Recommendations for Last Will

[sikishrory]

Over the last couple of years I have seen a few threads on Wills in Thailand.

With lots of chit chat, banter and opinions but little in terms of simply where to get one for a reasonable price.

I have been quoted 50,000 baht, 40,000 baht, 30,000 baht, 22,500 baht.

By comparison my Will in Australia cost the equivalent of 9,000 baht and covers multiple accounts and assets as opposed to 1 asset the Thai one will cover.

I saw 12,000 baht in another thread but again no mention of where.

I'm aware from another thread you may be able to go into the Amphur office and do something for free. Not so interested in that.

If anyone has solid recommendation of a legal guy that can do something for a normal price who isn't out to rob you please let me know.

Thanks

[Stocky]

You'll need to indicate where you are in Thailand.

The lawyer I used here in Hat Yai charged me Bht8,000, though that was six years ago now.

[sikishrory]

2 minutes ago, Stocky said:

You'll need to indicate where you are in Thailand.

The lawyer I used here in Hat Yai charged me Bht8,000, though that was six years ago now.

In Phuket but I'm not sure that matters? Unless they do indeed do something at the amphur office.

If you send me the contact I can check with them maybe

[Stocky]

23 minutes ago, sikishrory said:

In Phuket but I'm not sure that matters? Unless they do indeed do something at the amphur office.

If you send me the contact I can check with them maybe

Well you need to go to his office in Hat Yai for the witnessing with your two witnesses, they sign an initial all pages together with a signed copy of their ID card. But I can PM you the lawyers phone number.

[TimeMachine]

There is more details to discuss when bringing up wills for discussion. But to keep it short, I recommend you go to your local court house. I went to Pattaya provincial court and there on level 2 is the help office. I have visited there and discussed all details about probate application. I did my own will. For my situation probate was quoted at 30k by a lawyer there whereas Magna carta wanted 130k. So a lawyer situated at the court will most likely help you out at a reasonable rate. Probably helps if you go with someone who speaks Thai and English well.

[Photoguy21]

In Bangkok I use https://anglothailegal.com/anglo-thai-legal-about-us/

 

Not expensive, English Lawyer

[DrJack54]

OP, perhaps I missed it but... best to indicate what type of assets you wish to make a will for and if it's to a Thai person or someone in another country. 

[sikishrory]

1 hour ago, Stocky said:

Well you need to go to his office in Hat Yai for the witnessing with your two witnesses, they sign an initial all pages together with a signed copy of their ID card. But I can PM you the lawyers phone number.

Oh yeh true. I forgot about that part. That's a good price though.

[CharlieH]

Pinned at the top of the page ?

 

 

[Bruce1054]

https://thailawonline.com/about-us/

 

6000 Baht for 1 or if you have a wife 10000 Baht all up In English and Thai

 

 

https://thailawonline.com/about-us/

 

[Griffo63]

I recently used Isaan Lawyers.  A fairly simple will for 6000 baht and excellent service 

[observer90210]

I personally will ... will sell my property and have cash for all assets available to the entitled a bit before one starts to think of it...but of course a will is better as anything can happen far before time and age...

[alanrchase]

I am British and recently did my Will through a British solicitor. I have one Will to cover all my assets in five different jurisdictions. As far as I can determine I will be considered domiciled in the UK by the tax authorities so my worldwide assets come under UK inheritance tax laws. Solicitors seem reluctant to give any hard facts on how an estate will be handled as there are so many variables that can change. 

I would be interested to know what a Thai court would require before granting probate for a deceased foreigner? Will they need a nod from the foreigner's embassy? Will they want to see other Wills the deceased may have? 

[wwest5829]

In Chiang Mai I used the Attorney through Assist Thai Visa. Lower cost than what you have found but ... that does depend on any complications of therms. Mine was a simple Will stating that all Thai holdings go to Thai Wife, excludes non-Thai holdings.. Separate Will in USA.

