800.000 Baht account after I die - can the partner access the account

[Mike Lister]

5 minutes ago, newnative said:

     I don't mean to be facetious but why is this illegal?  The bank seems to have a whole process in place for this and it didn't seem like they were doing anythng special or unusual for us to have access to the other's account.  We also have a joint savings account with SCB that has both of our names on the account's bank book, my Thai partner's in Thai and mine in English.  With that account we actually have 3 bank books, the one I just mentioned and one each with only our individual names.  Although I said 'spouse' in my first post we are a gay couple and only legally married in the US, if that makes any difference. 

The law states that all wills must go through probate and that accounts bearing the name of the deceased,must be frozen. What else can I say.

[brianthainess]

1 hour ago, Mike Lister said:

A Thai will must be executed via probate court, there are some informal local workarounds, in some cases but the law requires probate, amphur will or not.

I guess an Amphur will 'May' speed up the probation possibly.

[Mike Lister]

2 minutes ago, brianthainess said:

I guess an Amphur will 'May' speed up the probation possibly.

Maybe, possibly, dunno.

[Nonthaburi Boy]

2 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

It has nothing to do with the banks.  Banks do not have the authority to determine the legitimacy of a will, never mind be able to authorise administration/'probate' and then distribute an estate's assets to a third party.  That has to be decided by a court after the death of an account holder.

Some confusion as to what ‘it’ is here? I am responding very specifically to the OP’s post, which is actually about a form that can be filled/ letter signed granting a spouse access to his account  - I assume prior to death as well and without a joint account. If any such form/letter can help (doubt it but no expert) it’s outside the post-death legal process you refer to. Therefore, ask the bank makes sense to me and once you do that (and again if such a thing exists) for sure not every bank is going to give the same response to a foreigner

 

Anyway, no worries. I understand it can appear a bit unusual to respond directly and uncritically to an OP’s question. LOL

 

[brianthainess]

4 minutes ago, Mike Lister said:

Maybe, possibly, dunno.

Coming from a Moderator I find that very rude.

[The Fugitive]

1 hour ago, Mike Lister said:

amphurs will not issue yellow tabien bahns to foreigners, mine for example.

Point blank refusal Mike?

[Mike Lister]

2 minutes ago, brianthainess said:

Coming from a Moderator I find that very rude.

I don't know, what can I say, it's possible it may speed up probate but I don't know, sorry if you think that's rude but I bet there are things you don't know too.

[Mike Lister]

Just now, The Fugitive said:

Point blank refusal Mike?

No, delay tactics, produce a long list of documents and then wait for a call for an appointment that never comes. Same for others around me.

[Graham8888]

20 hours ago, Moonlover said:

Surely a simple will naming your wife as the sole beneficiary and executor should cover this situation. Make sure the account number is clearly stated in the document.

 

There may well be other documents that the bank will require, almost certainly a copy of your death certificate.

I would imagine that in my experience in the uk of this process with santander , which is a worldwide problem is that the bank does everything it can to hang on to the money for as long as possible in the hope that you may give up trying- took me 2 years with santander

[Tmoney]

Am I missing something here?

Surely if he is married (OP calls his partner his wife) then for a start he only needs 400k baht in his bank not 800k baht, something which seems to have been missed through 6 pages of comments.

(Sorry if I missed a post pointing this out).

 

My 400k is lodged in a savings account IN MY NAME ONLY (as required by immigration when I go for my annual marriage extension) in a Bangkok Bank Savings Account (No debit card, but get a small amount of annual interest).

I went to the bank a couple of years ago and filled in forms together with my wife which according to the bank allows my wife to withdraw funds (without needing my signature) both before and after ones death. (Yes, you have to trust your wife or lock away your passbook).

There was a charge (of course).

 

Sorry I can't remember any more detail about the forms or the process and am currently not in Thailand to find out more, but worth OP going to his bank and asking if this is possible for him.

 

Sorry it was not the OP who mentioned 800k baht, it was the next reply from MickTurator

Edited January 20 by Tmoney
Correction

[Max Brok]

What will happen if my past away before me? I think it is the highway  to hell to get my/her money. I am lucky our daughter is on my hand but she can not spend her time in Thailand that long

[thailand49]

20 hours ago, aublumberg said:

For many the 800,000 would be in a fixed deposit account, so ATM card won't work in that case

So put it in regular!

[thailand49]

20 hours ago, aublumberg said:

For many the 800,000 would be in a fixed deposit account, so ATM card won't work in that case

So put it in regular!

[kickstart]

20 hours ago, aublumberg said:

For many the 800,000 would be in a fixed deposit account, so ATM card won't work in that case

Good point, mine is in a fixed deposit, trying to do something to make the money work, no ATM card, no internet access.

Looks if will have go to probate, with what I have read, Thai solicitor costs are not cheap.  

[newnative]

2 hours ago, Mike Lister said:

The law states that all wills must go through probate and that accounts bearing the name of the deceased,must be frozen. What else can I say.

I see.  Thank you.

