maphraw

Could anyone recommend a reliable and not too expensive lawyer who could assist my Thai wife and I to make out our will for our Thai assets only. Not much --- a few bank accounts and a mutual fund. Thanks.

I got it. It is 50/50 ownership. So if I die, the wife needs a will to claim my 50%. Silly me.

I can't understand why I, or my Thai wife, would need a will for joint bank accounts. My Thai wife has complete access to our joint accounts as do I. We don't need each other's permission to withdraw money from the accounts. It stands to reason that if one of us dies the other has a right to continue to have complete access to the funds in the joint account. Same with our Thai mutual funds. They are joint accounts. I guess the only way to get clarification on this is to ask a competent bank official or manager.

Only my wife and me, no kids, The car is in my name but it's old. My assets in the states are made out to her with instructions on what she has to do for the investment company to forward them into her bankk account in Thailand. Of course she has complete access to our accounts. She is my wife. It's our money.

I have two Thai joint bank accounts and a joint mutual fund with my Thai wife. I was under the impression that, in the event of my death, all of the assets in these accounts would automatically belong to her. That is one of the reasons for having the joint accounts.

As it stands now she can take as much money out of the accounts as she wants to without my permission as I can without her permission. So I just assumed that my death would in no way necessitate a will. I am going to ask the bank manager and someone from the mutual fund company if this is not the case. Also, I just assumed that if my wife dies, I would assume ownership of the Thai bank accounts and mutual fund. Would anyone happen to know if I am totally misguided.

If an expat has a one-year contract with a Thai company along with a one-year work permit I am wondering if there would there be serious ramifications with Immigration if this expat felt he couldn't continue with his job (for whatever reason) and submitted a letter of resignation to his employer before the contract expired. I thought that maybe Immigration, before issuing another visa (non-immigrant or retirement visa) would want to know why the contract was broken and on what terms he left the company. My guess is that this particular company would not object too much to this expat's premature resignation.

If, after resigning, this expat returned his work permit and then went to Laos (or wherever) to apply for a new visa and returned to Thailand and was offered another job with a different company or he wanted to apply for a retirement visa, would he run into difficulties.

I am wondering if one needs a medical certificate and proof of residence if one has a recently issued work permit. In order to get a work permit you need a submit a medical certificate and ones residence is clearly shown on the work permit.

Could you tell us how much you were taking, approximately how many milligrams oper day. Thanks.

Not trolling, took it for 6 years here and no withdrawals at all, maybe I did not abuse it like some though. If I had I would not be on here moaning about it. There is a lot of hysterical nonsense about xanax, life threatening? pure BS.

Could anyone recommend a reasonably priced detox clinic, hospital, place to help someone get off a daily xanax habit, preferably in the Chonburi, Pattaya, Rayong area. Live in might be good but not necessary. Takes about 2-3 milligrams a day. Wants to get off the habit but has very uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms when stops taking it. Thanks.

Would anyone be able to recommend a good transmission mechanic for a Honda City-5 years old. Thanks. It slips and jerks a bit.

The 12th is the Queen's Birthday and there are rumours circulating that the 11th will be declared a national holiday by our benevolent  government. Anyone know if there is any truth to this?

I can only tell you what my own experience was. I made an appointment on line with the U. S. Embassy. When I got to the embassy I filled out a form stating how much money I had coming into Thailand from the US every month. I claimed about 90 Baht I think. The embassy do not ask for any proof or evidence that I really had that sum of money transferred to Thailand on a monthly basis. I signed the form, they stamped it, I paid my fee and then took the form to Thai Immigration in Jomthien. The next day I picked up my passport with a one year retirement visa. It was dead easy. This was two years ago so things might have changed. Good luck

I use youtube downloader when I want to save youtube vieos to view at a later date or when my wi-fi is slow. I few days ago I transfered a few youtube documenataries and lectures onto my usb device and when I went to play it in my car usb player they would not play. It's not surprising to me since they are both visual and audio whereas my usb player in my car is only audio. Would anyone know how I can transfer Youtube videos to a usb device so they can be played on my cars usb player. It is not important for me to view the youtube videos that I want to play, only listen since they are just talks, news porgrams and lectures. I am sure there is a way but I haven't quite figured it out. Thanks.

Has anyone had a cataract operation done at Queen Sirikit Hospital in Satthhip, Chonburi, next to Utapow Airport. My insurance covers me at that hospital. It's a government hospital but they have a good rep, for the most part, with the expats in that area. I may have to have a cataract operation.

Cafe Le Mar in Jomthien on Beach Road. Quite south, before metro Condo. Excellent thin crust pizza. Reasonably priced.

