How can a Thai divorce when the spouse left the country a long time ago and can't be reached?

[straybeanie]

When a Thai citizen is married to an American, and they seperated years ago, with the spouse having left Thailand and being mia...how can the Thai get divorced? How long would it take? How much would it cost?

Edited December 24, 2022 by straybeanie

[Elkski]

Where were they married and did they file papers?

[NanLaew]

If it was a local wedding ceremony with monks and family and no formal registration with any Amphur, there's no further action needed. In the eyes of the law, they were never married.

 

If the marriage was in Thailand and registered with a local Amphur, it should be relatively easy to get a divorce on the grounds of separation but 'years ago' needs to be defined. I did it some time last century and I retained a lawyer since efforts were required to contact the respondent such as last known address plus a 30-day (or maybe it was 60-day) public notice, before going to court. In my case, there had been no contact for over 18 months. I don't recall how much I paid the lawyer but it was around the same price as a decent night out to celebrate the final, legal parting of the ways.

 

I'm theorizing here but for an overseas-registered marriage, whatever formal and legal proceedings that are required by that 'home' country needs to be done first. The divorce papers issued would then need to be formalized either at the local Thai Embassy or Consulate in that 'home' country and/or translated and formalized at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bangkok.

 

Good luck.

[blackcab]

She will have to pay and take the matter to Court. Under Section 1516 of the Thai Civil and Commercial Code one spouse has grounds to divorce the other if they have lived separately for 3 years.

[yeahbutif]

27 minutes ago, blackcab said:

She will have to pay and take the matter to Court. Under Section 1516 of the Thai Civil and Commercial Code one spouse has grounds to divorce the other if they have lived separately for 3 years.

Not as easy as it sounds been trying to do this for a long time .it been to court 3 times and the judge said need more information.. the falang can't be Found even via passport numbers and old adress   via embassy ..the embassy say they have no information..  so stuck.. so be careful lawyer say he can do it but be careful Could be expensive and get no where. We at a dead end. And the problem is example if she wants to buy a house she can't without husband sign.. at land reg office.. good luck 

[Spilornis]

As Nan Laew says... there's a process (known generally as substituted service). The details vary from case to case but can involve advertising, writing to last known address etc. In simple terms it requires one to take all reasonable steps to contact the ex husband.

It may not be cheap but equally it's not mind blowingly expensive. Cost is in proving you have taken all the reasonable steps which may require affidavits from foreign process servers and the like.

Good luck

[NanLaew]

12 minutes ago, yeahbutif said:

Not as easy as it sounds been trying to do this for a long time .it been to court 3 times and the judge said need more information.. the falang can't be Found even via passport numbers and old adress   via embassy ..the embassy say they have no information..  so stuck.. so be careful lawyer say he can do it but be careful Could be expensive and get no where. We at a dead end. And the problem is example if she wants to buy a house she can't without husband sign.. at land reg office.. good luck 

In my instance, after waiting the requisite 30 (or 60) days of public notices and efforts (by mail) to contact with no response, my lawyer advised we could proceed. I was out of the country at the time so he booked a court date for after my return. Unfortunately, in the interim, word got to my then wife who had apparently been overseas visiting her sister. She got a lawyer who contacted my lawyer and all parties agreed to show up.

 

Court date #1: First time I had seen her in many months and she wants to contest. Judge says we both need to fully assess and agree on our conjugal property, each provide a character witness and attend his court again 30-days hence. After court, I advised my lawyer I had no assets in Thailand (true) and she had everything she was already entitled to. He worked on that with her lawyer.

 

Court date #2: Her lawyer's there but she's a no-show. Judge goes ahead and hears my character witness, the Thai wife of a mutual friend who knew us both well. All I can say from her testimony was I learned a lot about my soon-to-be ex and it wasn't good! Judge advises that we must attend a third time and tells her lawyer to make sure she attends in person.

 

Court date #3: Her lawyer's there but she's a no-show again. Her lawyer also advises that she hadn't paid him either. Judge rules that she's a time-waster (could have told him that already but I followed protocols) and proceeds to grant my divorce.

