Larkin

It most definitely isn't. And it's nothing to do with being overseas or having a Thai wife. She wouldn't get any share of your pension even if she were British and living in Wigan.

it is. She already has some good contacts at that Land Office, which helped drastically reduce the transfer fees (for a brown envelope of course) on both those purchases.

Thanks all. Very helpful. A supplementary question if I may: while I understand the usufruct gives me the ‘right to enjoy’ the property until my death, does that mean just the right to live or the right to benefit from also. There are two houses. One I will live in. I would hope to be able to rent the other if that’s legally possible.

Thanks. I’ll be in Jomtien so it makes sense to do it there.

Guys I've been married to a Thai for 20 years, although for work reasons I have been working in the UK for the last 6-7 years while she remained in Thailand. I will retire there in 2026-7. We own three properties in Thailand. One condo in Bkk in my name and two villages in Jomtien in her name. The condo and one villa is rented; she lives in the other. She proactively set up a will naming me sole beneficiary of the properties should she die first, so that's fine although it would be a pain in the arse to dispose of the properties within the year. She also wants to set up a usufruct, so I could live in the villas until my death. At that point, i would be more than happy to let her sister inherit the place. In this regard, I'm almost thinking i prefer the idea of a usufruct to a the will, particularly where it comes to property assets. Question: what would it cost to set up a usufruct via a lawyer? Roughly - anyone been through it? And: I've had it suggested that it's relatively easy to do yourself. Is that the case, and if so what's the process?