Perhaps it is of interest for some. Recently I asked some bigger law companies how much it would cost if they support the probate procedure here at the court in Pattaya. Costs in Baht were 150,000 to 200,000 plus costs per visit 3000 to 5000 plus the cost for the court about 5000.

 

Then I went to the court. I didn't have long trousers but they gave me something to cover my legs (like in some temples). You also need the passport as ID. Went up to the second floor into a room with five lawyers. They were extremely friendly. They told me the total costs for lawyer and court will be about 30,000 to 50,000 Baht. Will take two to three months at the moment. 

 

If you need their service simply go to the court. There will be always lawyers sitting around. They also told me that a handwritten Will is no problem. No need for witnesses then. But you need to write such things like date and location and express clearly that this is your last will. Also a list with all accounts and other valuable things will be needed. You will need a certified translation for all documents that are not in Thai like Will, birth certificate... But anyhow - they will explain everything to the person who goes there. 

 

Interesting to read. 

 

Any idea what is the procedure and what are the costs if the inheritance is claimed by the next of kin.

13 minutes ago, Halfaboy said:

Interesting to read. 

 

Any idea what is the procedure and what are the costs if the inheritance is claimed by the next of kin.

You need a certificate that you legally inherited something. This you will have to show to banks for instance. And this court procedure checks everything and gives you this certificate. 

My lawyer friend was telling me the other day she picks up work whilst in court on Thepraya, people looking for lawyers

'Birth Certificate' for probate?  My survivors can get hold of a death certificate at that time; but I don't even have a birth certificate now. A passport I also have.

One difference between Thai inheritance law and the UK is the rights of the spouse. The spouse does not automatically get everything in Thailand.

When my wife died, I had to get letters from her parents and siblings stating that they did not want anything and to give it all to me.

No big issue though. The lawyer will advise you exactly what you need.

Hi just for information. My Thai wife passed on about a year ago and left a Thai Will with 2 executors. I used a lawyer in Chiang Mai to obtain the Court Order (Thai equivalent of Probate) for the 2 executors to action the Will which took about 4 months and cost less than Bt30,000 for the whole process. The lawyer I used though did not speak any English but otherwise did a very professional job.

6 minutes ago, MikePBrown said:

Hi just for information. My Thai wife passed on about a year ago and left a Thai Will with 2 executors. I used a lawyer in Chiang Mai to obtain the Court Order (Thai equivalent of Probate) for the 2 executors to action the Will which took about 4 months and cost less than Bt30,000 for the whole process. The lawyer I used though did not speak any English but otherwise did a very professional job.

Would you care to share the contact details of that lawyer, by PM if necessary? I for one would appreciate it very much.

13 hours ago, Mickeymaus said:

You need a certificate that you legally inherited something. This you will have to show to banks for instance. And this court procedure checks everything and gives you this certificate. 

Called a Will.

1 hour ago, IAMHERE said:

'Birth Certificate' for probate?  My survivors can get hold of a death certificate at that time; but I don't even have a birth certificate now. A passport I also have.

Will plus Death certificate. 

2 hours ago, Tropicalevo said:

One difference between Thai inheritance law and the UK is the rights of the spouse. The spouse does not automatically get everything in Thailand.

When my wife died, I had to get letters from her parents and siblings stating that they did not want anything and to give it all to me.

No big issue though. The lawyer will advise you exactly what you need.

Re Thailand there's 2 situations by law:

 

1). Person dies intestate (hasn't made a will), then a specific section of the Thai Commercial Code lays out in %'s which relatives get what. This must be followed if no will.

 

2). Person has made a valid will, properly signed etc. In this case it's whatever the deceased has written into the will, must be followed. E.gs: Wife gets all, wife and kids share the assets equally, first born kid gets all, kids share the assets eaually, wife and a niminated lady (perhaps minor wife) share equally, wife and kids get 95% shared equally, maid and gardener equally share the other 5%, 100% goes to a nominated charity, etc., etc. Just wild examples, it's whatver the deceased wants and is written in the will. 

