Advise wanted on making will in Thailand wanted.

[mikeinkamala]

I am in the process of making a will that I wish to have signed, witnessed and stamped and deposited  at the local Amphur

The will has been written in Thai and a certified translated copy in English. 

I have now been told that I need to have a letter from a doctor saying that after examining me I am compos mentis and  not mentally impaired. Does anybody know if this is the law or that the guy at the Amphur is over reaching his authority or can he indeed insist on such a letter.

I have been to four clinics and none of them are interested in writing a letter and have told me to go to a Hospital.

With the current number of Covid cases, a Hospital is the last place I want to go as I have an underlying health problem, if I caught Covid

there is a good chance I would end up kicking the proverbial bucket.

So if anybody reading this has recently lodged a will at the Amphur, or has knowledge from family members etc I would be very interested to hear from you.

[Raindancer]

PM sent

[seedy]

Mine done 10 years ago - no letter required

[mahjongguy]

This sounds like a squeeze for you to offer tea money. "Being of sound mind" cannot be determined by a single office visit with a GP nor a shrink. He's sent you on a snipe hunt. 

 

Offer a coupla hundred baht. If he refuses, then re-consider your reasons for wanting to file your Will at the Amphur. It's not required. 

[KhunLA]

I've had 2 wills registered at Amphur office and neither time was that requested.

[Chris.B]

2 hours ago, Raindancer said:

PM sent

I am interested in this as well? ☹️

Edited October 21, 2021 by Chris.B

[Will B Good]

If you make a will leaving everything to your wife....who then becomes your ex.......what is to stop you disinheriting her by writing a new will?

 

Not a situation I am in.....it is just something that has crossed my mind before.

[Raindancer]

8 hours ago, Chris.B said:

I am interested in this as well? ☹️

Pm sent

[fangless]

52 minutes ago, Raindancer said:

Pm sent

As a number of people appear interested can you please post your "PM" comment here! 

[Raindancer]

9 minutes ago, fangless said:

As a number of people appear interested can you please post your "PM" comment here! 

As you wish.

 

I prepared a Thai will from a template on Google.   Which I edited to suit my needs.

I prepared it in English,  took it to my local Amphur  and got two lady officers to witness my signature on both copies.   

They signed and added their ID details as proof of their signature.

 

They retained one copy and I kept the other. 

 

I did not need a doctors certificate of mental competence.

 

 

 

Edited October 22, 2021 by Raindancer

[Gerard Soh]

Just did my TH Will in July 2021. It was me and my lawyer. I was given a copy of the original Thai language and an English document of the Will. Was told to contact the law firm should anything happen to me and bring the original copy of the Will.

Edited October 22, 2021 by Gerard Soh

[Chris.B]

5 minutes ago, Gerard Soh said:

Just did my TH Will in July 2021. It was me and my lawyer. I was given a copy of the original Thai language and an English document of the Will. Was told to contact the law firm should anything happen to me and bring the original copy of the Will.

How much did it cost?

[Chris.B]

3 hours ago, Raindancer said:

As you wish.

 

I prepared a Thai will from a template on Google.   Which I edited to suit my needs.

I prepared it in English,  took it to my local Amphur  and got two lady officers to witness my signature on both copies.   

They signed and added their ID details as proof of their signature.

 

They retained one copy and I kept the other. 

 

I did not need a doctors certificate of mental competence.

 

 

 

In English? I thought a Thai will needed to be in Thai?

 

[Raindancer]

21 minutes ago, Chris.B said:

In English? I thought a Thai will needed to be in Thai?

 

No.   Mine was accepted as quite normal. 

And a point worthy of note.....the lady officers were signing to witness my signature and not the validity of the will.

 

It is lodged with the Amphur and not a solicitor for obvious financial control issues.

Edited October 22, 2021 by Raindancer
Correction

[Ireland32]

How much are Wills , Thx 

[Raindancer]

4 minutes ago, Ireland32 said:

How much are Wills , Thx 

My lawyer wanted 8 to 10k

And he would then process the will on my demise at an unknown fee.

 

Hence, my will was simple and for my wife only.  Cost in Amphur to do what I did,  was 60 baht.  No, not a cheap Charlie. Just do not want lawyers here involved.

[mahjongguy]

You can provide a Will that includes a translation into Thai if you wish. Otherwise the lawyer will have it done so that it can be sent up to the court.

 

Five to ten thousand to create a Will, might want to consider writing your own if the situation is simple enough.

 

The real pain is when you hire a lawyer (same one or different one) to probate the Will. Nearly all charge a percentage of the assets, might be 5%, or a flat fee, whichever is higher. Expect several months to complete unless the assets are messy (real property, business partnership, etc.). I hope in your situation there is no one who might contest the terms of the Will. If so, the time and cost can be unimaginable.

 

 

 

[nickmondo]

7 hours ago, Raindancer said:

As you wish.

 

I prepared a Thai will from a template on Google.   Which I edited to suit my needs.

I prepared it in English,  took it to my local Amphur  and got two lady officers to witness my signature on both copies.   

They signed and added their ID details as proof of their signature.

 

They retained one copy and I kept the other. 

 

I did not need a doctors certificate of mental competence.

 

 

 

any chance of telling us the Google link to make the Will please?

 

[Raindancer]

47 minutes ago, nickmondo said:

any chance of telling us the Google link to make the Will please?

 

I had to Google and check out so many.  A lot of them want you to fill out on line and print out.

This one is a blank version that you can download and edit by PDF.

 

https://www.doityourselfdocuments.com/Content/Documents/individualWill.pdf

 

Just click download on the will form. 

 

If this doesn't suit just keep searching for " wills template forms".

 

I hope that helps.  If you get stuck, PM me and I will try and send you a blank version of what I have.