[newnative]

Should not cost more than 10,000 baht and that fee should include the Will being in both Thai and English.

[KhunLA]

A law office's dream customer ... 🤣

... "I'm aware from another thread you may be able to go into the Amphur office and do something for free. Not so interested in that."

[newbee2022]

You don't need to pay money. However, if you want please do.

Write your last will, let it be translated, get it witnessed, name an executor, put it in a sealed envelope and deposit it at your city counsel. That's it. It's all for free.

If you want to pay me for this advise please ask me for my account number! 👍👍👍

[BenStark]

19 hours ago, TimeMachine said:

For my situation probate was quoted at 30k by a lawyer there whereas Magna carta wanted 130k.

 

Looks as if criminals are running a law office. No surprise of course, as specially regarding the latter one mentioned

[TimeMachine]

3 minutes ago, BenStark said:

 

Looks as if criminals are running a law office. No surprise of course, as specially regarding the latter one mentioned

Yeah. In Australia no need for a lawyer. You can do probate by yourself online for free. Not sure why two officials are needed in Thailand. A lawyer and a judge are compulsory. I'm wondering how much the actual court fee is to have the honour of talking to a judge? I was offered to sit in some court cases while visiting at the Pattaya court house, but passed. Didn't think it was a good idea to intrude on others private matters.

[jvs]

It all depends what you have.

If you own a company it may not be straight forward.

If you just have a bank account and some stuff like a car or motorbike you can download templates

or simply right your own will in your own words and have it registered at the local Amphur for a very small fee.

On average a will done by a good lawyer (covering all legal assets )should not be over 10 000 baht.

I had mine done a few years ago for 8000 baht and it covers all aspects including the cremation.

Probate will be 30 000 baht and it can also be done by anyone for just the legal fees but it can be a little bit of a headache during already stress full times.

Remember the moment you die it will be illegal for anyone to take money from your bank account

and it is there for wise to have some cash available for the 3 months it takes to go thru the court system.

We bought some gold that can be turned into cash very easily.

It gives me peace of mind to have it all arranged and it will make things more easy for the people who stay behind.

Another thing to remember is ,anything in Thailand will be dealt with under Thai law,a will from another country is meaningless.

[alanrchase]

34 minutes ago, jvs said:

It all depends what you have.

If you own a company it may not be straight forward.

If you just have a bank account and some stuff like a car or motorbike you can download templates

or simply right your own will in your own words and have it registered at the local Amphur for a very small fee.

On average a will done by a good lawyer (covering all legal assets )should not be over 10 000 baht.

I had mine done a few years ago for 8000 baht and it covers all aspects including the cremation.

Probate will be 30 000 baht and it can also be done by anyone for just the legal fees but it can be a little bit of a headache during already stress full times.

Remember the moment you die it will be illegal for anyone to take money from your bank account

and it is there for wise to have some cash available for the 3 months it takes to go thru the court system.

We bought some gold that can be turned into cash very easily.

It gives me peace of mind to have it all arranged and it will make things more easy for the people who stay behind.

Another thing to remember is ,anything in Thailand will be dealt with under Thai law,a will from another country is meaningless.

Simply not true that a Will from another country is meaningless. The foreign Will needs to be translated into Thai and approved by the Thai embassy. If you have more than one Will problems can arise if anything in one appears to contradict the wishes of another. People thinking it is a simple matter of writing separate Wills for different jurisdictions may not be helping the beneficiaries when it comes time to sort things out.

[jvs]

25 minutes ago, alanrchase said:

Simply not true that a Will from another country is meaningless. The foreign Will needs to be translated into Thai and approved by the Thai embassy. If you have more than one Will problems can arise if anything in one appears to contradict the wishes of another. People thinking it is a simple matter of writing separate Wills for different jurisdictions may not be helping the beneficiaries when it comes time to sort things out.

Maybe a misunderstanding,meaningless is not the right word maybe but i meant any will here will be dealt with under Thai law.