Below a list of documents needed - from the link below. There you will find also other valuable information about the probate procedure. But there is no need to worry. Simply go to the court and talk to a lawyer there. They will tell you what is needed in your situation. It is that simple. And you also can find the required lawyer there for relatively little money. 

"In order to file a Probate or Administrative Application in Thailand, you need to prepare the following documents and follow the checklist below:

 

Passport of the Deceased Person

 

Death Certificate of the Deceased

 

PersonMarriage Certificate (in case the Deceased person is married)

 

Birth Certificate of the children of the Deceased (if any)

 

List of the estate with the copy of its registration document

 

Passport of the all heirs (including those who have passed away before the Deceased person)

 

Passport of the Will’s beneficiary (if any)

 

Passport of the person who will be the ExecutorConsent

 

Letter from all heirs appointing the Executor (to appoint Executor)

 

Wills and Testament (if any)

 

Relative/Family Tree

 

Please do note that all document must be in Thai or translate to Thai language.

If the document was issued overseas or the Deceased person passed away overseas, all documents must be certified and legalized by the Thai Embassy or Thai Consulate of that country.

 

Once you prepare the above document already, you can pass it to the lawyer. Then the lawyer will start the case of Probate or Administrative Application as explained on the next step."

 

https://siam-attorney.com/probate-administrative-thailand/

 

 

24 minutes ago, Mickeymaus said:

Below a list of documents needed - from the link below. There you will find also other valuable information about the probate procedure. But there is no need to worry. Simply go to the court and talk to a lawyer there. They will tell you what is needed in your situation. It is that simple. And you also can find the required lawyer there for relatively little money. 

"In order to file a Probate or Administrative Application in Thailand, you need to prepare the following documents and follow the checklist below:

 

Passport of the Deceased Person

 

Death Certificate of the Deceased

 

PersonMarriage Certificate (in case the Deceased person is married)

 

Birth Certificate of the children of the Deceased (if any)

 

List of the estate with the copy of its registration document

 

Passport of the all heirs (including those who have passed away before the Deceased person)

 

Passport of the Will’s beneficiary (if any)

 

Passport of the person who will be the ExecutorConsent

 

Letter from all heirs appointing the Executor (to appoint Executor)

 

Wills and Testament (if any)

 

Relative/Family Tree

 

Please do note that all document must be in Thai or translate to Thai language.

If the document was issued overseas or the Deceased person passed away overseas, all documents must be certified and legalized by the Thai Embassy or Thai Consulate of that country.

 

Once you prepare the above document already, you can pass it to the lawyer. Then the lawyer will start the case of Probate or Administrative Application as explained on the next step."

 

https://siam-attorney.com/probate-administrative-thailand/

 

 

Believe some misunderstanding in above as no person anywhere is required to ever have a passport in home country.  And indeed most Thai will not have.

8 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

Believe some misunderstanding in above as no person anywhere is required to ever have a passport in home country.  And indeed most Thai will not have.

I quoted from the link. You are correct. They should have written an by the court accepted ID.

1 hour ago, Mickeymaus said:

I quoted from the link. You are correct. They should have written an by the court accepted ID.

Thanks for posting that link but it is unfortunate that the article makes that error which also makes me question some of the other items.

If you have made a will why do you need - 

Quote

• Passport of the all heirs (including those who have passed away before the Deceased person)

 If they have already passed away how likely is it you will be able to find a copy of either the passport or ID card?

 

Contradiction here.

In the main body of the article -

Quote

Please note that the person who is an “Executor” on the probate application can be anyone as long as all of the heirs consent that person to be the Executor or is appointed by the Deceased through the Will and Testament.

Then the information you must provide they say -

Quote

• Consent Letter from all heirs appointing the Executor (to appoint Executor)

No problem I guess if the executor is also the beneficiary and there are no others.....