Edited October 22, 2021 by Raindancer
Correction

[Chris.B]

51 minutes ago, nickmondo said:

any chance of telling us the Google link to make the Will please?

 

There is also one here on this website.

 

 

I don't know how good it is or not though. Does anone?

 

 

 

 

Edited October 22, 2021 by Chris.B

[NancyL]

Just because you have a Will prepared by a lawyer doesn't mean that the lawyer has to be named as the executor.  You can appoint anyone as the executor and they can hire whatever lawyer they want if probate is needed.  If your only assets are bank accounts, then often probate isn't needed.  However, a "court order", i.e. probate is needed if you own other property like a condo or vehicle.

 

Hubby and I did amphur Wills about a dozen years ago, since our only assets in Thailand are bank accounts.  We did them at Amphur Muang Chiang Mai.  The rules may be different for different amphurs.  At that time, we were told we needed a letter from a doctor that we were of sound mind.  We went to a psychiatrist at CM Ram Hospital for a 45 minute consultation and waited another 10 minutes for the letters.  The chat consisted of him asking why we were there, how long we'd been married, if we had children, and the differences in the process of making a Will in the U.S. vs. Thailand.  At one point, I stopped and said "but you probably know all this already" (he had some U.S. training) and he said, "yes, I do, but I just want to make sure that you do".

 

In a way, it makes much sense to have a professional attest that you had all your marbles when you made the Will rather than having someone try to prove you didn't after you die and they want to challenge your Will.

 

 

[Raindancer]

33 minutes ago, Raindancer said:

I had to Google and check out so many.  A lot of them want you to fill out on line and print out.

This one is a blank version that you can download and edit by PDF.

 

https://www.doityourselfdocuments.com/Content/Documents/individualWill.pdf

 

Just click download on the will form. 

 

If this doesn't suit just keep searching for " wills template forms".

 

I hope that helps.  If you get stuck, PM me and I will try and send you a blank version of what I have.

Here is another good link.

 

Here is the link that I found suited me best. 

 

https://funeralguide.co.za/write-your-own-will/free-will-template/

 

If you scroll down you will find two versions to download.  It is self explanatory which download suits your needs.  I used the .doc version.    And edited it to suit my needs.

 

I included my country/passport number and expiry date,  when stating my name etc.

 

I also stated the name and ID of my benefactor.

 

That way there is no legal misunderstanding of my benefactor.

[seedy]

7 minutes ago, NancyL said:

Just because you have a Will prepared by a lawyer doesn't mean that the lawyer has to be named as the executor.  You can appoint anyone as the executor and they can hire whatever lawyer they want if probate is needed.  If your only assets are bank accounts, then often probate isn't needed.  However, a "court order", i.e. probate is needed if you own other property like a condo or vehicle.

 

Hubby and I did amphur Wills about a dozen years ago, since our only assets in Thailand are bank accounts.  We did them at Amphur Muang Chiang Mai.  The rules may be different for different amphurs.  At that time, we were told we needed a letter from a doctor that we were of sound mind.  We went to a psychiatrist at CM Ram Hospital for a 45 minute consultation and waited another 10 minutes for the letters.  The chat consisted of him asking why we were there, how long we'd been married, if you had children, and the differences in the process of making a Will in the U.S. vs. Thailand.  At one point, I stopped and said "but you probably know all this already" (he had some U.S. training) and he said, "yes, I do, but I just want to make sure that you do".

 

In a way, it makes much sense to have a professional attest that you had all your marbles when you made the Will rather than having someone try to prove you didn't after you die and they want to challenge your Will.

As always - good advice.

If problems crop up you will not be able to remedy them !

[fittobethaied]

My wife and I went to see the Director of our local Amphur to execute our Wills and have their office maintain a sealed copy, but the Director advised me otherwise saying that I was best advised to prepare a traditional Will, execute it, have it witnessed by two persons and store it in safekeeping with someone who I trust. The following instructions may come in handy:

Forms Of Wills under Thai Law.docx Thai legal knowledge about Wills.docx

[GreasyFingers]

1 hour ago, Chris.B said:

There is also one here on this website.

 

 

I don't know how good it is or not though. Does anone?

 

 

 

 

Check their storage and opening fees.

[sawadee1947]

9 hours ago, Raindancer said:

As you wish.

 

I prepared a Thai will from a template on Google.   Which I edited to suit my needs.

I prepared it in English,  took it to my local Amphur  and got two lady officers to witness my signature on both copies.   

They signed and added their ID details as proof of their signature.

 

They retained one copy and I kept the other. 

 

I did not need a doctors certificate of mental competence.

 

 

 

I did same. No Problems at all

[TigerandDog]

6 hours ago, Chris.B said:

In English? I thought a Thai will needed to be in Thai?

 

it needs to be in both languages or in your native language and a certified Thai translation. It does not need to be registered at the Amphur.

[Chris.B]

1 hour ago, Raindancer said:

Here is another good link.

 

Here is the link that I found suited me best. 

 

https://funeralguide.co.za/write-your-own-will/free-will-template/

 

If you scroll down you will find two versions to download.  It is self explanatory which download suits your needs.  I used the .doc version.    And edited it to suit my needs.

 

I included my country/passport number and expiry date,  when stating my name etc.

 

I also stated the name and ID of my benefactor.

 

That way there is no legal misunderstanding of my benefactor.

 

I had to check that domain out, .co.za  -  South Africa! ????

Edited October 22, 2021 by Chris.B

[scorecard]

20 hours ago, seedy said:

Mine done 10 years ago - no letter required

Same.

[Raindancer]

6 minutes ago, Chris.B said:

 

I had to check that domain out, .co.za  -  South Africa! ????

And ??  Don't understand your point.