oxymoron

About law being broken: You would be guilty if you were stopped at
the border with over the allowed amount, however you were stopped way
after that and at this point it is not relevant, only because you, wife,
sister etc can each bring certain amount and give it to whoever they
like, in your case they chose to give it to you-perfectly legal.

Rubbish, if you read the "customs laws" of most country's "duty free goods are for personal consumption/ use"

Bringing goods into a country, evading the taxes etc, for another person or sale is illegal.

Trapping people in the carpark, handing over Duty Free Good, at Changi airport Singapore, was not uncommon, they used the CCTV as evidence.

Would have been nice for the OP to mention the city/hospitals he is lauding.

India's a very very big place

This Post Heading is as erroneous as all the Australian News reported it. The "blind leading the blind".

The 15% on $100,000+ is on income streams being derived from Allocated or Define Benefit Scheme pensions etc.

Still better than it was, where previously (20 years ago) this income was taxed as income the same as PAYE, the reason I took a lump sum and went to play by myself outside of Oz Gov whims.

Still if Mr Krudd had not wasted $50,000,000 on so called stimulation, the current and future Gov's would not have to be looking for new ways to fleece us

PS if you are working or have your funds in the "Accumulation" phase you are paying 15% now!

Yes on Highway 1317 to Maeon. About 10Km from Central Plaza on right just before turn off to Sankampheang.

Prices do not know. Did a Corolla for our family for around 12000 Baht about 5 years ago pretty good job as I am picky and in Australia do my own.

ThommoP, you are quite right.

Wife only child

Father died when she was 18

Land been in family for about 100years

Transfer from mother and father to mother and daughter no problem

Mother had a "will"

According to my Thai Lawyer educated in Oz there is no specific notation on the Chanote that its "tennants in common", so must be recorded in the land office as such.

Thank Buddah we took his advice which is the same as my Oz lawyer BTW that wills in reality are not worth the paper they are written on except as a source of income for them when challenged.

So all the land and houses I bought for my wife, in her mothers name, as then (25+ years ago) she was not allowed to own anything being married to a foreigner, we "bought" it all back from her mother in 2004 ( cancer just started) and paid full transfer taxes etc. Thanks to new Thai property law of 2000.

Previous plan was to rely on the inheritance act the then only legally safe way for a Thai woman married to a foreigner to obtain land then.

We have now just transfered it all to my stepson a Thai National, my "bib and braces approach" to ensuring it goes where I want and is protected against the TIT games.

If you want things to where you want them to be;

Own then jointly

Give them to who you want with legal instruments to retain some control

Have them in trusts administered by an independent party

Do not rely on a "will"

according to the law the parents have the biggest share of inheritance, not the husband, so make a will and register it and make sure it will be transferred to you. if she pass away then is yours and you have to sell since you cant own land

That is not correct actually.

Thai inheritance laws

Under Thai inheritance laws, which apply when there is no will, this generally means that the assets will be distributed amongst the statutory heirs. Under section 1629 of the Civil and Commercial Code of Thailand there are 6 classes of statutory heirs and they are entitled to inherit in the following order:

1. descendants
   
2. parents
   
3. brothers and sisters of full blood
   
4. brothers and sisters of half blood
   
5. grandparents
   
6. uncles and aunts
   
7. The surviving spouse is a statutory heir, subject to the special provisions of Section 1635 Civil and Commercial Code.
   

Wills, succession, inheritance law in Thailand.doc

This might be the law but the Titles Office in Chiangmai does not see it this way.

My wife has land which she and her mother owned, both names on the chanote, well before she met me 30 years ago.

On her mothers death she went to have it put in her name alone, as she thought having both names meant it was "JOINTLY owned and as such became that of the sole survivor. This is the case in Australia where all our real property and land is held.

"No way" the Titles Office require a waivure affidavit from her grandmother and aunties before she can own it soley.

Now in the too hard basket, the kids can sort it in another 30-40 years time.

What about Chevrolet Trailblazer, in your price range and IMHO a better buy than a Craptiva.

Type Ford Escape CV Joint into ebay. AUD$240 plus postage for the pair, from St Peters NSW Australia. I use them and Driveline Sydney all the time albiet Toyota Landcruser Jeep and Corolla.

Just a warning!!!

We have just returned from a family visit to Chiangmai and our home in Maeon, 3 days after my sons return he starts to feel sick, 5 days later he is in ICU at a Perth Hospital.

This is despite a visit to the local GP blood, urine and faeces tests.

After 2 days in hospital they determine he has Measles and Cholera.

As he had standard recommended immunisation in Thailand as a baby 30+ years ago his mother advised the doctors of this.

