khaepmu

During the night the cat finally descended from the top of the bathroom, ate the two bowls of canned fish we used to lure it down, and then left the house. We kept the back door open all night. When I got up and noticed the fish had been eaten, I looked out the door and saw the cat sitting on the top of the wall next to our house looking at me. Haven't seen the cat since. The cat just came around our house to escape dogs I think since the walls and gate offered protection. I never fed the cat. I would sometimes see the cat crouching behind bushes or plants trying to catch birds. Then it would disappear for days. Our neighbours who have chickens claim the cat has been eating their baby chic's. I would like to thank all the posters for your useful advice i.e., get a python, get a dog, but some dead cat deodorant from Makro to use after it dies.

My fear is the cat won't come down. It might feel the distance from the height of the ceiling to the floor is a bit daunting. I put a large step ladder next to the outside bathroom wall hoping it might use it as an aid in navigating its escape. But so far lots of meows.

I left the screen door in the back of our house open when I went out to the car to bring some groceries into the house. The cat must have entered the house then. When I came back into the house and closed the screen door. I few minutes later I saw the cat, it panicked and started climbing up the screen door. I didn't have enough time to open the screen door to let it out. It clawed its way up the screen door and it got into the space near the top of the ceiling and the wall of the house and then frantically followed the space and went onto the ceiling of the bathroom. Our bathroom has about a two-foot space between the roof of the house and the bathroom ceiling. It is now in that space between the outside bathroom ceiling and the roof of the house. We got a ladder hoping to somehow coaxe it out. But it gets a bit viscous if we try to prod it with a broom. My wife, who is not particularly fond of cats, unlike myself, has no idea how to get the cat to out of the house. Of course, I don't either. I am hoping the cat will just down and if we leave the screen door open through out the night it will leave. But It's about an 11-foot jump down to the floor. I don't think cats like to jump down from heights. Any suggestions?

I have a Thai mutual fund, joint account ,with my Thai wife. It pays a very good dividend I have had it for about 15 years. I report it on my FBAR but more recently don't bother with including it on my US Tax return. Have you every seen the form for reporting a foreign owned mutual fund to the IRS. It is next to impossible to understand. About six years ago I a had an American accountant in Bangkok do my tax return. I had to do an amended return. He told me the IRS doesn't calculate the taxes on a Thai mutual find the same way they are calculated on a US mutual fund. He said it is taxed on how much the value of the fund increased in one year. But I don't see any problem owning non US mutual funds and reporting them to the IRS. What's the problem?

As far as I know I am not diabetic. If it is not a fungus I wonder what it could be. It seems to have the typical symptoms of fungus and the symptoms are similar to what I had before when the medication I used cured it in less than a week. It is only in my crotch area. Thanks for your reply.

I have had a fungal infection or crotch rock for about 2 weeks. Have been using Canasone, ( contains clotrimazole) a commercial cream, and an oral medication called Nora. I had the same type symptoms last year and I used Canasone which was highly recommended but only offered partial relief. I went to the chemist and she suggested Nora, an antifungal pill. and within a few days the fungus totally disappeared. But this time around both medications aren't helping much. Any suggestions?

Thanks for getting back to me. What I mean is that you are able to do online banking using your joint account? We have a joint account with Krungsri Bank, either or can withdraw. No problem .One debit card. But when I asked the bank if we could do online banking with our joint account they said no.

If you don't mind, what. bank are you using.

Are you able to go online with your Bangkok Bank joint account and make transactions. Our bank said we can't go online and make transactions with our joint account. I advised my wife to transfer funds to one of her individual accounts without informing the bank about my exit. I suspect I would pretty much do the same in the event of my wife's death. Next month I am going to ask the bank manager what our options are and if it is possible to avoid the courts despite having a will.

I have a joint account with my Thai wife. We made it very clear to them that we wanted to be able to withdraw money without the other's permission. No problem. I was in another province and tried to withdraw some money but the bank would not let me without my wife's signature. I politely protested and they then called the branch I have my account with and I was then allowed to make the transaction. Not sure what happens when one of us dies. I hear different stories like the above. One might need a will to continue to use the account or one might be able to just present a death certificate to the bank. The bank we have the account with won't let us use the online services because it is a joint account. I told my wife to just keep using the account or transfer large amounts of funds to her individual account if she didn't want to bother with the will (we have a will). In the event of my wife's death I will probably withdraw most of the money without using the will or death certificate. How would they know if I or my wife had passed away i wonder. Since we are legally married and have marriage certificates one would think that we could just continue using the account or closing it and opening an individual account.

