Non-married US citizen seeks clarity on Thai (Kasikorn) bank account matters if he dies.

[LuckyG]

1) My Kasikorn bank account does not offer a beneficiary or TOD (transfer on death) option for accounts. Does anyone know what a family member will have to do to obtain the funds?  expectedly, an executor would have to provide a death certificate to the bank. Can this be done by mail? Hoping to obtain some clear details to reduce hassles when that final day comes.

2) Would the account be subject to probate in the US?  I realize states have different probate tax tables (I'm from VA) but seeking to confirm my conclusion that a thai bank account would be probated, if assets could not be passed by TOD etc. 

3) I will ask the bank this, but does anyone know if a farung can open a joint bank account in Thailand with a family member who is not living in Thailand? Would the family member have to be present to sign?  Has anyone done this?   Thanks!

[LuckyG]

Anyone know how i can delete this post?  i was able to name a beneficiary on a new account with Kasikorn, after being told years ago that i could not at a different branch.  So i expect the funds won't be probated. Better to just delete this post if can but how???  I realize i can edit reply but how can i delete or edit a post???

 

Edited October 29, 2021 by LuckyG
to provide more clarity

[JimGant]

On 10/29/2021 at 5:03 PM, LuckyG said:

i was able to name a beneficiary on a new account with Kasikorn, after being told years ago that i could not at a different branch.

Better double check this, as no bank in Thailand provides for account beneficiaries, a la what we have in the States, namely Pay On Death (POD) beneficiaries, thus avoiding probate. The closest you can come to this is having a joint account or an individual account with a co-signatory. These individuals must be present when the accounts are established/modified. And these individuals can remove most of your bank assets, thus avoiding probate, if this is done before the bank is notified of your death (which, in the normal course of events, they wouldn't be so notified). [yeah, yeah, this is an area of much contention and discussion. No reason to repeat all this discussion here.]

 

Anyway, if your beneficiary is back in the States, you should expect to have to go through probate, best using a Thai Will and Thai lawyer, stipulating all your Thai assets, including of course this bank account, are covered by your Thai Will; thus no reason for any probate in the States.

[LuckyG]

Jim,  Please tell me how you are certain that "no bank in Thailand" offers POD?  Are you by chance a  attorney practicing in Thailand? Thanks!

[JimGant]

4 hours ago, LuckyG said:

Please tell me how you are certain that "no bank in Thailand" offers POD? 

Not 100% certain, but this subject has been investigated on this forum for ages, as many of us would like to avoid probate with our bank accounts. And nobody has produced bank paperwork that would allow establishment of a POD beneficiary. Why? Maybe because Thailand doesn't honor trusts; and a POD is a form of trust. In the US, a POD is also called a "Totten Trust." So, for whatever reason, maybe Thailand doesn't allow POD type beneficiary arrangements due to their strange approach to trusts:

Quote

The Thai Civil and Commercial Code expressly prohibits the creation of trusts except when provided for by specific legislation. To date, there is only one such piece of legislation: the Trust for Transactions in the Capital Market Act of 2007.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/thai-legal-history/thai-trust-law/480A98B67F1971F72C9BE00C4A37D271

And, no, I'm not an attorney. My mother and father were married.