Thai will

[Spaniel]

Since recently turning 74 I have been thinking it's time to get a Thai will in order.       I only have two assets here in Thailand, a condo in Pattaya that I will leave to my son, and my Bangkok Bank account that I will leave to my (Thai) wife.      Here are a few questions that I hope someone can answer:      Thanks in advance.

 

1.     I am thinking that I will type the will out myself.     Will I then have to take it to a translator to be translated into Thai?

 

2.     Since my wife will be listed as one of the benificiares  can she still be listed as the Administrator?

 

3.     I may decide to use a law office so can anyone recommend a lawyer in either Pattaya or Bangkok that can prepare the will for me?       What would be their price?     Seems B 5,000 was mentioned a while back in another post.

 

 

 

[Jip99]

The costs actually start once probate needs to be obtained.

 

Your wife would actually be 'executor' - probably jointly with your son.

 

Thai lawyers have claimed that dealing with Farang estates often becomes unnecessarily complex.

 

 

I understand, and respect, your request but I would also look at alternatives to having the Will i.e. Making the bank account joint and putting the condo in joint names with your son (I accept that the costs involved may make it less attractive).

[ELVIS123456]

Both myself and a mate have Thai Wills for all our assets in Thailand - we both used a lawyer (Chiang Mai and Udon Thani).

Get it drawn up in English and Thai - Lawyer will keep a copy, copy for you/wife/son, and a copy for home country (things happen when people die).

Lawyer will then get involved and support your wife/son when it happens.

Yes make her the executor of the Will - if she understands that lawyers cant be trusted (sign nothing til son/friend reads it).

Find one that speaks English and works in your Province - where the condo is located (important).

5000 baht is about right.

 

[champers]

Sorry I cannot help you, but to enable others to help you better you should clarify "my son". Is he a son with your current wife; so a Thai; or is he from a prior relationship, maybe in your homeland? How old is he?

Good luck and I hope your will won't need to be enacted for a quite a while yet.

[moonseeker]

https://www.samuiforsale.com/family-law/forms-of-wills-under-thai-law.html

 

Link for some basic info. Important point is trustworthy administrator or executor. Yes, a beneficiary can be administrator and can still seek help of a lawyer if needed. A real abd honest lawyer will charge for the hours worked on the case and not some outrageous percentage of the estate. Probates are usually straightforward and even a basic holographic will should not be a problem. Best of luck. MS>

[Spaniel]

10 hours ago, champers said:

Sorry I cannot help you, but to enable others to help you better you should clarify "my son". Is he a son with your current wife; so a Thai; or is he from a prior relationship, maybe in your homeland? How old is he?

Good luck and I hope your will won't need to be enacted for a quite a while yet.

"my son"   is with my current and only wife.

[brewsterbudgen]

I used Magna Carta and they were fine.  Cost me about 5,000 baht, if I remember rightly, and they keep a copy.

 

http://magnacarta.co.th/

[Peter Denis]

Hi, I am quite interested in this topic and want to thank Moonseeker for the link with basic and clear information on the issue >

https://www.samuiforsale.com/family-law/forms-of-wills-under-thai-law.html

Many people refrain from making a will because they incorrectly assume it will involve lawyers/notaries and a lot of admin hassle.

But in reality you can simply manually write out the will yourself, date and sign it and ask 2 friends or people you trust to sign too (these cannot be beneficiaries to what is stipulated in the will, so your wife and son are 'ruled out').

Note: You can make up this will in two or three-fold and provide the 2 friends with one of these originals, mentioning in the text of the will that you did so.

Easy, completely legal and at no cost.

 

[Spaniel]

3 minutes ago, Peter Denis said:

Hi, I am quite interested in this topic and want to thank Moonseeker for the link with basic and clear information on the issue >

https://www.samuiforsale.com/family-law/forms-of-wills-under-thai-law.html

Many people refrain from making a will because they incorrectly assume it will involve lawyers/notaries and a lot of admin hassle.

But in reality you can simply manually write out the will yourself, date and sign it and ask 2 friends or people you trust to sign too (these cannot be beneficiaries to what is stipulated in the will, so your wife and son are 'ruled out').

Note: You can make up this will in two or three-fold and provide the 2 friends with one of these originals, mentioning in the text of the will that you did so.

