Thai law for divorce between a farang man and Thai woman

[Aforek]

Hello, how does it work for a couple who married and live in Thailand, still together

is there something to give to the wive ( who is alone, no child to raise anymore ) , apart house, furniture ? is there money to give, ( minimum ? ) ; just go to amphoe with wive and say : "we want to divorce " ?

thanks 

[Paulaew]

If the divorce is by mutual consent you can go to the Amphur where the marriage was registered and file for divorce. You need a divorce statement that sets out how the property will be divided.

 

I haven't done this myself, but my wife has threatened to do it multiple times so I had to become acquainted with the process.

 

Paul Laew

Edited January 31, 2022 by Paulaew
added 2nd paragraph

[RJRS1301]

59 minutes ago, Paulaew said:

If the divorce is by mutual consent you can go to the Amphur where the marriage was registered and file for divorce. You need a divorce statement that sets out how the property will be divided.

 

I haven't done this myself, but my wife has threatened to do it multiple times so I had to become acquainted with the process.

 

Paul Laew

and you remain

??

[Paulaew]

2 hours ago, RJRS1301 said:

and you remain

??

Yes, still married. I try to keep the family together for the sake of our wonderful son. I wouldn't want to say more. Everyone finds their own path through life. Let's just say it's possible to love someone and not want to be near them.

 

Paul Laew

[hereforgood]

My divorce cost less that 200 baht and took about 10 mins as it was uncontested

[KhaoYai]

Fast becoming somewhat of an 'expert' on this.????

 

If you are both in agreement that you want to divorce and you have agreed on the division of assets and the care of any children, you can simply go to the Amphur and get a divorce.  There should not be any charge for the divorce.

 

You will be asked to sign that you have agreed to the above but you don't have to give any details.  However, I would recommend that you do give details - especially on the financial/assets settlement - it may be useful later if you run into problems.

 

As for the division of assets - others may be able to answer you more correctly but basically, my understanding of the legal side is that any assets purchased or money held before the marriage date remain the property of the holder but assets purchased/cash earned after marriage are normally spilt 50/50.  There are some variations allowed on this - for example, you might purchase something after marriage using money held before marriage.  As far as I know, you can also keep that but you would have to prove that you had the funds before marriage.  The key point in all of this is that you are both prepared to sign to the fact that you have reached an agreement on your finances/assets,

 

By the way - its not all one sided.  If your wife buys a house/car/etc. after you are married for example, you are almost certainly entitled to half of that (unless she can prove she bought it with money she held before you were married)

 

There is no requirement to give anything to your wife if its not covered by the above.  The settlement can also be whatever you want it to be, as long as you both agree and sign to that fact.  For the purpose of the rules regarding a divorce by mutual agreement - all the Amphur are interested in is that you are both in agreement to whatever settlement you have made.  If you are not in agreement, you cannot get divorced at the Amphur, you will have to go through the courts.

 

There is no longer a requirement to go to the same Amphur that you were married at but in practice, its easier if you do.  You will both have to take your copy of the marriage certificate and registration with you.  If you have lost any of those documents, you will need to have a police report of the loss.

Edited January 31, 2022 by KhaoYai

[Aforek]

Thanks ; just ask in case of ... and is there a law which forces to give money ( some women ask for money to divorce, is there a law about this ? ) ; or leaving the wife , house etc  without divorce ? illegal ? the guy can have problems ? Thai men I guess can do it, but foreigners with a Thai woman ? Not yet in this situation, situation is not so bad and can be solved, just want to know the different cases

thank you 

[thaibeachlovers]

On 1/31/2022 at 9:24 PM, Paulaew said:

If the divorce is by mutual consent you can go to the Amphur where the marriage was registered and file for divorce. You need a divorce statement that sets out how the property will be divided.

 

I haven't done this myself, but my wife has threatened to do it multiple times so I had to become acquainted with the process.

 

Paul Laew

Unless it's changed since I got divorced that's wrong.

 

Don't need a statement on property division and can do in a different amphur than where one was married.

However, different amphurs probably do it differently so best to check at your local as to what they require.