Why do the banks/financial institutions assume you are living overseas just because you make some transactions or emails from Thailand. I call my mutual fund/brokerage company from Thailand and during the conversations I always point out that I am vacationing in Thailand and SE Asia and staying at my Thai wife's house for a few months. (I have been using my brother's American mailing address since the company informed me that I must have a US mailing address.) I also send emails from Thailand, not often, but they have yet to give me a warning. More recently, when I call from Thailand I use SKYPE. Don't know if they can tell if the call is made from Thailand using SKYPE. I transfer money to Thailand from my American bank using TransferWise. Once I make a transfer request using Wise I don't know if the bank knows where the money is going. On another note, I have a Transfer on Death for my Thai wife with my American brokerage/mutual fund company. I called then recently to ask and clarify what steps my wife would have to take to have my money sent to her bank in Thailand in the event of my death. They explained in detail (death certificate translated to English etc.) Even though she has reasonable English language skills, I asked them what my wife could do if she wasn't sure or had questions about the procedures and he told me they would arrange a Thai translator to assist my wife. They didn't seemed be concerned or wonder why I would be in Thailand if I passed away when I am meant to b living in the USA.

This seems to have worked. Thanks.

When I download a torrent, my utorrent no longer finds peers. Had this problem once before but don't quite remember how I was able to fix it. Presently on utorrent 3.6 (build 46590) [3- bit].

You are absolutely right. I used my google authenticator on my Thai phone. Got into my account online. No problem. What was I thinking. Thanks for your tip. I just assumed My Thai phone wouldn't work.

I am not hopeful but the US brokerage/mutual fund company where I have a lot of my US savings just let me know that when I want to go online to my account to make a transaction or money transfer they no longer send the verification code that I need to access my account to my email address. This was very easy and useful. Now I must get the google authenticator thing, which I did, but of course to use it you need a US phone number, which I don't have.. I am wondering if there is some way of getting a US phone number which I could use to get the verification code. I really don't see how this is possible at this point. I called the brokerage company, using my skype account, and they confirmed that I can no longer access my account without a US phone. I told them that I am retired and presently out of country on a long vacation which I had been planning for a long time and that I hope to return to the States in June to my home address. Like many expats living abroad, I use my brother's address. They just said I can use my US phone that I have on record with them. When I asked how I could us my US land phone she just repeated use your phone on record. I don't think she realized that that would not be possible if I was not in sitting in my living room at my home address. She assured me I could call, and call collect, to make any transactions.. But going online without a verification code sent to a US phone number, I take it that a mobile phone would have to be used, is a no go. While having to call is not the end of the world, online transactions are just so must more convenient and I like to be able to look at my statement. Actually, I only go online to my account about once a month. Another problem is doing income taxes. I do TurboTax and they import all of my brokerage tax forms and it makes it so much easier to complete my tax forms. But I don't think I'll be able to import my tax forms. You need to provide them with your password and I need a new one and in order to create a new password I would probably have to go online to create it. These companies seem to be putting up more and more obstacles to prevent expats from doing business with them.

Do the two witnesses just sign the will. Doesn't a lawyer have to sign and stamp the will to authenticate it. Will a Thai bank accept such a document without a lawyer's official seal? I recently went to a Bangkok Bank in Pattaya and asked what my Thai wife would need to get my assets in the event of my death. She said and official will, or another legal document, which I didn't understand, from a legitimate law office. My Thai wife says not so. I can make a will leaving her all my assets and sign it along with witnesses. No need for a lawyer to get involved. I don't know how she knows this and I can't help but think you would need some kind of legal verification of signatures.

I just received a second social security form7162. They said they hadn't received the first form which I had sent registered mail. This is the second time this has happened to me. I have found that the Thai postal system is reliable. I am not sure how to send this second form. Maybe just standard air mail. They said if they don't received the form within 45 days, they might stop my benefir payouts.

Might need a cataract operation and I have seen a few eye clinics advertising their services in Buriram Would like to hear about any experiences you might have had and any recommendations you might have regarding cataracts or eye problems in general.

What exactly is needed to apply for this extension. Marriage certificate (original?), wife's house registration, wife's ID card, all signed by her. Any exisiting visa requirements? Must she accompany me to immigration? Thanks.