Easy, completely legal and at no cost.

 

But does it also have to be translated into Thai?

[Peter Denis]

Good question but I don't know.  I presume that your will will not be secret for your wife and son, so they - or somebody else you trust - could translate it in thai.  However, I would do this on the same original hand-written document and stipulating that the english version is the correct one, in case of doubt.

[Jip99]

1 hour ago, Spaniel said:

"my son"   is with my current and only wife.

 

 

That will certainly help when it comes to probate.

[Jip99]

8 minutes ago, Peter Denis said:

Good question but I don't know.  I presume that your will will not be secret for your wife and son, so they - or somebody else you trust - could translate it in Thai.  However, I would do this on the same original hand-written document and stipulating that the English version is the correct one, in case of doubt.

 

 

The usual way (at least those that I have seen) is to prepare the Will wording in English and then have it translated into the Will document. i.e. the Will is in Thai - the English version is only for the benefit of the testator and any non-Thai beneficiaries/executors.

 

In this case where the beneficiaries are both Thai an amphoe Will may be appropriate. It is written in Thai and as long as the testator is happy with getting his own translation (assuming he can't read Thai) it would work fine.

[nausea]

17 minutes ago, Peter Denis said:

Good question but I don't know.  I presume that your will will not be secret for your wife and son, so they - or somebody else you trust - could translate it in thai.  However, I would do this on the same original hand-written document and stipulating that the english version is the correct one, in case of doubt.

I would assume that any translation of a legal document would need to be certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or something. I doubt a translation by a layman, especially a beneficiary, would be acceptable per se.

Edited July 24, 2018 by nausea
More info.

[Jip99]

2 minutes ago, nausea said:

I would assume that any translation of a legal document would need to be certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or something. I doubt a translation by a layman, especially a beneficiary, would be acceptable.

 

 

I would suggest that if a widow presented an English Will at a local court shed would be dispatched with a flea in her ear.  I see no benefit in the Will being written in English and would be surprised if it did not cause issues for the widow.

[Peter Denis]

2 minutes ago, nausea said:

I would assume that any translation of a legal document would need to be certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or something. I doubt a translation by a layman, especially a beneficiary, would be acceptable. 

For a document to be of legal value, it does not need to be certified.

In this case - a hand-written will - I think it would be over the top to have the translation certified.

[vogie]

If a will was made in the UK (to my daughter) and later in life one moves to Thailand and gets married, does that will become null and void.

[Peter Denis]

I am talking from a Western perspective, and there a will does not become void because of changing circumstances later.  It only becomes void when you 'recall' it or supersede it with a will of a later date (hence the importance of the date on the will).

Also a will is executed within the boundaries of the law, meeting the wish of the deceased as close as the law allows.

E.g. if you have 2 sons and write in your will that everything goes to one of them, it will not be executed like that.  The 2 sons will get their legal share, and the 'free part' of your possessions will be given to the beneficiary son as you stipulated in the will.

The intention of this is that you do not need to worry about the law when you write a will.

As mentioned in my earlier post, many people refrain from writing a will because they think it needs to be certified by a lawyer or notary and that it is a lot of administrative hassle.  It is NOT.  Of course it is possible to have your will formally certified, and in complex situations with a lot of assets that's probably the best thing to do.  But it is by no means necessary.  Just a hand-written and signed document stipulating your wishes is sufficient, and it will be executed as close as possible to your intentions.

Note: In Thailand it seems to be required that such a hand-written will is also being signed by 2 witnesses.  And in order to avoid any issues with the execution later on, I would recommend to put the thai translation on the same original document (but stipulating that in case of doubt the english version is the original).

 

 

[Baboy]

I have been the executor of 2 wills in Thailand. As the executor you are required to attend court & answer a set of standard questions put to you before the court . Basically they ask if you knew the person & do you intend to carry out their wishes as put forth in the will. Both of these wills where drawn up by Thai law offices & I think the cost was in the 4 to 5 k range. I was of the impression that it had to be written in Thai although both had the original English document attached. On this I may well be wrong but if dealing with a sizeable asset  like a condo i would personally have it done by a lawyer in Thai. The lawyers fee should also include them attending court with the executor of the estate as the proceedings will all be carried out in Thai.

