thaibeachlovers

My takeaway on lawyers in Thailand is that a farang is more likely to pay a lot and get nothing for it. The only time I used a lawyer was for a will.

Depends on the extension. I had non O based on marriage but extended based on retirement. No problem staying on after I got divorced, which I did for a year, with a few exits and re entries and one extension. I didn't "inform" immigration as they would have it on record ( marriage and divorce ).

How about discussing AI and not mere computers?

I had many platonic relationships with women in my life and worked with hundreds, so I have a fair idea of what women are. However, the topic is bargirls ie sex and AI which is what I was discussing. Perhaps you go to bars to play connect 4 with the bargirls?

I had no problem getting married in Pattaya and divorced in Lamphun, but you are correct in that I never had any idea of what motivated the bureaucrats that did make things difficult, other than perhaps they hated farangs.

Wow, you are generous mak mak. Would you make that sort of deal with a woman/ family from your home country? BTW, are the Thai women farangs marry incapable of working, so needing to be taken care of for the rest of their lives?

LOL. I gave the folks nothing, and they spent our marriage trying to get her to divorce me so she could marry a richer man. In the end they succeeded, but by then she was too old to be worth anything anyway.

If it did they were not worth marrying in the first place, IMO. Speaking as one that only gave it for show and got it back.

I thought it was just an age restriction, but definitely worth checking out. How much is a girl worth? If she's not a virgin- no sin sod required. Actually, no sin sod is required anyway. The Thais did a great job conning gullible farangs into believing that it is. If she loves you she'll marry you without being bought. Far as I'm concerned, if they won't marry you unless you buy them, they ain't worth marrying anyway.

I'm not American, but at my embassy they did not require any documents or proof I was unmarried. As they pointed out, all they were doing was witnessing that I was claiming to be single ( and getting paid well to do so ). The document itself did not prove anything.

I stand corrected. I just never thought that would happen. I guess Thailand has changed a lot since I left ( before covid ). To be truthful, I'm boggled about that. If the closest office refused perhaps the wife to be contributing to the Santa fund might change their minds. I'm a great believer in letting the wife to be sorting any problems, rather than trying to do it ourselves. After all, she wants to get married, does she not?

Methinks they are laughing fit to bust about anyone agreeing to pay 25,000 baht for something anyone can do themselves at a fraction of that cost. It's a hassle but not really difficult to get the paperwork sorted. If I could do it anyone can. However if the cost of the paperwork has increased dramatically in the past 10 years ( to about 20,000 baht ) it might be worth paying the extra 5,000 baht.

I never ever heard that an amphur would refuse to marry a Thai national to her chosen beloved.

Didn't he already say he doesn't have a lot of money. He doesn't need to be paying some lawyer to tell him what he knows already. He made the classic mistake of marrying a village woman and building HER a nice house in a place where he has no real friends and is at her mercy ( I did that except I didn't build my wife a house, though she certainly hinted about it ). All he has to do IMO is decide if he can afford to live elsewhere in LOS or needs to go back home. Hopefully he won't be getting married again so no need to get divorced.

Very, and you won't win, IMO. S**** happens. I had to leave LOS after my divorce as not enough money to stay on my own. The good news is that rents are cheap in Pattaya or Chiang Mai ( or at least they used to be ).

Yes, but has to go to court. No input from you required, I understand. You have been apart for over 2 years. Court/ lawyer will cost.

100% correct. Seems to me that a lot of farangs get conned into paying for a big ceremony which is in no way required- it's not the west. I like the Thai legal marriage. Apart from the paperwork, which is a hassle, the actual marriage takes about 1/2 hour and cost about 20 baht ( when I did it ). The divorce was just as easy, and as cheap.

1/ you don't get married in a Wat. You can have a ceremony in one, but it has no legal standing. Only the amphur give legal standing and it takes about half an hour unless there is a queue. There is no legal requirement to have any sort of ceremony. Far as I can tell it's just a way for the locals to get drunk at the farang's expense. The monks get gifts too. 2/ You need to check with the amphur office re witnesses etc. I got married in Pattaya. Did not require witnesses or a translator. Other amphurs may require such and a translator. Some have quite strange requirements, IMO, but it's their office and they do it their way. You should let your girlfriend sort out the requirements- she speaks Thai. My wife sorted everything for us. All I had to do was turn up and sign the paper. We didn't have any sort of ceremony. She asked me to give her mother sin sod, even though she had been married before, so I did that, but I got it all back- just for show.

Far as I know there is no "alimony" in Thailand. IMO that is just an American abomination thing. Perhaps you mean you are buying her co operation. As you have no amphur marriage certificate it would be rather "difficult" to get divorced in Thailand.

Did you forget that the kid would need a letter from the wife saying it's OK to take the boy overseas? He'd probably never get on the plane without one.

Sooooo, where were you when I was making the biggest mistake and getting married? You didn't save me or the OP, and hindsight is always perfect.

and his son?

You are right there. My wife refused to talk about her problems- end of. She hadn't got to the OP's wife's stage but I didn't need a weatherman to tell me which way the wind was blowing. I was just lucky she was angry enough to agree to an amphur divorce.

Before doing that get away from her, and don't tell her where. Sounds like she might hurt the OP if pushed too far, and the OP needs to get away ASAP for his own safety IMO. Leave the kid with a family member, or that might cause legal problems. Let the court sort out custody. My wife wasn't that bad but I still bolted the bedroom door while sleeping ( she slept in another room ). Main thing is to have witnesses to her behaviour prepared to go to court. Police report would be good too.

Given the "real thing" so often doesn't want to "do it", I predict a huge profit for any company that makes sexbots. Let's remember the oldest profession elsewhere than Thailand is often too expensive, too ugly, too short time and unsatisfying.