Lessons learned,

1. ensure you and your kids are immune to measles, simple blood test can confirm this (in hours) as as done for his pregnant wife.

2. If you feel sick when you return to Australia, Perth at least "Do Not Go To A GP, go to a hospital, test results will be available much quicker.

3. Tell them to test for Measles, Cholera, Typhiod, as there response to why this case was not diagnosed was, " We do not get Measles in OZZ have not for 20 years, Typhoid???

In the case of the GP, test results available after 5 days, his diagnosis Hepatitus A or Typhoid. 555555

Recently had a show on Ozzie Current Affair about a Sydney / Melbourne hospital harvesting the fat from your belly, processing it to get stem cells then injecting it. Had testimonials from two people, one hip the other knee problems from osteo-arthritus who raved about its benefits.

Cost around $9000AUD

Google Channel 7/9 my memory is fading.

We will be checking it out to see if will save the TW full knee replacements

Most of Thailand is heavy clay, certainly fill is. That is why you use "pile" or "pile to 1metre square footings at bed soil". You could wait until hell freezes and you will not get a base suitable for "slab on ground" construction.

All she has to do is go to the closest immigration office ( in my wife's case Chiangmai) with a letter to say she has special circumstances eg mum or dad sick and the will give her a 12 month extension ( as she is Thai) cost is 1900 Baht and she does not have the 90 day reporting that other nationalities have. Can pay an extra 3800 Baht and get a multi entry. That solves your problems for 1 year. My wife has done this before as she only has and always travels on an Ozzie Passport and her girlfriend did it 2 months ago in Chiangrai as she was recovering from a serious medical situation and would have been in over stay otherwise. Note it only applies to Thai nationals.

Having built using the Thai 400x200x60 blocks 20 years ago I can tell you from experience "do not do it" our walls constantly get cracks through the first web, the centre cavity of the block is cement filled. All external walls are double block with 60mm cavity,internal walls single block, thermally the house is good visually the patched cracks are annoying. There is a reason Thai's go for the small "cooked bricks" but being a "cheap charley" I ignored their advice and have been sorry ever since. (no superblocks in my day)

The Thai blocks are not the same as Ozzie or European "Besser" blocks, they have very little cement and no structural load bearing strength.

That is why you need a concrete "ring beam" at the top of the wall to support the roof structure and similarly at all window and door openings.

The auto-claved Superblock looks good but in Australia our biggest builder lost about $10,000,000 dollars on them in warranty claims as no one could successfully render them. The float and set just kept falling off after one or two years.

Naam's the man on the subject of rendering "superblocks" he has a beautiful house done in them, and I bet he would not put up with poor quality render.

Off topic but why use electric (multi-point) if in/near Chiangmai. EGAT at Maeon on highway 1376 have a good range of Solar Storage Tank HWS. All stainless steel and IMHO reasonably priced.

Check out Lao Airlines, CNX- Luang Prabang 293USD Return.

LP- CNX 276USD Return.

We use Lao Airlines CNX - LP and to VTE often clean good aircraft nice people.

When viewing the classified ads, when I click on the "thumb nail" pictures they just keep continuously loading but never display.

Funcat, this is US MPG, meaningless to us old Ozzies and Brits.

Same as Malt25 says with the exception that this years budget extended the residency from 25 to 35 years and the duty free "Tobacco allowance" from 250gms to 50gms.

To ease her mind, and lock in her position why not renew her "British Passport" now rather than wait till 2015. then she has till 2022 to sort out the divorce with peace of mind in regard to her entry to and from GB.

Tell her not to be stingy many of my wife's friends will not renew a passport days early, "wasting money" 555.

CM Steve, thanks. Out that way. I am in Maeon, sorry if I appeared lazy did not think because of the Tawai...

Can anyone locate this Baan Tawai.. on Google Map for me please.

My daughter in law, Chinese 34 years of age, first pregnancy, a real worry wart with top specialist was told only a window between 14 and 16 weeks for this test to be done. Went to all expense to fit the window and result was 1 in 334. Her girlfriend Korean 38 years old came back 1 in 1400, you can imagine the drama.

The results are done by a computer software program, here in Perth, with variables as to age, weight, size, --colour of eyes which way the wind is blowing etc.

IMHO do not tell you Thai wife as this result is little ahead of 'Fortune telling" and you will stress her out to a point anything could happen.

Definitely do some reseach, from my DIL a lot on the internet, and follow up preferably with a different doctor, to be very confident of what you wife is told is 99%

By contacting Korean Air by email today getting their determination on your situation as a reply email and printing it out to show the booking clerk if she/he objects to you not having 6 months validity on you current passport. QED

Take garlic tablets. Works for me.

Bet that keeps more than the mozzies away.