Adopting a teenage (18yo) Thai child

[DrDweeb]

Situation.

I have a long term Thai partner. We are not married nor ever expect to be and the reasons are not relevant here.
She has a son from a deceased father. I have been his father since a very early age.

Are there options for adoption?

The principle reason is so that he may legally use my surname.

 

He is already in my will along with my partner and he has a Thai passport, ID card etc. This is not about sliding into a new nationality, travel, inheritance or anything else specifically.

Before y'all tell me he can just change his name with the Thai authorities ... I have a Western surname, our local authorities would not allow him to change to my surname (transliterated) because he "wasn't white enough" (that is a direct quote)!

Apparently someone in Thailand has a Thai transliterated version of my surname, so it should have been possible, but it's not, at least not before I enlist legal help and/or go "Thai style".

[KhunLA]

Easier if you wait till he's 20.   I tried to do the same  (Udon Thani/family services), and told almost impossible.

 

Daughter just last week, with us, put the paperwork in, and done same day, at Amphur Office.  Took all of 1 hour, with wait time, and cost <100 baht, I think.  She's 23, so her MIA parents weren't needed.  We filed a couple wills while there also, as she's starting to acquire some assets, and wants nothing by default to go to her birth family.

 

So if I bump her off, I not only get a new townhouse, free & clear, in Rangsit, I get 1 million baht in insurance pay out.  Told her she shouldn't tell me things like that.

 

Bumps us off, and she gets a vacation home at PKK & new EV ... bi-atch....

... we'll be looking over our shoulders now for those full face scooter riders coming up from behind.

[jcmj]

I wish I could help, but I have hit road block after road block since I started 2 years ago. I feel bad for my son as he really just wants my surname. He knows I’ll never abandon him but he just has deep seeded fears and wants to feel safe. I’m sure there’s more to it for him and will try again as soon as I find another way. 

[DrDweeb]

7 minutes ago, jcmj said:

I wish I could help, but I have hit road block after road block since I started 2 years ago. I feel bad for my son as he really just wants my surname. He knows I’ll never abandon him but he just has deep seeded fears and wants to feel safe. I’m sure there’s more to it for him and will try again as soon as I find another way. 

That doesn't sound encouraging. My situation is somewhat similar and clearly there are some tricky issues.

a) As the father is deceased he is not in the frame
b) The mother is my partner, would she have to "give up" maternal rights?
c) What changes after 20, aside from becoming an "adult" and able to sign documents, and why?

Any details of the issues you have encountered would be helpful, as well as "where to start".

PM me if you prefer

[KhunLA]

16 minutes ago, DrDweeb said:

c) What changes after 20, aside from becoming an "adult" and able to sign documents, and why?

Simply that, being an adult, not needing parental consent for anything.  As a minor/dependent, their parents are responsible, whether they 'are or not', but legally have control of their children.

 

Just wait, less than 2 yrs will go by quickly, then it really is too easy.  Beware of lawyers who say they can do ... they can't.

[Will B Good]

Forgive my ignorance, but how can you adopt an adult?

[DrDweeb]

An 18yo is not an "adult" in Thailand. This is at 20. 

My intent was to do it while he was still a minor, but that may not be possible according to unsupported commentary here

[DrDweeb]

11 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

Simply that, being an adult, not needing parental consent for anything.  As a minor/dependent, their parents are responsible, whether they 'are or not', but legally have control of their children.

 

Just wait, less than 2 yrs will go by quickly, then it really is too easy.  Beware of lawyers who say they can do ... they can't.

Since one parent is dead and the other wholly supportive, this is a non-issue.

What is the legal impediment?

It seems you are focusing on something wholly irrelevant

[Doctor Tom]

1 hour ago, DrDweeb said:

Before y'all tell me he can just change his name with the Thai authorities ... I have a Western surname, our local authorities would not allow him to change to my surname (transliterated) because he "wasn't white enough" (that is a direct quote)!

The Big Chief Ampur in Bangkok will change it for him, but get a lawyer to do the ground work.  You may have to sign an affidavit saying you are okay with him using the name, don't ask me why. 

[DrDweeb]

10 minutes ago, Doctor Tom said:

The Big Chief Ampur in Bangkok will change it for him, but get a lawyer to do the ground work.  You may have to sign an affidavit saying you are okay with him using the name, don't ask me why. 

What is the "Big Chief Ampur" and where do I find it? 

My understanding was that name change was a local issue, which was what we tried.

[Mister T]

I have been right through the process, Had all the documents required per their list, submitted to two staff and the director of the adoption department. All was said to be in order and checked and double checked. Called them six months later for a progress report, was told to be patient as they were very busy, One year later we went in to see them in BKK, was told they needed a " letter of no objection" from the Australian embassy. Of course the embassy refused as I lived and worked in Thailand and was subject to Thai law not Aus for the adoption. They told me they were working on a solution. After four years and four months, I got a call from my case worker who said we needed to translate my passport and submit up to date home book and ID cards for wife and daughter. Did all that only to receive a phone call a couple of weeks later saying it would be easier to wait until she was twenty and do it at the local government office. Six months later did exactly that, took about two hours and 60 baht total.

[Doctor Tom]

28 minutes ago, DrDweeb said:

What is the "Big Chief Ampur" and where do I find it? 

My understanding was that name change was a local issue, which was what we tried.

No good locally, as far as I know, they don't have the authority.  You need to contact the  Ministry of the Interior, not sure the exact Department within the Ministry would deal with it, but your lawyer will know the process, 

 

Forgot to add, I'm talking about a name change here, not adoption.  In addition, I think a name change locally can be made at age 21, but this may be incorrect.  

 

https://www.moi.go.th/

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministry_of_Interior_(Thailand)

Edited January 3, 2023 by Doctor Tom

[KhunLA]

1 hour ago, DrDweeb said:

Since one parent is dead and the other wholly supportive, this is a non-issue.

What is the legal impediment?

It seems you are focusing on something wholly irrelevant

I know from experience, (not sure irrelevant) as I had approval from both parents, and told not to bother.   This from the person, at social services, who had power to approve it.

 

YMMV

[Joe Farang]

Not talking about the Ops case, but in my view any adult attempting to adopt a minor child, who is not related to the child and is not married to a parent of the child should be prevented or made go through rigirous adoption procedures. Moreso when at least 1 of the birth parents are alive.

Rubber stamping this kind of procedure opens doors for child trafficking.

[mrwebb8825]

Marry the partner, adopt the child, divorce the partner.

There's a BIG difference in becoming a legal guardian and just having a Thai change their birth name.

First names are a snap and are done regularly in Thailand but a "Family" name opens a whole LOT of legal issues. Birthrights, Military Lottery, Thai Citizenship Rights, etc.

My father did it with his ex and my newest, youngest 'brother' but he was married, obtained visas to the states for them both, got her citizenship and THEN adopted him with a name change (First AND Last).

Question is, to do it now, what are YOU willing to do?

[DrDweeb]

2 hours ago, mrwebb8825 said:

... but a "Family" name opens a whole LOT of legal issues. Birthrights, Military Lottery, Thai Citizenship Rights, etc.

The items mentioned in that statement are almost certainly incorrect.

None of those things are dependent upon "name", they are dependent on birthright documentation. 

In any case, we have reached the point here, that irrelevance has taken over.

Thanks for the people with actual experience and knowledge who chimed in.

 

/end

Edited January 3, 2023 by DrDweeb
Grammer