Making a Will / My financial assets / What to do?

[Keith5588]

Apologises if this is not in the correct Forum section.

 

I am from the UK, 66 years old. I have no children and now no family in the UK. I have now been living in Thailand for over 2 years with my Thai girlfriend, she is age 52. She had been working in a factory for over 20 years when I met her and I believe that she is a “good girl”.

 

I am still healthy and hope to live many more years but you never know!

 

All my assets and savings are still in the UK, I have nothing in Thailand except money in a Thai bank that is needed for my yearly extension of stay and living expenses.

The only Will I have ever made was using a Will form bought cheaply from a UK shop years ago when I lived in the UK.

I have no other experience of what a Will agency/bank/solicitor will provide.

 

I would like to leave a little to some good UK friends, but now the bulk I would like to leave to my Thai girlfriend. I am not and have no plans to become married.

 

My financial file  -  I keep it encrypted and I do periodically update it.

So at the moment if I did suddenly die then it would be a problem.

 

I am asking for help in what I need to do concerning making a Will?

Will I need to go back to the UK in order to make a Will regarding my UK assets?

Do they keep the Will for me?

Can I give instructions to act upon the Will in case of my death?

Can I leave details of where my Financial File is and the password to open it with or in the Will? 

 

Then I could relax and just give to my girlfriend  the name and contact details of whoever in the UK is administering my Will?

 

Thank you in advance for any help and suggestions.

Keith

[Henricus]

You need to make 2 last wills, 1 in Thailand and 1 in the UK. 

In Thailand you need to go to a Lawyer for your assets here, in the UK I don`t know.

[CGW]

As above, you need two wills, you can do your UK one via email (quite a few companies specialise.) I did mine last year, don't recall all the details but it is quite detailed.

[1FinickyOne]

i just made a 2nd will for Thailand along w a healthcare poa and a poa for my thai assets in case i am ill and unable to access. my lawyer here who I totally trust offered to be healthcare poa.. my thai wife could not put down our dog.

 

i had all 3 documents done in CM for 12k baht.. 

 

of course it is important for your thai beneficiary to know who to call when the time comes. 

Edited August 28, 2019 by kenk24

[davidst01]

when doing your thai Will your best to not tell the beneficiary as you really havent known her for that long and your not exactly married with kids...

[Guest]

You do not need to pay a Thai Lawyer 40,000 Baht to fill out a 4 page form, especially when the only asset is bank accounts.

 

I just did this for my girlfriend, and if I died right now, she has full legal authority to go to the bank and get my money.

 

If you send me a direct message, I can send you the simple template to fill out, and get witnessed.

 

This is for Thailand ONLY, the UK thing is a whole other kettle of fish.

 

 

 

 

[malt25]

As I understand we are not supposed to recommend companies, referrals. But for what it's worth I made my will a couple of years ago. The lawyer is situated in Korat. Farang, practicing here in LOS for several years. Less than 10,000 Baht. Could have been all completed via email & EMS but I decided to take a few days holiday & have a look about Korat. PM me if you like further details.

[Jumbo1968]

Template here Thai and English get it witnessed, you could take to the Amphur Office and get stamped.

https://www.thaicontracts.com/samples/64-last-will-and-testament-preview-thai-english.html

[Beggar]

Why should you need 2 wills? If you write it yourself by hand it should be valid here and in GB. 

[kokopelli]

13 minutes ago, Beggar said:

Why should you need 2 wills? If you write it yourself by hand it should be valid here and in GB. 

One Will is for assets in GB and one Will for assets in Thailand. Handwritten Wills are tricky in any jurisdiction

 and best to be avoided.

Edited August 28, 2019 by kokopelli

[Beggar]

11 minutes ago, kokopelli said:

One Will is for assets in GB and one Will for assets in Thailand. Handwritten Wills are tricky in any jurisdiction

 and best to be avoided.

You say if you have assets in many countries then you should make a will for every country or how? 

[TigerandDog]

3 hours ago, Henricus said:

You need to make 2 last wills, 1 in Thailand and 1 in the UK. 

In Thailand you need to go to a Lawyer for your assets here, in the UK I don`t know.

I don't agree about the need for a lawyer here in Thailand. I just recently completed my Thai will using the Thai will format, which I was able to find a template of online, ( in english & translated to Thai as required ) signed it in front of my 2 witnesses and then had our village head sign it so that when the time comes the local District Office will immediately accept the will and allow the executor of the estate carry out the will's instructions. 

[TigerandDog]

31 minutes ago, Beggar said:

Why should you need 2 wills? If you write it yourself by hand it should be valid here and in GB. 