I work in Thailand and my employer gives me some tax forms every year to take down to the tax office. I give the tax office the forms, a copy of my passport, a copy of my marriage certificate so I can declare my wife as a deduction and they then do the calculations and complete the forms. ( a copy of which I need to renew my work permit and visa). I have never claimed the dividends that I earn from my mutual fund. My wife said they are tax free so as to encourage people to invest in the economy and I don't need to declare them. Not only that but a colleague of mine said if you invest up to a certain amount in a mutual fund, probably a stock fund, you can get a substantial deduction on any taxes you might owe. I am not claiming to be an expert on any of this. I could be terribly negligent in not declaring my dividends from my mutual fund but I do not think so. Anyone have any experience with this?

I bought the Krungsri Star Equity Dividend Fund (KFSEQ-D) about 11 years ago. It Has performed reasonably well and pays a very good dividend. I opened the account at their head office in Bangkok. It's a joint account with my Thai wife. They transfer the dividend into our Krungsri savings account. The dividend is tax free, up until now anyway. Morning Star gives it a good rating. But the good dividend has really impressed me. I have been hoping that with the Coup the SET will tank in which case I will but more shares.

Would anyone be able to recommend a reliable hospital /clinic, private or public, in the Pattaya area or nearby that provides psychiatric consultation and can prescribe medication if needed? For a Thai national, not an expat. And one that is not terribly expensive. Thanks.

Would anyone know of a reliable hospital or clinic, private or public, in Buriram or nearby that provides psychiatric consultation/care. On weekend if possible. For a Thai national, not and expat, Thanks.

How do the banks find out so quickly?

I drive upcountry quite a bit and only on a few occasions have I been asked for my passport. When asked, I show them my Thai drivers license and they always wave me through the check point with no questions asked. This is not to say you don't need to carry your passport with you.

I am wondering if the requirements are the same for the five-year license renewal in Chonburi if you have a license with an address from a different province. I moved to Chonburi a while back and my present Thai drivers license has my old Bangkok address and will expire soon.

Maybe you don't understand the meaning of "could"? It's very similar to "may" - they do have the legal ABILITY to do so, but it is left to their discretion.

So yes, they could, but generally - under the circumstances I outlined above - don't.

If there are any other flags that you've consciously evaded in the past, or have had any kind of sophisticated avoidance strategies that would imply you should have been aware of these requirements in the past, or there's anything shady about your business arrangements or lifestyle then all bets are off.

But what are you going to do, keep ignoring the requirement until they've got all the jurisdictions reporting on Americans? When computer systems are all joined up and decades from now your current transaction history is visible to them?

Haven't got any choice but damage control, do the filing now and cross your fingers, far better than waiting another year.

I totally with this assessment. And even if you don't have large amounts of money in Thailand start informing the IRS now and do the FBAR and Schedule B on your returns. Just start doing it. Probably wise to get a tax accountant who has experience with this to help out the first time. They are probably aware of some of loopholes and ways to approach the IRS under these circumstances. Actually, it is my hope and belief that unless you are talking about very large sums of money---hundreds of thousands or millions-there is a good chance you won't be bothered. Especially if you have been filing returns every year. The tax accountants that I have talked to, after explaining my situation, said the IRS will probably leave me alone or I might possible be penalized a percentage of the Thai interest/dividends I hadn't reported.

Question #8 -12 Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures for Non-Resident, Non-Filer Taxpayers Questionnaire

TAX ADVISORS

8. Did you rely on the advice of a tax

professional for not filing required

U.S. tax returns?

a. If yes, is your tax

advisor located in the U.S.?

9. During the above-listed tax years fo

r this submission did you know that

you were a U.S. citizen or resident alien?

a. If yes, did you disclose to you

r tax professional that you were a U.S.

citizen or resident alien?

10. During the above-listed tax years for this submission, have you

declared all of your income in your country of residence?

11. If you used a tax professional, di

d you disclose the existence of the

accounts/entities you hold outside your

country of residence to your tax

professional?

12. Did you know you had a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial

Accounts (FBAR), Form TD F 90-22.1, filing requirement when you failed to file an FBA

I could be reading the above wrong but it seems to me it is better not to talk to a tax professional.

:

a. This is what an American tax accountant said his charges would be if he did my tax returns because I failed to report Thai interest/dividends/FBAR: $525 for each year's amended tax return which would go back 6 years. This amounts to $2,250. It includes PFIC computations. $125 for each year's FBAR totaling $750 (assuming 6 years). A reasonable cause letter drafted by his attorney $2,500. Total-$5,200.

I don't think his math is right but these were his exact figures. He said I was not eligible for 'Streamline' because I have filed tax returns in the past. I believe PFIC's are tax forms for foreign mutual funds.

$

$

By the way, the American accountant is based in the USA.