    About a week to 10 days after the court appearance the court releases the will with notification that all is good & the transfer of assets can begin. The wills I dealt with only dealt with moneys held in Thai bank accounts , no property was involved. The court documents are handed to the bank & a cashiers check was handed to the beneficiary named in the will. One thing I do know for sure is that if you are writing the will out yourself none of the beneficiary's can act as a witness to the will.

  

[cornishcarlos]

Fortunately for me, everything is in my wifes name anyway,  so I don't need to worry about a will ?

Problems begin though should she pass before me !!! Might get her to write one...

[jayceenik]

3 hours ago, cornishcarlos said:

Fortunately for me, everything is in my wifes name anyway,  so I don't need to worry about a will ?

Problems begin though should she pass before me !!! Might get her to write one...

An old American buddy of mine from years back bought a bungalow in Pattaya many years ago using the dodgy "Company" loophole.

One day he decided to marry the Thai girl he had been living with for ages and put the bungalow in her name to be nice to her and finally making the ownership legal.

His GF now his wife was much younger than him so he would certainly die a long tome before her and thus enjoy living his old age in that bungalow.

Unexpectedly his wife died at 57 from cancer. Bungalow went to HER inheritors.

They came to occupy the bungalow and let him stay in his small bedroom for a couple years then told him to leave and they sold the bungalow.

Nothing for him. He now lives in a 20k/mo smaller place nearby.

Bad luck. He did good putting the bungalow in his TGF's name and now he is by himself in a rental.

He has limited income so the rental is hurting him. 

[giddyup]

10 minutes ago, jayceenik said:

An old American buddy of mine from years back bought a bungalow in Pattaya many years ago using the dodgy "Company" loophole.

One day he decided to marry the Thai girl he had been living with for ages and put the bungalow in her name to be nice to her and finally making the ownership legal.

His GF now his wife was much younger than him so he would certainly die a long tome before her and thus enjoy living his old age in that bungalow.

Unexpectedly his wife died at 57 from cancer. Bungalow went to HER inheritors.

They came to occupy the bungalow and let him stay in his small bedroom for a couple years then told him to leave and they sold the bungalow.

Nothing for him. He now lives in a 20k/mo smaller place nearby.

Bad luck. He did good putting the bungalow in his TGF's name and now he is by himself in a rental.

He has limited income so the rental is hurting him. 

That's when a 30 year lease comes in handy.

[irlguy1]

If my thai wife dies wouldn't everything go to our kids as they are Thai?
In that case is their a need for a will?

My house and land is in her name if I die she gets it all so again no will needed.

My only issue would be if my kids decided to screw me for living in the house [emoji12]


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[sungod]

4000 THB, Thai lawyer 'Vishan' near Lotus on north road. Its in English and Thai, at that price its not worth arguing about.

[Esso49]

1 hour ago, irlguy1 said:

If my thai wife dies wouldn't everything go to our kids as they are Thai?
In that case is their a need for a will?

My house and land is in her name if I die she gets it all so again no will needed.

My only issue would be if my kids decided to screw me for living in the house


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One would think so but that is not necessarily the case. If your wife's Thai and her parents survive her then under Thai law 50% of her estate goes to the parents and the rest divided equally to the surviving children.  Of course if both her parents are deceased then as you say,  or hope,  the kids will get the spoils. Why would the children try and screw you  ? they yours as well or are they your step-children from her previous relationship ?

[topt]

On 7/24/2018 at 11:43 AM, Peter Denis said:

Note: In Thailand it seems to be required that such a hand-written will is also being signed by 2 witnesses.

Not just in Thailand - and important that the witnesses actually sign the will in your presence at the same time as you otherwise it could be challenged.

 

On 7/26/2018 at 2:58 AM, Baboy said:

About a week to 10 days after the court appearance the court releases the will with notification that all is good & the transfer of assets can begin.

This is good to hear after reading some of the comments in the will topic especially with @BlackJack comments

[BlackJack]

Recent talk at an expat club gave all the answers

this is a spot on company that has all the answers

video link here https://www.thai888.com/pattaya-city-expats-clubs-thai888-law-probate-talk-2018/