What happens to a foreigners assets in Thailand apon death

[thelovedone]

I have directed this question around the holding of cash assets ( not property /land or business dealings).

 

Many foreigners (self included) have substantial cash assets deposited for various amounts of time in Thai banks, for visa requirements and other purposes.

In my case , i have a legal Will in which all my assets are passed to my beneficiaries who reside in my home country. I have no Thai wife or girlfriend.

 

In the event of a foreigners death ( with no Thai benificaries) what happens to the cash assets held in a Thai bank?

I cannot imagine that it would be easy for a foreign benificary to walk into a Thai bank and make a claim on these assets. Even with a legal foreign Will in hand.

 

I know this is a long shot ,but im interested to know if the banks actually have a process or pro forma, where a foreigners cash assets apon death, can be transferred to a pre determined nominated benificary residing outside Thailand ? 

 

What is the legal process required for a foreign benificary to claim cash held in Thailand. Is a Thai Will required to bequeath ,cash assets held in Thailand , to a foreign benificiary?

 

Also i think the overseas transfering of any funds would also be very problematic for any benificary. How would they ,could they ,do this?

 

 

 

 

[ThaiBunny]

7 minutes ago, thelovedone said:

I cannot imagine that it would be easy for a foreign benificary to walk into a Thai bank and make a claim on these assets. Even with a legal foreign Will in hand.

With a foreign Will, no. Foreign Wills cannot cover assets in Thailand. With a Thai Will the nationality of the beneficiary is irrelevant as the Executor can distribute cash assets as soon as probate is granted and the banks distribute the cash to the Executor

[thelovedone]

5 minutes ago, ThaiBunny said:

With a foreign Will, no. Foreign Wills cannot cover assets in Thailand. With a Thai Will the nationality of the beneficiary is irrelevant as the Executor can distribute cash assets as soon as probate is granted and the banks distribute the cash to the Executor

So, as a foreigner a Thai Will is required for my overseas benificiaries to access the funds in my Thai bank upon my death?

Thanks for the advice and you are quite likely correct. However, is there a formal  reference that would verify that?

I am curious to know if most expats actually have a Thai Will?

What happens to a foreigners assets without a Thai Will?

 

I have never considered  making one, but perhaps i need to do so.

[ThaiBunny]

1 minute ago, thelovedone said:

Thanks for the advice and you are quite likely correct. However, is there a formal  reference that would verify that?

Try searching Thaivisa

[Kwasaki]

1 hour ago, thelovedone said:

So, as a foreigner a Thai Will is required for my overseas benificiaries to access the funds in my Thai bank upon my death?

Yes, as said many posts TV on how to get a Thai will.

[dotpoom]

19 hours ago, ThaiBunny said:

With a foreign Will, no. Foreign Wills cannot cover assets in Thailand. With a Thai Will the nationality of the beneficiary is irrelevant as the Executor can distribute cash assets as soon as probate is granted and the banks distribute the cash to the Executor

Slightly off topic, but on the question of "probate being granted"...I hope it works better here than in Europe. My Father died over a year ago and I am mentioned as one of the benefitories in his Will. Seven months after his death I contacted his Lawyers to update me as to the situation (I had heard nothing after being notified that I was mentioned in his Will).

  After 7 emails to them I was finally informed that it was still going through the "probate process".

PS. Am still waiting to hear again from the Lawyers, it's been over a year now.

PPS. You may ask.."Why not contact the execiteurs...because they are made up of my brother and two half sisters...we have not been in contact for many years.

[jonwilly]

I have a will created by a reputable Thai Lawyer. The will names my assets, my moderator and who will inherit and the will is lodged and registered at the local Apher.

 

john

[Peterw42]

OP, besides a Thai will etc, why not just give any beneficiaries access to your account, ATM card, online banking, signatory etc. 

In the event of your demise, they open online banking and transfer the funds. Or they hop on a plane and come and withdraw funds from an account they are signatory to.

 

 

[Lacessit]

I have  Thai and Australian wills which say nearly the same thing. My assets in Thailand go to my Thai GF, my assets in Australia go to my son. The Thai will nominates my GF as the executor. The Australian will nominates my son as the executor.

[Lacessit]

27 minutes ago, dotpoom said:

Slightly off topic, but on the question of "probate being granted"...I hope it works better here than in Europe. My Father died over a year ago and I am mentioned as one of the benefitories in his Will. Seven months after his death I contacted his Lawyers to update me as to the situation (I had heard nothing after being notified that I was mentioned in his Will).

  After 7 emails to them I was finally informed that it was still going through the "probate process".

PS. Am still waiting to hear again from the Lawyers, it's been over a year now.

PPS. You may ask.."Why not contact the execiteurs...because they are made up of my brother and two half sisters...we have not been in contact for many years.