 

The only bit of protocol I resisted was the gesture of giving a token sum to my ex-wife. It may be cultural or whatever but I still said no. The judge told my lawyer that it's only a gesture and even 1 satang would be seen as 'proper'. I still said no and the judge commented that's the first time he had ever had that rejected in his court.

 

As I mentioned, this was last century when mobile phones were very few, email largely unused by locals and absolutely NO social media. Thus the efforts to contact were easy to fulfill; letter(s) to last known address(es) and public notices. Probably a bigger task these days with the different ways of finding people but with mobile phones and social media, it should be easier and not more difficult IMHO. Your judge is maybe being pedantic or your lawyer isn't trying hard enough and/or milking it. You can always get another one.

 

Good luck.

 

[dddave]

1 hour ago, yeahbutif said:

Not as easy as it sounds been trying to do this for a long time .it been to court 3 times and the judge said need more information.. the falang can't be Found even via passport numbers and old adress   via embassy ..the embassy say they have no information..  so stuck.. so be careful lawyer say he can do it but be careful Could be expensive and get no where. We at a dead end. And the problem is example if she wants to buy a house she can't without husband sign.. at land reg office.. good luck 

There are services in the US easily located on Google that can usually find a person if you provide full name and date of birth.

[straybeanie]

6 hours ago, Elkski said:

Where were they married and did they file papers?

File papers? Divorce papers? No. In Thailand.

 

3 hours ago, NanLaew said:

If it was a local wedding ceremony with monks and family and no formal registration with any Amphur, there's no further action needed. In the eyes of the law, they were never married.

 

If the marriage was in Thailand and registered with a local Amphur, it should be relatively easy to get a divorce on the grounds of separation but 'years ago' needs to be defined. I did it some time last century and I retained a lawyer since efforts were required to contact the respondent such as last known address plus a 30-day (or maybe it was 60-day) public notice, before going to court. In my case, there had been no contact for over 18 months. I don't recall how much I paid the lawyer but it was around the same price as a decent night out to celebrate the final, legal parting of the ways.

 

I'm theorizing here but for an overseas-registered marriage, whatever formal and legal proceedings that are required by that 'home' country needs to be done first. The divorce papers issued would then need to be formalized either at the local Thai Embassy or Consulate in that 'home' country and/or translated and formalized at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bangkok.

 

Good luck.

Not just a local wedding. Registered.

Years ago = Over a decade.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[yeahbutif]

4 hours ago, dddave said:

There are services in the US easily located on Google that can usually find a person if you provide full name and date of birth.

Maybe different trying to Find a German falang .and I'm English don't speak german. So I thought German embassy would be the best way.. have the address he used on marriage certificate and passport numbers ect but still no good..  we heard he may even have a family in Cambodia now. .. I tryed Facebook with names and photos but photos ten year old so changed by now joined Cambodia Facebook on the off chance .. but still no luck.

[NanLaew]

23 hours ago, straybeanie said:

File papers? Divorce papers? No. In Thailand.

 

Not just a local wedding. Registered.

Years ago = Over a decade.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All registered marriages in Thailand are in a national database that can be accessed at any Amphur and not just the one where the marriage was registered. This database has been in place for at least twenty years. There is probably an address for the errant male marital partner on that registration.

[NanLaew]

19 hours ago, yeahbutif said:

Maybe different trying to Find a German falang .and I'm English don't speak german. So I thought German embassy would be the best way.. have the address he used on marriage certificate and passport numbers ect but still no good..  we heard he may even have a family in Cambodia now. .. I tryed Facebook with names and photos but photos ten year old so changed by now joined Cambodia Facebook on the off chance .. but still no luck.

Are you trying all this with the same judge/court/lawyer? The primary contact address and passport information is over 10 years old, people move and passports expire. It is pretty unrealistic to expect that the 'missing' person can easily be found, especially if that person may be making and extra effort NOT to be found.

 

Have you typed his name and city of birth and/or last known residence into a broad Google search?

 

Loads of info on how to search here

 

If you have a local address in Germany, see if they have a local newspaper and post a 'legal' notice about an unclaimed inheritance. That'll shake the blighter out of the woodwork.