 

as a rule,Thai assets,Thai will.

Foreign assets ,Foreign will.

The op did not really specify what he has so a bit of a mix up.

 

[Mike Teavee]

1 hour ago, jvs said:

Remember the moment you die it will be illegal for anyone to take money from your bank account

If you have a Joint account then on your death any monies in it will pass to the other account holder (law of survivorship).

 

NB it doesn’t mean that somebody else couldn’t lay claim to the money so best to have a will anyway, but it’s 1 way of making sure your partner has money to tide them over until the Will is processed 

[Jumbo1968]

Do it yourself.
https://www.thaicontracts.com/samples/64-last-will-and-testament-preview-thai-english.html

[alanrchase]

41 minutes ago, jvs said:

Maybe a misunderstanding,meaningless is not the right word maybe but i meant any will here will be dealt with under Thai law.

 

as a rule,Thai assets,Thai will.

Foreign assets ,Foreign will.

The op did not really specify what he has so a bit of a mix up.

 

Agreed that the foreign Will would not be approved if anything in it contravened Thai law. Would still like to know what a Thai probate court requires when considering the assets of a foreigner. I would have thought they would need to see all the valid Wills a person has to check for conflicts. If that is the case the foreign Will would need translating as well so why bother with separate Wills?

[Mike Teavee]

2 hours ago, alanrchase said:

Agreed that the foreign Will would not be approved if anything in it contravened Thai law. Would still like to know what a Thai probate court requires when considering the assets of a foreigner. I would have thought they would need to see all the valid Wills a person has to check for conflicts. If that is the case the foreign Will would need translating as well so why bother with separate Wills?

Whilst it’s technically possible for a Will in 1 country to cover assets in certain other countries, I don’t believe Thailand is one of those & so don’t think they’d  be interested in the contents of your other Wills. 
 

 

[alanrchase]

1 minute ago, Mike Teavee said:

Whilst it’s technically possible for a Will in 1 country to cover assets in certain other countries, I don’t believe Thailand is one of those & so don’t think they’d  be interested in the contents of your other Wills. 
 

 

I already have a single Will in the UK which covers five jurisdictions including Thailand. 

[Mike Teavee]

4 minutes ago, alanrchase said:

I already have a single Will in the UK which covers five jurisdictions including Thailand. 

When I looked into this I was told that I would need separate Wills for UK & Thailand even though I plan to leave everything to the same person. 
 

Has your Will be translated, motorised & accepted in Thailand? 
 

Quick Google says your UK Will could be valid in Thailand as long as it’s been translated & approved by Ministry of Foreign Affairs & even then it can only be settled in a Thai Court.  

 

 

https://www.samuiforsale.com/knowledge/inheritance-laws-thailand.html#:~:text=Legal foreign wills are acceptable,subject to a court procedure.

 

Edited October 28, 2023 by Mike Teavee

[alanrchase]

Just now, Mike Teavee said:

When I looked into this I was told that I would need separate Wills for UK & Thailand even though I plan to leave everything to the same person. 
 

Has your Will be translated, motorised & accepted in Thailand? 

The Will is registered in the UK. Upon my death the Will will be presented for probate in the other jurisdictions. For Thailand the Will will need to be translated into Thai by an approved translator and then submitted to the Thai embassy for their approval.

[jvs]

2 hours ago, alanrchase said:

Agreed that the foreign Will would not be approved if anything in it contravened Thai law. Would still like to know what a Thai probate court requires when considering the assets of a foreigner. I would have thought they would need to see all the valid Wills a person has to check for conflicts. If that is the case the foreign Will would need translating as well so why bother with separate Wills?

A Thai court will and can not make a ruling over any assets that are not in Thailand.

If a foreigner leaves assets in another country to some one in Thailand the courts in that other country will deal with that.The Thai person will need to contact a foreign lawyer in order to proceed.