What happens if a farang retiree dies in Thailand ?

[jacko45k]

12 hours ago, JensenZ said:

Assuming no will, can a girlfriend extract the cash at an ATM after your death? Surely that would be illegal. What about a wife with no will. Can she do it?

She can, but banks are often quick to lock the accounts of the deceased if they find out. Then it is up to probate to get the money released to who the court decide. I have even heard of joint accounts getting locked, when you would expect the surviving owner should inherit sole control

[mighty]

On 6/8/2020 at 5:31 PM, orchis said:

your embassy will be contacted and they sort it out, if no one wants your body after a while, cremated. bye bye.

Some countries embassies might help contacting relatives, but I don't think they arrange cremations etc.

[bmanly]

Just a thought, sorry didn't read 5 pages.

 

If the farang has no Thai family and no one in his home country cares nor wants the body and no one local cares enough either then someone mentioned that the Thai Government authorises a Temple Cremation. So who pays for that? It still costs money. 

 

There would be a lot of retired old men in the above situation.

[jacko45k]

14 hours ago, mighty said:

Some countries embassies might help contacting relatives, but I don't think they arrange cremations etc.

Of course not.... they have to issue some permission to release the body, which also involves the Thai police.

[Pattaya46]

10 hours ago, bmanly said:

If the farang has no Thai family and no one in his home country cares nor wants the body and no one local cares enough either then someone mentioned that the Thai Government authorises a Temple Cremation. So who pays for that? It still costs money.

I remember reading that some temples have a "service" to take care of cremation for poor people who can't pay for it. I also remember reading at least once that a farang (a beggar) who died without money and family get a cremation through this service. I don't know details.

A very basic cremation may cost 20-30'000B "only".

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

On 6/11/2020 at 6:39 PM, JensenZ said:

Assuming no will, can a girlfriend extract the cash at an ATM after your death? Surely that would be illegal. What about a wife with no will. Can she do it?

 

I believe that is pretty commonly done here, whether wife or GF, presumably, with the advance consent of the accountholder to their partner...  There's the law in Thailand, and there's what is commonly done regardless of the law.

 

The main thing is, of course, the wife or GF at some point will need to know the ATM PIN code for the card, and should do it promptly because sometimes banks are notified by others and the accounts are frozen at some point.

 

The Thai legal system SHOULD have an easy way for people to leave bank account proceeds to their desired inheritor, like a wife or GF, without having to go thru a long, costly, burdensome probate process in court. Something like account POD (Payable on Death) designations in the U.S.  But thus far, no luck on that here.

 

 

Edited June 13, 2020 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[johnray]

lol ''family''.

[1]

On 6/8/2020 at 6:07 PM, bkk6060 said:

Everyone should have a Thai will and or legal instructions as to how you want things handled.  Also, a trust and will in their home country.

My friend who worked for the Public Trustee in Western Australia explained to me in February that you can only have one will.

 

You cannot have two wills just because you may have interests in two or more countries. 

 

I remember she explained that there is a procedure to be followed with regards to if you had a will in Australia and you had elements of that will covering your overseas interests. I can't remember the details. But at the time it was 100% clear to me that was not an option to have two wills.

 

 

[Delight]

On 6/19/2020 at 10:42 PM, 1 said:

My friend who worked for the Public Trustee in Western Australia explained to me in February that you can only have one will.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not true in UK . Australia may be different.

 The administrator in Thailand will typically have no knowledge of the executor in the UK.

Each will will specify the country to which it refers.

Also you can have as many originals as you like.

Having more that one is important-just in the case of loss.

The key -with reference to the UK will -is communication.

The UK executor will start the probate process.

That person needs to know that the deceased is now deceased and will require a death cert. officially translated. It is best that  that process is controlled by  a  person in Thailand.

In my case my Thai wife will contact my UK executor via Facebook.

 

 

 

[EricTh]

I think immigration will contact your family members to retrieve the body. What happens afterward will depend on whether you have a will and the wishes of your closest relative

[xxeo]

For what you own in Thailand, you should really have a Thai will. Independently from your will in your home country. Otherwise it will be very difficult after you make the final farewell. This is what the Pattaya City Expat Club advises again and again.