[lungbing]

11 hours ago, jerrymahoney said:

The bank will at some point receive an official time of death.

From whom?

[EVENKEEL]

3 hours ago, brianthainess said:

Are you still trying to be a wise ass? give my pin to my missus is never going to happen, unless I'm too disabled to use a ATM.

Now, seems like you have personal issues at home. If you can't trust her with a pin, why would you even care what happens to her when you die.

[DrJoy]

23 hours ago, kickstart said:

 I have a will in the UK.

Its not valid in Thailand,  since they are not a member of the "Hague Convention"

 

You will have to make a will at your nearest District Office (Amphur/Khet)

[Delight]

You will have to convert your partner into your wife.

 

Probate can then occur after you pass.

A  will which specifies that you wife is both the administrator and beneficiary is good idea

[stevenl]

5 hours ago, EVENKEEL said:

Cmon I was being a wise ass. Point being, just let the kids or old lady have bank pins and simply transfer money out. All I hear here is, it's not legal.

Legal is all one very loud poster here seems to care about. Strange here in Thailand.

[stevenl]

1 hour ago, lungbing said:

From whom?

Exactly, another poster said he experienced that didn't happen. Conveniently ignored by all claiming 'bank will not release funds'.

[Liverpool Lou]

4 hours ago, Nonthaburi Boy said:

7 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

It has nothing to do with the banks.  Banks do not have the authority to determine the legitimacy of a will, never mind be able to authorise administration/'probate' and then distribute an estate's assets to a third party.  That has to be decided by a court after the death of an account holder.

Some confusion as to what ‘it’ is here? I am responding very specifically to the OP’s post, which is actually about a form that can be filled/ letter signed granting a spouse access to his account  - I assume prior to death as well and without a joint account. If any such form/letter can help (doubt it but no expert) it’s outside the post-death legal process you refer to.

Yes, you are right there is some confusion here.   After an account holder's death it does not matter what forms or letters were signed pre-death between spouses.  No one can give authority for banks to disburse funds from a deceased account holder's account before or after the account holder's death, except a court granting administration/'probate'.   Banks cannot give themselves that authority, either, regardless of what forms/letters are produced.    Legally, on the death of an account holder, the bank has to freeze transactions on the account until it receives authority from the court granting administration/'probate' to pay out funds.

[itsallmine68]

13 hours ago, Galong said:

My Will lists my bank accounts and gives her full access to my money upon my death. I didn't list my US accounts. My brother has access to them and will transfer the money to her upon my death.

Hopefully it is a Thai will and realize the process through Thai Courts it will take months

[kingstonkid]

On 1/19/2024 at 7:54 PM, hkt83100 said:

A long time ago I read about this problem, but I lost the text due to a disk crash. Someone mentioned the name of the form to fill out at the bank. It was not power of attorney. The problem is the account has to be in a single name, but how can a partner get the money from the account? I remember there was a English and a Thai term for it...

Thanks for any hint in the right direction.

I would make it part of my will that she has access and gets all monies.  Get it done by a good lawyer and have them be the executor of the will or assist in it's execution.

[jerrymahoney]

7 hours ago, stevenl said:

9 hours ago, lungbing said:

From whom?

Exactly, another poster said he experienced that didn't happen. Conveniently ignored by all claiming 'bank will not release funds'.

I will revise my prior posts: When an expat who has a 'in his name only' 800,000 baht account for immigration purposes in Thailand, a wife or other person should drain the account before the bank (if ever) finds out and freezes the account.

 

NB I do not have any bank account in Thailand including the one with 65K+ per month deposit where the balance does not get close to zero by the end off the month. So nothing to drain upon my eventual demise.
 

Edited January 20 by jerrymahoney

[Mike Lister]

6 hours ago, kingstonkid said:

I would make it part of my will that she has access and gets all monies.  Get it done by a good lawyer and have them be the executor of the will or assist in it's execution.

That wouldn't change anything, your will still has to go through probate court, there is no magic short cut that's legal 

[Mike Lister]

11 hours ago, Max Brok said:

What will happen if my past away before me? I think it is the highway  to hell to get my/her money. I am lucky our daughter is on my hand but she can not spend her time in Thailand that long

She needs a will also, otherwise her assets are disbursed according to the hierarchy in the Thai inheritance laws which includes all her relative s

[Mike Lister]

8 hours ago, stevenl said:

Legal is all one very loud poster here seems to care about. Strange here in Thailand.

Strange!!! What do you suggest we do Steven, recommend to member's that they break the law? How about tax, should we advocate tax evasion also? 

[Andycoops]

In the case I know of the Thai wife had to produce the death certificate at the bank branch to obtain access to the account.

[Mike Lister]

47 minutes ago, Andycoops said:

In the case I know of the Thai wife had to produce the death certificate at the bank branch to obtain access to the account.

I wrote to uob about this years ago, as I recall they said they would need the probate court ruling. I can't see why other banks will be different although I accept that local practice in more rural areas, may differ significantly, most things do.