cremation. She then takes the death certificate with the will to the courthouse and makes her claim for any assets I have left her. She then gets the death certificate translated into English and goes the the US Embassy with other appropriate documents (which she has) to initiate the transfer of any assets I left to her that are in the States. My wife is my only next of kin in Thailand. I have a few brothers in the States and she would call them and inform them of my death. 

But apparently, this is all too simple and the procedures outlined by the US embassy have to be followed. I am wondering what would happen if I was unaware of the US Embassy's required procedures and my wife was unaware as well. Would the Thai hospital and police  know about the body having to be sent to Bangkok. 

I am curious. If a Thai who suffers from bad health, was unable to go the the US embassy in Bangkok to have some documents notarized could she have someone go for her. The documents concern an inheritance she is entitled to. The  the American investment company suggested she go to the embassy and have documents signed and stamped (application forms for  and transfer of funds, death certificate etc )at the US Embassy. I am wondering if she could get some kind of notary public to approve a friend o r relative to go in her place. From what I guessed from scanning the US Embassy's website, the documents must be signed in the presence of embassy staff. 

I went on to the IRS website for formW7. As I scrolled down trying to pick up any relevant information I came across one section that stated that if one's fourth and fifth digit in the ITIN number is 73, (there are other numbers as well that will invalidate an ITIN number) she would need a new ITIN number. Since the fourth and fifth digit of my wife's ITIN is 73, I guess she needs to renew her ITIN number. You can google IRS Form W7 and and find this.

But years ago it seems  I did get a notification from the IRS informing me that she needed a new ITIN number. Just don't remember clearly. I have been using the same ITIN number for the last four or five years. 

From the IRS:

"Expired ITINs: If your ITIN wasn’t included on a U.S. federal tax return at least once for tax years 2018, 2019, and 2020, your ITIN will expire on December 31, 2021. ITINs with middle digits (the fourth and fifth positions) “70,” “71,” “72,” “73,” “74,” “75,” “76,” “77,” “78,” “79,” “80,” “81,” “82,” “83,” “84,” “85,” “86,” “87,” or “88” have expired. In addition, ITINs with middle digits “90,” “91,” “92,” “94,” “95,” “96,” “97,” “98,” or “99,” IF assigned before 2013, have expired. "

Our local amphur refused our request to make a will at the amphur office.

I have a joint account with my Thai wife, "either/or" as it is referred to on the document we signed. Very convenient. I told my wife that in the event of my death she can go the probate/court route with our will or just empty the account out and put the funds into her own account. But not at one time. I told her that the later is a better option. Actually, I want to ask the bank if we can use their online services with our joint account. Both names but one password. That would be an ideal way to go in the event of one of us dying. Just go online and transfer the money from our joint account to any of our other single accounts. We also have a jointly owned  mutual fund with the same bank/company but it is called 'Asset Management' rather than a 'bank'. They deposit the dividend into our joint bank account automatically. I told my wife that, in the event of my death, to transfer 95% of the assets from the mutual fund into our joint account. There is not limit on what you can sell and transfer. All done online. Either one of us can buy or sell shares online . In order to access our account online we recently had to upgrade security and do the google authenticator ID thing. 

I would like to avoid probate if possible. I don't know anyone who has had to deal with the courts and probate and I have no idea of the cost involved. 

Seems like one source of information says I  have to report if my foreign assets are over $50,000 and the other if they are over $600,000.