Will For My Thai/brit Child.

[Mrkisskissbangbang]

My wife and I have a townhouse. The land is registered in her name. We've just been down to the amphur in Hua Hin to make a will for our one year old daughter. However, the lady in charge said that as we are married, even though the property is in her name only, my wife could only bequeath 50% of the house and land to my daughter in a will. Aparently, I would have husbands rights to the other 50%.

I found this very puzzling as of course the whole of Thailand knows that foreigners cannot own land in Thailand. She said I would have to make a will also. As it happens, I already have made a will in England, but the way I see things, unless my wife's will is contested in a court by me, then, there seems little point me knocking up a will with a Thai lawyer to say what I have already said in my English will. Any opinions would be most welcome.

[kamalabob2]

This is a situation where a good Expat attorney in Bangkok could help answer all your questions at a nominal cost. I had a will in America, but after I met with a former American Attorney in Bangkok, who is still licensed to practice law in America I was able to have proper wills in Thai and English drawn up for my wife, myself and our daughter. We were able to specify a guardian for our daughter and in fact 100% of the land my wife has purchased and inherited in Thailand is willed to our daughter. If you e-mail to several of the English or American attorneys who advertise in the Bangkok Post classified section you might be pleasantly surprised at the cost of three wills. Far less cost than www.legalzoom.com and with vastly superior personal service and accurate information at the firm I selected. We also had all three wills properly notarized by a "real" notary at no extra change at that law office. I live up country and it is worth the journey to Bangkok to have professional legal consultation at a modest cost in my opinion. This type of situation warrants spending more than 100 baht at the local amphur office on a "fill in the blanks" will that is only in Thai. You can have Thai and English wills that suit your SPECIFIC needs and wishes. Our attorney is fluent in Thai as a 2nd language and my wife was completely comfortable with his explanations in Thai. We had a meeting with the attorney on one day and two days later the wills were ready for review, any revisions and then signatures with notarization and payment on the 2nd visit.

Kamala Bob