What Happens to our House if my wife dies?

[JohnFlory]

My Thai wife and I recently built a house in Suphanburi. Of course, the land and house are in her name as non-Thais can't own the land. My wife is only 43 (I am 53), but what happens if she passes away before I do. This is not a life or death issue. The house is not too large and expensive and we also have a condo in Pattaya in my name. My wife does not want to leave it to her family...at least not currently. Would I be able to sell it? How long would I have? When I get back to Thailand I'll be consulting a lawyer, but I wondered if anyone here knew the answer.  Thanks!

[GuyDow]

Get your wife to register a usufruct in your favour at the land office. This will give you the continuing right to stay there if she predeceases you. The land will automatically pass to her next of kin if she dies intestate. So she needs to make a will if she doesn't want her family to inherit. As you know, the land must go to a Thai. Everything else she can leave to you. 

 

An alternative would be for you to lease the land from your wife. You would then be able to sell the lease if you set it up correctly. Don't try to cut corners on this. You don't want the Thais to take you to court.

Edited May 23, 2021 by GuyDow
Typo

[JohnFlory]

5 minutes ago, GuyDow said:

Get your wife to register a usufruct in your favour at the land office. This will give you the continuing right to stay there if she predeceases you. The land will automatically pass to her next of kin if she dies intestate. So she needs to make a will if she doesn't want her family to inherit. As you know, the land must go to a Thai. Everything else she can leave to you. 

 

An alternative would be for you to lease the land from your wife. You would then be able to sell the lease if you set it up correctly. Don't try to cut corners on this. You don't want the Thais to take you to court.

Thanks for the answer. I will have her make that will and look into the usufruct. One thing, maybe you can answer. If she predeceases me intestate, as her legal husband, registered and documented at her amphur, am I not first in line to inherit? Or, because it is land, does it jump me to first Thai relative? He parents and siblings are all deceased. Just Aunts, uncles and cousins left.

[GuyDow]

2 minutes ago, JohnFlory said:

Thanks for the answer. I will have her make that will and look into the usufruct. One thing, maybe you can answer. If she predeceases me intestate, as her legal husband, registered and documented at her amphur, am I not first in line to inherit? Or, because it is land, does it jump me to first Thai relative? He parents and siblings are all deceased. Just Aunts, uncles and cousins left.

Sorry. Don't know and I'm not going to guess. Maybe someone else in the forum has the answer.

 

[Denim]

Provided you are legally married ( not just the village ceremony ) the house can be left to you in her will. However, since foreigners cannot own land you are normally given about a year to sell it.

Make sure you have a yellow book to show you are registered as an occupant.

[clivebaxter]

Surely the husband IS her next of kin? I thought foreigners inheriting property had a year to sell it

[Surelynot]

What have you got planned for her?

[Denim]

Here is an earlier thread discussing the same subject :

 

 

 

 

[Liverpool Lou]

1 hour ago, JohnFlory said:

Would I be able to sell it? How long would I have? 

If you inherit the house you will have no option but to sell it and you will have 12 months to do so.

[Liverpool Lou]

28 minutes ago, JohnFlory said:

One thing, maybe you can answer. If she predeceases me intestate, as her legal husband, registered and documented at her amphur, am I not first in line to inherit

It does not "automatically go to her family", you'd inherit it but you have to sell.

[Surelynot]

31 minutes ago, JohnFlory said:

If she predeceases me intestate,

You might find 'others' could then lay claim to the estate or a share............if they can prove they are dependent on the estate in anyway!!!!!

[Aarin]

You cannot sell it that i am sure of. Go to a lawyer. I used Siam Legal in Bangkok. They a little expensive but they saved me plenty when i could divorced. They experts in all areas. I know you can have your name on the paper that you funded the buying etc but need the lawyer. 

[Pedrogaz]

Make sure she has a will leaving everything to you. If she dies intestate you will have a devil of a job stopping her mother or siblings robbing you blind. The will should make it as difficult as possible for the family to inherit anything at all and at a minimum make them hire a lawyer to get anything at all. This is expensive and unpredictable for them and deter them from robbery. 

 

Often people make wills not anticipating their younger partners or spouses dying before them. A will should cover unforeseen contingencies. You should also have her specify what she wants done with the body ie a short wake say 3 days max or it will cost you a small fortune when the family order up 30 monks a day for 7 days. 

 

Many ladies take out insurance which pays their mother if they die, the will should specify that this money be used for her burial.

 

[Muhendis]

On 5/23/2021 at 1:46 PM, Liverpool Lou said:

It does not "automatically go to her family", you'd inherit it but you have to sell.

Quite so, and if you fail to sell in the given time then the government will sell it for you.

'course you could remarry and sign it over to your new Thai wife.................????

[BritManToo]

On 5/23/2021 at 11:43 AM, JohnFlory said:

but what happens if she passes away before I do. This is not a life or death issue.

Easy answer is, don't bother to complete probate and leave it in your dead wife's name.

Slightly harder answer, impregnate her and let your child inherit the house.

Edited May 25, 2021 by BritManToo

[wombat]

what happens?
your out on your derrière would be my guess

[natway09]

You can also get a 6 month extension after 1 year if not sold. The land office will talk to your local Governor

[pagallim]

Some nonsense replies on this thread.   As others point out, in the event of there not being a will stating otherwise and your marriage is registered, the property passes to you but you must sell it within one year.   This can be extended at the discretion of your local Land Office.   My wife owns our home, though I also have a 30 years lease on it.

[rct99q]

What happens if she passes away before me?

 

Boy some people have all the luck.

 

[khunPer]

On 5/23/2021 at 6:43 AM, JohnFlory said:

My wife does not want to leave it to her family...at least not currently. Would I be able to sell it? How long would I have? When I get back to Thailand I'll be consulting a lawyer, but I wondered if anyone here knew the answer.  Thanks!