The longer a lawyer can draw out the process, the more fees they claim. Their trust fund also benefits in terms of interest earned on cash they are holding.

I don't know what the regulatory system is in Europe. In my case, I found the threat of a complaint to the Law Council of Victoria had the lawyer in question disgorging my funds.

Emails won't do it. You need to be physically present at the lawyer's office to get action.

[KittenKong]

11 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

OP, besides a Thai will etc, why not just give any beneficiaries access to your account, ATM card, online banking, signatory etc. 

In the event of your demise, they open online banking and transfer the funds. Or they hop on a plane and come and withdraw funds from an account they are signatory to.

Could be of use for savings accounts but in most banks it would not give access to time deposits which many long-term farang residents have here.

[KittenKong]

4 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

The longer a lawyer can draw out the process, the more fees they claim.

That depends. In many cases the fee could be a fixed amount or a fixed percentage of the value of the estate.

 

Sometimes lawyers are just slow and lazy and need poking with a sharp stick.

[portly]

Lots of cannots till family just throws in the towel 

 

[Griffo63]

1 hour ago, Peterw42 said:

OP, besides a Thai will etc, why not just give any beneficiaries access to your account, ATM card, online banking, signatory etc. 

In the event of your demise, they open online banking and transfer the funds. Or they hop on a plane and come and withdraw funds from an account they are signatory to.

 

 

They will need to be quick though because once the bank know of your demise they'll freeze the account 

[Kerryd]

From personal experience.

My father died in Thailand back in 2010. He, fortunately, had a Will. 2 in fact. One for his assets in Thailand and another for his assets in Canada.

 

I was told I had to wait 45 days after his death before the Will could be probated (Thai law, so that anyone, relatives/creditors if any, have time to make claims on the estate).

The law firm that made the Will did the probate. I had to appear in court (as the Executor and sole heir) and answer a few perfunctionary questions. A short time later I was given the official probate letter which allowed me to close out his accounts and dispose of his remaining assets.

A friend of mine who died a couple years ago though, didn't have a Will. He got sick and returned to the US where he died. 

His money is still stuck in the bank and even his family members (sister and some more distant relatives) can't get it. They would have to fly here, hire a law firm and file a court suit to try and claim the money. (Might be worth it if the person had a lot in the bank and you are a direct relative.)
 

My understanding is that if no one makes a successful claim, the money will remain there for a set number of years and then be handed over to the government. (Basically the same thing that happens will all "dormant" accounts after a set number of years). If he had any other assets (vehicles, property, etc) that wasn't claimed (and didn't disappear in the interim) they too would be handed over to the government for disposal.
 

 

[Peterw42]

Just now, Griffo63 said:

They will need to be pick though because once the bank know of your demise they'll freeze the account 

That doesn't even happen back in home country, nobody is tasked with informing banks of people passing, I dont think they are reading the obituaries.  I was still operating my parents accounts back in Australia 6 months after they passed.

[scorecard]

23 hours ago, thelovedone said:

So, as a foreigner a Thai Will is required for my overseas benificiaries to access the funds in my Thai bank upon my death?

Thanks for the advice and you are quite likely correct. However, is there a formal  reference that would verify that?

I am curious to know if most expats actually have a Thai Will?

What happens to a foreigners assets without a Thai Will?

 

I have never considered  making one, but perhaps i need to do so.

Perhaps you should personally visit the HO or a big regional office of the Thai banks you use, push to speak to a senior bank officer (not ask questions to the junior at the counter) and ask all of your quite interesting questions.

 

Calling the HO (they all have a national call centre with English) is a possibility however I would have concerns how much real knowledge the call center staff have on such matters.

 

Further, I would not ask these questions at a small local branch of the Thai banks you use. There are several old threads on this subject; ask at 4 branches and get 4 different answers etc. 

 

21 hours ago, Kwasaki said:

Yes, as said many posts TV on how to get a Thai will.

True, and there are many Thai and foreign lawyers in Thailand who will have no hesitation to charge outrageous fees to help you establish your will and if you go this route beware that they don't name themselves as the legal entity required to get the probate granted in the Thai court, agin for totally outrageous fees.

 

There are of course many legitimate and trustworthy lawyers. 

 

[IssanMichael]

Here is a copy of a Thai will in Thai and English. When you complete the will it has to be witnessed by a person in authority mine was done by the local village chief, you then give to the executor of the will. In regard to the money i keep for my retirement visa, i have this in an account that my Thai wife can access with my ATM details and we have arranged the maximum withdrawal amount as 500k so within a couple of days she is home and dry and that solves all the problems with the banks.