Unfortunately not the case. Under Thai legislation a Thai will can ONLY be used for assets held within Thailand, hence the need for 1 will in Thailand & 1 will for assets held in your home country.

Edited August 28, 2019 by TigerandDog
omission of clarifying information

[khunPer]

7 hours ago, Keith5588 said:

Thank you in advance for any help and suggestions.

You need two Last Will, one for Britain, following British law, and one for Thailand, following Thai Law.

 

There is however no legal claim to how a last will shall be made, you can actually just write it in clear understandable language and sign it, and make sure the will can be found after your death.

 

Two Thai lawyers wrote a book "Thai Law for Foreigners" where they quite clearly inform about the possibilities.

 

I don't know in details about Britain – I'm not British, but from a Scandinavian country – but there might be a national archive for last wills, and if so, it's best to have a last will recorded and filed there, as it will appear when the British authorities are informed about a death.

 

Your assets in Britain and heirs will follow British law, and eventual inheritance tax. It often little more complicated when an heir lives abroad, and a lawyer might be needed as executor.

 

In Thailand a court will appoint an executor, if not appointed in the will. There is at present no inheritance tax in Thailand. If you have any assets here, like bank accounts, deposit account for extension of stay (probably you might have a 800k/400k baht account for extension based on retirement), it's worth the efforts to make a last will also here, and for convenience leave whatever is in Thailand to your Thai girlfriend, or Thais only.

 

In principle you can write your Thai will in your own language (English), for example based on a standard form, and sign it in presence of two witnesses. The will might later need to be translated to Thai, or you can have it translated, before you sign it, so it's in dual language, i.e. both English and Thai.

 

According to "Thai Law for Foreigners" (page 78-79) you can make a "Handwritten Will", which you just need to; or a "Regular Will" that can be handwritten or typed, and signed in presence of two witnesses; or a "Civil Document Will" where you go to the local district office (amphur) with two witnesses and request an officer to make a will (you can also bring you own document), where-after you sign it in presence of the witnesses, the will can be recorded, and also left on file in the amphor.

 

If you don't make a Thai last will, your girlfriend might not inherit anything from your assets here.

 

You can find the book I mentioned in most bookstores that stock English language books, or order it online from the publisher.

[Matzzon]

I am sure everything is going to be all good. One thing, though. Whatever you do, don´t start with "In case of my death".

[kokopelli]

44 minutes ago, Beggar said:

You say if you have assets in many countries then you should make a will for every country or how? 

Do whatever makes you happy. ????

[Beggar]

2 hours ago, bangkokequity said:

You do not need to pay a Thai Lawyer 40,000 Baht to fill out a 4 page form, especially when the only asset is bank accounts.

 

I just did this for my girlfriend, and if I died right now, she has full legal authority to go to the bank and get my money.

 

Is this authority valid until your death or even after your death? There are two forms. And an authority alone doesn't mean that she is the legal owner of the money after your death. 

 

Edited August 28, 2019 by Beggar

[Keith5588]

Thank you all very much for your honest helpful advice. It is a great help to me already.

 

I did give my girlfriend the PIN number to my bank ATM Savings account about 1 year ago, for her to be able to withdraw from the ATM if for some reason I cannot. I always keep that card with me. My account is with Bangkok bank, there is a maximum withdrawal limit of 25,000 THB. I thought this was a daily ATM maximum but have just had a quick look on the internet and believe I can increase the daily limit. So I presume you can stand and withdraw several lot’s of 25,000 THB. Basically I don’t know for sure and have made a note to find out.  I will post when I know.

 

I now think I trust my girlfriend enough to give her POA for my Fixed Deposit account that I use for immigration. I will try to keep the cost of this to a minimum.

 

That will be the Thailand side of things done.

 

I will have to return to the UK at some point although it may be a year or two from now.  My assets in the UK are more important and so at that time I will pay a professional to do my Last Will.

 

Thank you all again

Keith

[CGW]

2 hours ago, Keith5588 said:

I will have to return to the UK at some point although it may be a year or two from now.  My assets in the UK are more important and so at that time I will pay a professional to do my Last Will.

As I stated before, you can do this from here, your UK will has to be registered in the UK, this makes the process a lot quicker, though if she has money to see her through it's not a huge deal, just a little less painless.

If you want the address of the people I used drop me a PM and I will send you their email, they were very efficient, I was given their details to contact much the same as I am offering them to you.

[Skallywag]

14 hours ago, Keith5588 said:

Thank you all very much for your honest helpful advice. It is a great help to me already.