Get you wife to make a last will, otherwise the husband only gets 50 percent, and 50 percents goes to 1)child/children, 2)parents, etc. If your wife makes a Will she can state the all goes to her husband, or that the house/land goes to her husband.

 

You will have 12 month to sell the property.

 

As suggested with a usufruct servitude declared on the land, this might make the land almost impossible to sell, but it could be transferred to another Thai name. A right of habitation might be another possibility: however, if looked from worst case scenario: Always be worth more alive, than dead in Thailand.

[LukKrueng]

On 5/23/2021 at 1:06 PM, GuyDow said:

Get your wife to register a usufruct in your favour at the land office. This will give you the continuing right to stay there if she predeceases you. The land will automatically pass to her next of kin if she dies intestate. So she needs to make a will if she doesn't want her family to inherit. As you know, the land must go to a Thai. Everything else she can leave to you. 

 

An alternative would be for you to lease the land from your wife. You would then be able to sell the lease if you set it up correctly. Don't try to cut corners on this. You don't want the Thais to take you to court.

 

On 5/23/2021 at 1:15 PM, JohnFlory said:

Thanks for the answer. I will have her make that will and look into the usufruct. One thing, maybe you can answer. If she predeceases me intestate, as her legal husband, registered and documented at her amphur, am I not first in line to inherit? Or, because it is land, does it jump me to first Thai relative? He parents and siblings are all deceased. Just Aunts, uncles and cousins left.

 

On 5/23/2021 at 1:20 PM, Denim said:

Provided you are legally married ( not just the village ceremony ) the house can be left to you in her will. However, since foreigners cannot own land you are normally given about a year to sell it.

Make sure you have a yellow book to show you are registered as an occupant.

 

On 5/23/2021 at 1:46 PM, Liverpool Lou said:

It does not "automatically go to her family", you'd inherit it but you have to sell.

If you're legally married you can't have a  usufruct nor a lease drawn between you and your wife. 

anyone can leave anything to anyone in a will, so even if you're not married legally she can will it to you. However, as said earlier in this thread - as a non Thai you will have to sell the property within 12 months. If she dies and there is no will half of her property goes to you and the other half goes to her remaining family (children, parents, siblings).

If you bought the land after you got married you're entitled to half the property anyway, so the remaining half is split between you and the rest of the family (if no will exists) but the family members can take it to court to fight your claim off the 50% due to marriage. 

Best way is for her to write a will leaving it all to you (which the family might still contest but it will be harder for them) 

[BritManToo]

33 minutes ago, khunPer said:

You will have 12 month to sell the property.

12 months from completing probate.

There is no set time for completing probate in Thailand, so just don't do it.

The property remains in your dead wife's name, and you can live there.

 

Why are foreigners in such a hurry to complete paperwork, when there is no requirement to do so?

[Bangkok Barry]

5 hours ago, Pedrogaz said:

Make sure she has a will leaving everything to you. If she dies intestate you will have a devil of a job stopping her mother or siblings robbing you blind. The will should make it as difficult as possible for the family to inherit anything at all and at a minimum make them hire a lawyer to get anything at all. This is expensive and unpredictable for them and deter them from robbery. 

 

Are you writing about your family? Not a great one to marry into, I'd say. If not, then why write such stuff. My own wife's family would fall over themselves to help me.

[Bangkok Barry]

One question I would have is what happens if you can't sell the house within a year as required? Does the government steal it?

[Liverpool Lou]

2 hours ago, LukKrueng said:

If you bought the land after you got married you're entitled to half the property anyway

Please explain how a foreigner can legally buy land in Thailand.

[madmen]

She has probably already made a will. My guess it goes to her brother 

[Liverpool Lou]

2 hours ago, LukKrueng said:

If she dies and there is no will half of her property goes to you and the other half goes to her remaining family (children, parents, siblings).

That is not accurate....

Under section 1629 of the Civil and Commercial Code of Thailand there are 6 classes of statutory heirs and they are entitled to inherit in the following order:

1. descendants
2. parents
3. brothers and sisters of full blood
4. brothers and sisters of half blood
5. grandparents
6. uncles and aunts
7. The surviving spouse is a statutory heir, subject to the special provisions of Section 1635 Civil and Commercial Code.

Distribution in the absence of a will

Thai inheritance laws designate intestate heirs and so long as there is an heir surviving in one of the classes, the heir of the lower class has no entitlement to share in the assets. The one exception is where there is a descendant and a parent in which case they take an equal share (section 1630). If there is more than one heir in any one class, they take an equal share of the entitlement available to that class. The surviving spouse is a statutory heir but their entitlement depends on what other class of statutory heir exists. If there are surviving children of the deceased, the spouse and children take the estate between them. Therefore, if there are three children, then the estate is divided in to four equal shares.

[Liverpool Lou]

1 hour ago, Bangkok Barry said:

One question I would have is what happens if you can't sell the house within a year as required? Does the government steal it?

Of course, not...

If the foreigner fails to dispose of the land the Director-General of the Land Department is authorized to dispose of the land and retain a fee of 5% of the sale price before any deductions or taxes.

[keithcresswell]

Speaking from personal experience get her to make a will naming you as sole beneficiary and, importantly,  also as administrator. Also my local land office (Pattaya) only gave me 6 months to sell, not one year.

[BritManToo]

1 hour ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Of course, not...

If the foreigner fails to dispose of the land the Director-General of the Land Department is authorized to dispose of the land and retain a fee of 5% of the sale price before any deductions or taxes.

There are no reports of this ever happening.

@keithcresswellwhy did you complete probate?

Edited May 25, 2021 by BritManToo