Quit Claim Deed?

[Pepe']

Each time my wife is gifted another piece of property from her mom, I have allways been told I have to sign the equivalent of a quit claim deed at the local office or she could not take ownership of it.

Is this the norm or am I being taken for a ride?

Do I have any rights to properties she receives from her mom?

Do I have any rights to apartments that we have built there?

My wife is getting ready to acquire another large residential property from her mom.

Same drill she says I need to sign off any claim to the property.

You get the picture...

[lingling]

Each time my wife is gifted another piece of property from her mom, I have allways been told I have to sign the equivalent of a quit claim deed at the local office or she could not take ownership of it.

Is this the norm or am I being taken for a ride?

I am assuming that your wife is Thai and you are not.

This is a legal requirement for a Thai woman with a foreign husband. The husband must sign that doc for the land office to complete the transfer.

Do I have any rights to properties she receives from her mom?

No.

Do I have any rights to apartments that we have built there?

Yes, you can build a house or apartment on your wife's land. You can own the building but she is the only one who can own the land.

[GuestHouse]

Pepe,

I seem to recall at one time you were discussing bringing money over from the US to buy property in Thailand. My advice would be, that if your wife is already amassing wealth in Thailand, from which you are excluded, you take steps to ensure that your wealth outside of Thailand remains there.

I'm also sceptical about this form signing. To my knowledge this is only necessary when land is purchased, ie to declare that you do not have rights to the land (that it is not being purchased with your money).

The important thing to remember is marital wealth is shared, at least legally. If you do manage to maintain wealth outside of Thailand then you at least should have a formal record of your wife's wealth in Thailand. Otherwise you are at risk of loosing all in Thailand and half in the US. If you can get copies of Chanotes and copies of the declarations you have or are going to sign. That way if ever you are before a judge in the US you can substantiate that your wife already holds a considerable part of the marital wealth.

My advice would be sign nothing until you get an agreement regarding your rights to reside in your home Thailand (if you have one already) - I would at the very least be expecting a Unsufruct to protect you if the worst happens.

And since so much wealth is being amassed in Thailand, leave the rest in the US.

Putting all the wealth in the hands of your Thai wife within a system that is weighted against you (virtually denies you any rights), is boardering in wrecklessness.

[Pepe']

Pepe,

I seem to recall at one time you were discussing bringing money over from the US to buy property in Thailand. My advice would be, that if your wife is already amassing wealth in Thailand, from which you are excluded, you take steps to ensure that your wealth outside of Thailand remains there.

I'm also sceptical about this form signing. To my knowledge this is only necessary when land is purchased, ie to declare that you do not have rights to the land (that it is not being purchased with your money).

The important thing to remember is marital wealth is shared, at least legally. If you do manage to maintain wealth outside of Thailand then you at least should have a formal record of your wife's wealth in Thailand. Otherwise you are at risk of loosing all in Thailand and half in the US. If you can get copies of Chanotes and copies of the declarations you have or are going to sign. That way if ever you are before a judge in the US you can substantiate that your wife already holds a considerable part of the marital wealth.

My advice would be sign nothing until you get an agreement regarding your rights to reside in your home Thailand (if you have one already) - I would at the very least be expecting a Unsufruct to protect you if the worst happens.

And since so much wealth is being amassed in Thailand, leave the rest in the US.

Putting all the wealth in the hands of your Thai wife within a system that is weighted against you (virtually denies you any rights), is boardering in wrecklessness.

For now I will just sincerely say Thanks. I had heard different things about this situation but you confirm now what I understood is the bottom line.

What is te Unsufruct?

I will not go into current events at the moment as you can sort of figure what's going on. When the dust settles hopefully I can contribute something that will be beneficial to others without the blow by blow description.

Like others I was never really concerned about owning properties in Thailand. Now I just hope I don't get stung to badly on the US side.

Wreckless no, pathetic yes. There is no way to protect myself here it's a communal property state, she's entitlled to half no matter what.

She says she only want's another 30 g's. If that's the case it's OK if not it get's bad. Wish me luck...

[GuestHouse]

Pepe, I am a great admirer of your posts, and I am sorry to hear that you are going through difficulties at the moment.

What I would urge you to do is take legal advice and discuss with your lawyer how you can get property located outside of the US added to the calculation of your marital wealth.

If you cannot, then refuse to sign anything over and refuse to send money out of the States.

If your wife is claiming she only wants another 30G, but you can't add wealth overseas to your calculation of marital wealth then there is nothing to stop her taking 30G out and then demanding half of what is left.

Take some legal advice early.

[Pepe']

Pepe, I am a great admirer of your posts, and I am sorry to hear that you are going through difficulties at the moment.

What I would urge you to do is take legal advice and discuss with your lawyer how you can get property located outside of the US added to the calculation of your marital wealth.

If you cannot, then refuse to sign anything over and refuse to send money out of the States.

If your wife is claiming she only wants another 30G, but you can't add wealth overseas to your calculation of marital wealth then there is nothing to stop her taking 30G out and then demanding half of what is left.

Take some legal advice early.

Thanks GH.

Good advice. I'm working on it...

[old wanderer]

double post

Edited January 25, 2007 by old wanderer

[old wanderer]

While I trust my Thai wife, I also wanted to protect putting some of my savings into projects here in Thailand.

This years we (i.e. my wife) has bought several expensive pieces of property in Thailand. We are building a house on one and maybe buying a expensive home in Hua Hin.

Naturally she told me "No worry, I always be with you".

I then told her the story of the people like us, but the Thai wife went to the bank one day on a motorcycle and got some money from the ATM. 2 men followed her on her bike and hit her with a pick-up truck. When she went down they robbed her money and the gold she was wearing. She died at the hospital. She had daughter from a previous marrage the farang had always treated as his own daughter. She was now 21. The house passed to her, and she kicked her stepfather out...... As I explained to my wife, you can never know what other family members might do.. (This story I read on this board some time ago).

The Unsufruct is the only way to go. It will give you up to 1 rai and the home until you die. Does not matter if the property is sold, inherited....etc. It is your home to live in, rent out....until you die.

We will have this on each of our homes. Now that my wife understands why, she has no problem with it. It will not do anything on the larger parcels of farm land, but sure is better than nothing.

Edited January 25, 2007 by old wanderer

[Pepe']

OW,

Thanks for your thoughts and input. It's good to know the bottom line as far as use

and ownership. Your input and clarification are simple and valuable.

As this is unfolding it looks like it may all "come out in the wash."

There is a saying to the effect that "difficult times are not an opportunity to build

character, rather it is an opportunity to show character."

Good Health,

Pepe'