UK law and marriage to Thai woman

[Bert Jones]

Does anyone know what legal rights a Thai woman married to a UK man has. Upon death, does the Thai woman have a UK legal right to the estate of the deceased? Is a marriage between a UK man and a Thai woman legally binding in UK law?

[elviajero]

The marriage is legally recognised in the UK, and the ‘Thai’ wife has the same “legal rights” over her husbands estate as if she were British.

Edited November 6, 2018 by elviajero

[Bert Jones]

If that is 100% correct...then I'm definitely never getting married to a Thai woman! Thanks for the reply. 

[wgdanson]

9 minutes ago, elviajero said:

The marriage is legally recognised in the UK, and the ‘Thai’ wife has the same “legal rights” over her husbands estate as if she were British.

But not the other way round.

[Bert Jones]

I would imagine falsifying a marriage document is easy, in order to make a claim against any estate.

 

"But not the other way round" typical of Thai laws.

[topt]

6 hours ago, wgdanson said:

But not the other way round.

If the marriage is recognised in Thailand please explain (other than land ownership) what rights a foreign husband would not have compared to a Thai husband if that is what you are saying?

[wgdanson]

38 minutes ago, topt said:

If the marriage is recognised in Thailand please explain (other than land ownership) what rights a foreign husband would not have compared to a Thai husband if that is what you are saying?

Simply the land/house ownership. 

[rott]

I started my pension in 2012, a single man. Had I been (legally) married to a Thai lady would I have been entitled to the married couple pension.

[Henryford]

I have a NHS pension and one benefit is that my wife would continue to get my pension upon my death. I presume from post #2 that a marriage to a thai lady would qualify her to receive the pension after my death. I have a live in partner and am considering marriage to protect her future income should i die. As she is much younger than me that would give her a pension for maybe 30-40 years. I wonder if the NHS pension authority would pay for such a long time?

[chickenslegs]

4 minutes ago, Henryford said:

I have a NHS pension and one benefit is that my wife would continue to get my pension upon my death. I presume from post #2 that a marriage to a thai lady would qualify her to receive the pension after my death. I have a live in partner and am considering marriage to protect her future income should i die. As she is much younger than me that would give her a pension for maybe 30-40 years. I wonder if the NHS pension authority would pay for such a long time?

I think you need to check the terms and conditions of your pension.

 

It is possible that the widow benefits do not apply if you marry after retirement. Also, some schemes stop the pension if the widow remarries or cohabits.

[sammieuk1]

Not sure your future wife can trust you????

[mogandave]

Ever notice how cheaters always think others are out to cheat them?

[elviajero]

28 minutes ago, Henryford said:

I have a NHS pension and one benefit is that my wife would continue to get my pension upon my death. I presume from post #2 that a marriage to a thai lady would qualify her to receive the pension after my death. I have a live in partner and am considering marriage to protect her future income should i die. As she is much younger than me that would give her a pension for maybe 30-40 years. I wonder if the NHS pension authority would pay for such a long time?

Her nationality should be irrelevant. You need to ask the pension administrator about the conditions for a widows payment. Terms and conditions of pension schemes varies.

[cleopatra2]

2 hours ago, Henryford said:

I have a NHS pension and one benefit is that my wife would continue to get my pension upon my death. I presume from post #2 that a marriage to a thai lady would qualify her to receive the pension after my death. I have a live in partner and am considering marriage to protect her future income should i die. As she is much younger than me that would give her a pension for maybe 30-40 years. I wonder if the NHS pension authority would pay for such a long time?

The standard rule is 10 years age difference ( younget) .Over 10 years age diffetence the pension is recalibrated to take into account the potential longer payment to the spouse.

 

As mentioned earlier the pension scheme rules need to be consulted to determine survivor benefits upon death.

[UKresonant]

You should perhaps put her on as a nominated beneficiary until you get married, and even when you get married. It will give the Trustees clear guidance. I had to register the wife's ID (and on one of the pensions, have her original passport witnessed by an administrator, including proof of her date of birth) and nominate her on all pension schemes. Though a spouse would get the NHS pension by default, if already nominated it might make the process quicker.

[sumrit]

On 11/6/2018 at 11:10 AM, Bert Jones said:

If that is 100% correct...then I'm definitely never getting married to a Thai woman! Thanks for the reply. 

If you don't want your wife to receive any/some of your estate after you die, make a will.

 

On 11/6/2018 at 6:08 PM, wgdanson said:

Simply the land/house ownership. 

As I understand it, if a Thai person dies before their foreign spouse and no other arrangements concerning land have been put in place, although foreigners can't own land, providing the property is sold within a year the foreigner is entitled to the proceeds of its sale.

 

On 11/23/2018 at 12:59 PM, Henryford said:

I have a NHS pension and one benefit is that my wife would continue to get my pension upon my death. I presume from post #2 that a marriage to a thai lady would qualify her to receive the pension after my death. I have a live in partner and am considering marriage to protect her future income should i die. As she is much younger than me that would give her a pension for maybe 30-40 years. I wonder if the NHS pension authority would pay for such a long time?

An English friend, who had a younger Thai wife, died a few months ago and I'm executor for his estate so I had to deal with his pension provider. The foreign spouse has exactly the same rights as a British spouse. Providing the spouse is named in an 'expression of wish' form lodged with the pension provider, they are fully entitled to any proceeds from the pension. In my mates case there was a clause in the pension rules saying that as there was more than a fifteen year age gap his wife's pension was reduced, but it was by less than 10%.

[Bert Jones]

That's very interesting Sumrit, thanks for the information...

[i claudius]

I was married in the UK and we lived there many years,my wife is entitled to hslf my private pension no mention of age difference

Sent from my SM-A720F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[sumrit]

2 hours ago, i claudius said:

I was married in the UK and we lived there many years,my wife is entitled to hslf my private pension no mention of age difference 

Sent from my SM-A720F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

There was no mention of age difference restrictions with my mates pension when he actually retired. He had to name his wife in an 'expression of wish form' and, as well as his pension amount and guaranteed annual increases,  the information the pension provider supplied also included the possible lump sum his widow would get if died within a certain period of him taking his pension and the percentage of his pension his widow could expect for life, but there's also a a proviso that it's at the discretion of the trustees. And the reduced pension because of the age gap came under that Trustees discretion/rules.

Edited December 6, 2018 by sumrit