T13_Last_Will_and_Agreement.pdf 13_Last_Will_and_Testament.pdf

[Samyan]

17 minutes ago, IssanMichael said:

In regard to the money i keep for my retirement visa, i have this in an account that my Thai wife can access with my ATM details and we have arranged the maximum withdrawal amount as 500k so within a couple of days she is home and dry and that solves all the problems with the banks.

 

So she would make an online transfer to her account after your death? Was that mentioned in your will and if not, what are the legalities of doing that? 

I have my retirement funds with Bangkok Bank, but am unsure of whether to make a will or just give my partner my account details so she can secretly transfer the lot into her account after my death.

[Kwasaki]

57 minutes ago, IssanMichael said:

Here is a copy of a Thai will in Thai and English. When you complete the will it has to be witnessed by a person in authority mine was done by the local village chief, you then give to the executor of the will. In regard to the money i keep for my retirement visa, i have this in an account that my Thai wife can access with my ATM details and we have arranged the maximum withdrawal amount as 500k

Good info the OP stated  " I have a legal Will in which all my assets are passed to my beneficiaries who reside in my home country. I have no Thai wife or girlfriend."

 

He needs a Thai Will too, 

" In the event of a foreigners death ( with no Thai beneficiaries ) what happens to the cash assets."

[Just Weird]

5 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

OP, besides a Thai will etc, why not just give any beneficiaries access to your account, ATM card, online banking, signatory etc. 

In the event of your demise, they open online banking and transfer the funds. Or they hop on a plane and come and withdraw funds from an account they are signatory to.

That is possible but it would be illegal; the chances of being caught doing that from overseas may be small but after the death of the account holder accessing the funds that way is fraud.

[kokopelli]

3 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

That doesn't even happen back in home country, nobody is tasked with informing banks of people passing, I dont think they are reading the obituaries.  I was still operating my parents accounts back in Australia 6 months after they passed.

That depends on what home country you live reside in. In USA the banks normally are notified of the passing of someone usually through the Social Security Administration. Not sure of procedures in other countries.

[Just Weird]

3 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

That doesn't even happen back in home country, nobody is tasked with informing banks of people passing, I dont think they are reading the obituaries.  I was still operating my parents accounts back in Australia 6 months after they passed.

I'm pretty sure that you haven't got that right, even in "home country" and, unless the accounts were in your own name, what you were doing was illegal.  Even if you had been doing that before their deaths with a Power of Attorney, that authority to act on their behalf ceases on the death of the donor.   If there had been other beneficiaries they could have taken legal action against you if they wanted to.

 

But congratulations on getting away with it!

[Delight]

Your ideal solution is for you to have a friend who you absolutely trust.

Then transfer all your bank assets to a joint bank account in Thailand i.e. you and the friend.

Your friend has legal access to this account. You being dead is irrelevant.

He will have to work out a system to  send money to your beneficiaries back home.

The simpliest way is for him to buy the Thai Baht.

He will tranfer equivalent  local curreny back  home.

 

If this could be arranged the you are better of without a Thai will.

In such circumstances your funeral has to be organised/financed.

No doubt somebody will contact -in your case-the Canadian Embassy -and that is it. It legally ends there.

 

if anybody uses your regular ATM card(post your death) -then this  card user is a thief.

 

 

[JimHuaHin]

7 hours ago, Lacessit said:

I have  Thai and Australian wills which say nearly the same thing. My assets in Thailand go to my Thai GF, my assets in Australia go to my son. The Thai will nominates my GF as the executor. The Australian will nominates my son as the executor.

Are you sure Australia Will law allows executors to be beneficiaries?

[Lacessit]

3 minutes ago, JimHuaHin said:

Are you sure Australia Will law allows executors to be beneficiaries?

Absolutely. The lawyer who drew up the will definitely thought so.

I was the executor of my father's will, and a small beneficiary. Most of his estate went to my sister, who needed it a lot more than I did.

[Lancelot01]

11 hours ago, jonwilly said:

I have a will created by a reputable Thai Lawyer. The will names my assets, my moderator and who will inherit and the will is lodged and registered at the local Apher.

 

john

Ditto. Easy to set up with a good lawyer.

[lungbing]

Executors can be beneficiaries, but like all beneficiaries cannot witness the will.

[fhickson]

Get a safe deposit box at the bank you have the funds, put a debit card in it, put the box number and or code in your will. Heirs raid the box and drain the account. Screw the bank and lawyers, your gone.

[Time Traveller]

On 5/2/2019 at 10:00 PM, thelovedone said:

Also i think the overseas transfering of any funds would also be very problematic for any benificary. How would they ,could they ,do this?

Walk into a bank. Show the source of the funds to be remitted. Provide the foreign account information. Instruct them to transfer the money

It's simplifying the process as there's often lots of documents and ID that need checking, but that's all there is too it.