Doing a Will in Thailand. Can you help answer specific questions?

[jack71]

If you have recently done a Will in Thailand can you answer the questions. Actually we had one done by a tin pot attorney 3 yrs ago and want to renew it. 

 

1. The guy wrote a clause for every bank account that I had open back then ie a separate clause. I have a few more since then. So my question is... Cant I just have 1 clause stating that funds in ALL bank accounts held by me should be left to my wife? Or do I have to specify each one separately?

 

2. Clause about car. The attorney specfied my old car with number plate to be left to my wife. I have since sold that one and bought a new one. To avoid same issue down the line can I just put in the new Will.......  Any vechiles owned by myself <name> will be left to my wife. Surely I dont have to specify model, plate number blah blah?

 

3. I cannot remember this from 3 yrs ago but it seems that I appointed my wife as Administrator of my Will and she made me administrator of her Will. This is despite the fact that we were both subsequently the main beneficiaries of each Will. Was this a mistake or legal.     In this new Will we have asked a family friend to be appointed. But Im still interested to know if the young attorney stuffed up on that one. 

 

I thought I would just ask here before we go to see a new attorney. 

thanks

[topt]

58 minutes ago, jack71 said:

The guy wrote a clause for every bank account that I had open back then ie a separate clause. I have a few more since then. So my question is... Cant I just have 1 clause stating that funds in ALL bank accounts held by me should be left to my wife? Or do I have to specify each one separately?

They seem to like doing this here. I see no reason why you cannot have one clause as you say (nobody disputed this in a thread some years ago) as long as your executor knows where they all are and the details.  I would have thought same with the car....... However I stress this is just my view.

 

1 hour ago, jack71 said:

Was this a mistake or legal. 

Not a problem as long as the witnesses who signed the will are not beneficiaries you are ok. Executor/Administrator and beneficiary can be the same person.

[1FinickyOne]

It is always difficult to provide for every possibility specifically... 

 

my parent's appointed each other in charge of everything for the other... when they both developed dementia, there was nobody in charge. Lots of problems. 

 

I would hope a capable lawyer will know how to deal w/all issues though I am not sure I would trust anyone.. 

[VinnieK]

A bit off-topic..

What happens if the co-signers (or whatever they are called), when the time arrives to execute the will, refuse to sign and blackmail the beneficiary?

For money obviously

[lungbing]

The 'co-signers' or witnesses, only sign the will to say that they have seen the person whose will it is actually sign the will in front of them, there and then.       They are not co-signing the will and the contents of the will are nothing to do with the witnesses.

NB  A witness to a will may not be a beneficiary. But the executor may be a beneficiary but not a witness!

[Delight]

 The simple  way is just to specify that your Thai assets go to your spouse. Your spouse needs to  be the administrator.

If you have a condo in your name-then ensure that your spouse (as the administrator) does not transfer to your spouse as beneficiary.

This way the condo is never in  a Thai name-thus much easier to sell at some later date.

The condo can remain in the administers name -until it is time to sell.

Edited September 14, 2022 by Delight
added detail