[thaibeachlovers]

On 2/1/2022 at 3:58 AM, Aforek said:

Thanks ; just ask in case of ... and is there a law which forces to give money ( some women ask for money to divorce, is there a law about this ? ) ; or leaving the wife , house etc  without divorce ? illegal ? the guy can have problems ? Thai men I guess can do it, but foreigners with a Thai woman ? Not yet in this situation, situation is not so bad and can be solved, just want to know the different cases

thank you 

That sort of thing is dealt with in the family court, not in the amphur.

Amphur divorce is by consent and self arrangement.

[thaibeachlovers]

On 2/1/2022 at 1:45 AM, KhaoYai said:

There should not be any charge for the divorce.

I think I paid 20 baht or something like that.

[thaibeachlovers]

On 2/1/2022 at 1:45 AM, KhaoYai said:

There is no longer a requirement to go to the same Amphur that you were married at but in practice, its easier if you do. 

No problems for me at all getting divorced in Lamphun amphur when got married in Pattaya amphur.

[Hervey Bay]

Is it possible to get one of these Amphur forms online, which I can print out in order to post to them ? Would anyone have a link  they could post here, please ?

[thaibeachlovers]

1 hour ago, Hervey Bay said:

Is it possible to get one of these Amphur forms online, which I can print out in order to post to them ? Would anyone have a link  they could post here, please ?

You can't do it by mail. You both have to sign in the amphur office in person, for very good reasons. You may be able to go through the family court long distance by hiring a lawyer, but I don't know.

If you are separated for 2 years it's apparently easier to get a divorce in family court.

Edited March 30, 2022 by thaibeachlovers

[meadoughlark]

On 1/31/2022 at 7:45 PM, KhaoYai said:

Fast becoming somewhat of an 'expert' on this.????

 

If you are both in agreement that you want to divorce and you have agreed on the division of assets and the care of any children, you can simply go to the Amphur and get a divorce.  There should not be any charge for the divorce.

 

You will be asked to sign that you have agreed to the above but you don't have to give any details.  However, I would recommend that you do give details - especially on the financial/assets settlement - it may be useful later if you run into problems.

 

As for the division of assets - others may be able to answer you more correctly but basically, my understanding of the legal side is that any assets purchased or money held before the marriage date remain the property of the holder but assets purchased/cash earned after marriage are normally spilt 50/50.  There are some variations allowed on this - for example, you might purchase something after marriage using money held before marriage.  As far as I know, you can also keep that but you would have to prove that you had the funds before marriage.  The key point in all of this is that you are both prepared to sign to the fact that you have reached an agreement on your finances/assets,

 

By the way - its not all one sided.  If your wife buys a house/car/etc. after you are married for example, you are almost certainly entitled to half of that (unless she can prove she bought it with money she held before you were married)

 

There is no requirement to give anything to your wife if its not covered by the above.  The settlement can also be whatever you want it to be, as long as you both agree and sign to that fact.  For the purpose of the rules regarding a divorce by mutual agreement - all the Amphur are interested in is that you are both in agreement to whatever settlement you have made.  If you are not in agreement, you cannot get divorced at the Amphur, you will have to go through the courts.

 

There is no longer a requirement to go to the same Amphur that you were married at but in practice, its easier if you do.  You will both have to take your copy of the marriage certificate and registration with you.  If you have lost any of those documents, you will need to have a police report of the loss.

Just to clarify, is the 50/50 split of property obtained after marriage compulsory to be able to divorce? Or can an amicable couple decide for themselves what the split would be as long as they both sign? 

[KhaoYai]

5 hours ago, meadoughlark said:

Just to clarify, is the 50/50 split of property obtained after marriage compulsory to be able to divorce? Or can an amicable couple decide for themselves what the split would be as long as they both sign? 

Yes, they can decide any variation they like - when they sign the financial section of the divorce, they are simply signing that they agree.  Details can be given or just a statement that an agreement had been made will suffice.

Edited May 24, 2022 by KhaoYai

[hanuman2543]

On 1/31/2022 at 1:06 PM, hereforgood said:

My divorce cost less that 200 baht and took about 10 mins as it was uncontested

Mine cost more than 300,000 BAHT and took about 5 years as it was contested.

[DaRoadrunner]

Related question. Is a pre-nuptual agreement enforceable in Thailand?