Property Division

[mijan24]

I have been advised by a lawyer in Khon Kaen that if a wife changes her surname to that of the Farang she marries then if the marriage does not last ( lets hope this is not the case) the property although fully financed by the Farang will be divided equally that is she is entitled to 50% and so is the Farang partner.

I just find this unusual due to the Farang having no hold on the actual land to the best of my knowledge.

Would appreciate any advice as to the reality of the situation.

Edited April 2, 2008 by mijan24

[thaigene2]

I have been advised by a lawyer in Khon Kaen that if a wife changes her surname to that of the Farang she marries then if the marriage does not last ( lets hope this is not the case) the property although fully financed by the Farang will be divided equally that is she is entitled to 50% and so is the Farang partner.

I just find this unusual due to the Farang having no hold on the actual land to the best of my knowledge.

Would appreciate any advice as to the reality of the situation.

I don't see the relevance of whether she legally marries you and takes your name. YOU have already signed over the property to her right? Or are you saying you have a loan agreement on the property? If so, and before you get legally married, you should have a lien noted on the chanote to indicate the loan and your demand of the chanote as your guarantee for repayment or seizure in default.. Others (here on TV) have said there is legal basis for a farang to 'lend' money to a Thai -not legally his wife - for property purchase - thus the lien should be enforcable!

However once you get legally married do the previous assets become communal? Not sure how that works..good question. My wife has property too - But I always assumed it was just hers and hers alone. Maybe not?

Edited April 2, 2008 by thaigene2

[steelepulse]

I have been advised by a lawyer in Khon Kaen that if a wife changes her surname to that of the Farang she marries then if the marriage does not last ( lets hope this is not the case) the property although fully financed by the Farang will be divided equally that is she is entitled to 50% and so is the Farang partner.

I just find this unusual due to the Farang having no hold on the actual land to the best of my knowledge.

Would appreciate any advice as to the reality of the situation.

I don't see the relevance of whether she legally marries you and takes your name. YOU have already signed over the property to her right? Or are you saying you have a loan agreement on the property? If so, and before you get legally married, you should have a lien noted on the chanote to indicate the loan and your demand of the chanote as your guarantee for repayment or seizure in default.. Others (here on TV) have said there is legal basis for a farang to 'lend' money to a Thai -not legally his wife - for property purchase - thus the lien should be enforcable!

However once you get legally married do the previous assets become communal? Not sure how that works..good question. My wife has property too - But I always assumed it was just hers and hers alone. Maybe not?

I could swear I've seen multiple cases here that in the event of a divorce, all assets are split 50/50.  There have been some threads about long drawn out processes to make sure this happens, but according to the threads I've read, the divorce does split up assets 50/50.

[thaigene2]

I have been advised by a lawyer in Khon Kaen that if a wife changes her surname to that of the Farang she marries then if the marriage does not last ( lets hope this is not the case) the property although fully financed by the Farang will be divided equally that is she is entitled to 50% and so is the Farang partner.

I just find this unusual due to the Farang having no hold on the actual land to the best of my knowledge.

Would appreciate any advice as to the reality of the situation.

I don't see the relevance of whether she legally marries you and takes your name. YOU have already signed over the property to her right? Or are you saying you have a loan agreement on the property? If so, and before you get legally married, you should have a lien noted on the chanote to indicate the loan and your demand of the chanote as your guarantee for repayment or seizure in default.. Others (here on TV) have said there is legal basis for a farang to 'lend' money to a Thai -not legally his wife - for property purchase - thus the lien should be enforcable!

However once you get legally married do the previous assets become communal? Not sure how that works..good question. My wife has property too - But I always assumed it was just hers and hers alone. Maybe not?

I could swear I've seen multiple cases here that in the event of a divorce, all assets are split 50/50.  There have been some threads about long drawn out processes to make sure this happens, but according to the threads I've read, the divorce does split up assets 50/50.

Yes I've seen those too. But to me the best bet is simply don't buy a house in your Thai spouse's name unless you can afford to do so (which I guess comes back to the cliche about never infvesting more than walking away from) - instead, buy a condo in your name (ONLY as long as you are confident you can REMAIN here in Thailand), then if you become cash-rich enough buy a house in her name - then who cares after that..

If you're rich none of this matters - you can buy her 5 or 10 houses, and buffalo, and motorcycles, and gold chains for her boyfriends/brothers/whomever..