 

I did give my girlfriend the PIN number to my bank ATM Savings account about 1 year ago, for her to be able to withdraw from the ATM if for some reason I cannot. I always keep that card with me. My account is with Bangkok bank, there is a maximum withdrawal limit of 25,000 THB. I thought this was a daily ATM maximum but have just had a quick look on the internet and believe I can increase the daily limit. So I presume you can stand and withdraw several lot’s of 25,000 THB. Basically I don’t know for sure and have made a note to find out.  I will post when I know.

 

I now think I trust my girlfriend enough to give her POA for my Fixed Deposit account that I use for immigration. I will try to keep the cost of this to a minimum.

 

That will be the Thailand side of things done.

 

I will have to return to the UK at some point although it may be a year or two from now.  My assets in the UK are more important and so at that time I will pay a professional to do my Last Will.

 

Thank you all again

Keith

Seems a bit unusual that you have "no family" left.

66 and never had biological children. No nephews, nieces?  First cousins, etc..?

There is a saying if your cannot trust family who can you trust. 

Kudos for trusting your relationship with the Thai GF - good for you and good luck.

Am always amazed reading about those who have more money than they can spend before their last breath.  Of course leaving some money to one(s) you love is important

 

 

[jayceenik]

I'm much older than the OP.

And my TGF (soon to be wife) is much younger than me. 

I'm a long time resident on retirement extensions in Thailand.

I have no family and thus made my TGF sole inheritor of my $$ four years ago already.

No possessions other than three bank accounts - Belgium, Thailand, Singapore.

I wrote a Belgian holograph will for my Belgian bank account.

To be sent to a designated Notary in Belgium at my death who will process it and send her the Euro on my bank account minus fees.

I made a Thai will with a Thai lawyer (THB 10000) for my Thai bank account.

She has a Thai Law degree so she'll know what to do.

I went to Singapore and made a will there with a SIN lawyer (USD 550) for my SIN bank account.

She'll have to go to SIN and get a lawyer (best to take the one who wrote my will) to help her process the will to get to my bank account.

 

I also made a declaration in Thai-French-English notarized at the Belgian Embassy in BKK (THB 800) to the effect that I have no relatives or anybody else to be notified of my death in Belgium or anywhere and that my TGF is thus free to deal with all formalities and inheritance. 

 

We're getting married now for several reasons.

A main one for her is that the three wills should be easier to deal with if she is my widow rather than a lambda Thai girl.

 

 

[topt]

On 8/28/2019 at 9:34 PM, CGW said:

your UK will has to be registered in the UK,

Sorry can you qualify this - as in registered how and with whom?

 

[CGW]

43 minutes ago, topt said:

Sorry can you qualify this - as in registered how and with whom?

Reading this again my statement is not correct, it doesn't have to be "legalised" - but if it is "legalised it should prevent any questions being asked at a latter date as to whether the will is genuine, you can look up "legalising uk will", also "overseas legalisation" of a will.

It may be overkill but just tried to get everything "correct" so there is the minimum of hassle for my wife.

[topt]

22 minutes ago, CGW said:

Reading this again my statement is not correct, it doesn't have to be "legalised" - but if it is "legalised it should prevent any questions being asked at a latter date as to whether the will is genuine, you can look up "legalising uk will", also "overseas legalisation" of a will.

It may be overkill but just tried to get everything "correct" so there is the minimum of hassle for my wife.

I just wanted it to be clear to others that there is no UK requirement that a will be "registered" anywhere. As long as it is witnessed and signed properly and the provisions are not ambiguous it should (there are always caveats) be a valid document.

 

For example my brother holds my will and is my named executor and no solicitors have been involved.

 

Completely agree with your last sentence.

 

Edited August 30, 2019 by topt

[topt]

On 8/28/2019 at 7:17 PM, Keith5588 said:

so at that time I will pay a professional to do my Last Will.

Not saying you shouldn't but as with all things you need to choose carefully. Just read this article here -

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/pensions/article-7400159/Trapped-purgatory-Six-years-mother-died-waiting-legacy.html

[Keith5588]

8 hours ago, topt said:

Not saying you shouldn't but as with all things you need to choose carefully. Just read this article here -

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/pensions/article-7400159/Trapped-purgatory-Six-years-mother-died-waiting-legacy.html

I have just read the article, it is interesting. Thank you.

Many years ago my company wanted to and eventually did change pension provider. I suspected it was for them to gain financially at the expense of the employees and after I obtained a lot of proof I needed some help. I found out the correct government department (Financial or Pension Ombusman, I have now forgotten). They would not take any action to investigate and even misled me to begin with about the initial correct course of action I should take to file a complaint. A very long story and a long time ago but I learnt a lesson that government bodies do not help the ordinary person as much as I thought they would.

Sorry for going off topic.