 

Thanks for taking the time to post what you found out especially regarding the  court 

Is the court the one on Sukhumvit by the main junction after the Floating Market (other side of road)?

20 minutes ago, topt said:

Thanks for posting that link but it is unfortunate that the article makes that error which also makes me question some of the other items.

If you have made a will why do you need - 

 If they have already passed away how likely is it you will be able to find a copy of either the passport or ID card?

 

Contradiction here.

In the main body of the article -

Then the information you must provide they say -

No problem I guess if the executor is also the beneficiary and there are no others.....

 

Thanks for taking the time to post what you found out especially regarding the  court 

Is the court the one on Sukhumvit by the main junction after the Floating Market (other side of road)?

In respect of articles on the Internet. Often you see a confusing advice on the Internet that ends with the contact data of the lawyer... ????

 

Best go to the court and talk to the lawyers at the court. All five (they were in the room at this time) were extremely friendly and I had the impression that they didn't do such a Probate Procedure for the first time ????. They were extremely helpful without asking for money. And yes. It is this court:

 

Pattaya Provincial Court
038 252 131
https://maps.app.goo.gl/H8me9tf1S2EEmq6R8

 

We thought it was a good idea to deposit my late Thai wife's will at the Banglamung Amphur. I had a hell of a job getting them to release it. Even my lawyer couldn't get it, we had to get a court order.

Took a long time but it all got resolved in the end.

8 hours ago, Sparktrader said:

Called a Will.

Plus in some circumstances it might need a 'court order' which originates from the deceased persons  instructions/wishes in the will.

12 hours ago, scorecard said:

Plus in some circumstances it might need a 'court order' which originates from the deceased persons  instructions/wishes in the will.

Required to access bank accounts of the deceased I believe. Making progress with a funeral will need that. 

3 hours ago, jacko45k said:

Required to access bank accounts of the deceased I believe. Making progress with a funeral will need that. 

In Thailand that's a 'mixed' situation. In the past plenty of members have posted that they have ben part of / well aware of situations where the bank:

 

- Insisted on seeing a court order.

- Insisted on seein the benefiriries name(s) in a will but nothing more.

- On being told of the death allowed the wife/husband/familt to access the funds in accounts held by the recently deceased.

- In many cases the deceased held joint savings accounts, with wife (official and not official) /other family members/friends.  In some cases both account owners need to sign, so not se easy but refer to all the point above. Or also in many cases the account is set up either party can sign, so away you go with drawals.

- In many cases there's an ATM card andwife/husband/ bf/gf know the ATM PIN NO. Banks don't seem to care if the account gets rained. 

4 minutes ago, scorecard said:

- In many cases there's an ATM card andwife/husband/ bf/gf know the ATM PIN NO. Banks don't seem to care if the account gets rained. 

The last case that you mentioned is theft if you are not the legal owner of the money. Other heirs might have a problem with that.

1 minute ago, Mickeymaus said:

The last case that you mentioned is theft if you are not the legal owner of the money. Other heirs might have a problem with that.

Agreed.

23 minutes ago, scorecard said:

In Thailand that's a 'mixed' situation. In the past plenty of members have posted that they have ben part of / well aware of situations where the bank:

 

- Insisted on seeing a court order.

- Insisted on seein the benefiriries name(s) in a will but nothing more.

- On being told of the death allowed the wife/husband/familt to access the funds in accounts held by the recently deceased.

- In many cases the deceased held joint savings accounts, with wife (official and not official) /other family members/friends.  In some cases both account owners need to sign, so not se easy but refer to all the point above. Or also in many cases the account is set up either party can sign, so away you go with drawals.

- In many cases there's an ATM card andwife/husband/ bf/gf know the ATM PIN NO. Banks don't seem to care if the account gets rained. 

Illegal or not, I did just that when my OZ friend died here, but I did have permission from his next of kin in NZ, to take out money to pay for his funeral, hospital bill, and get his body returned to our local Wat (43k) from police forensic dept.