Usufruct Versus Supericie/ 30 Yr Leae

[RubbaJohnny]

Any advice on setting up Usufruct in case my wife should pre-decease me.

This seemed better on'paper' tah a lease as theres no time limit

1 Do I need a lawyer I read such awful tales here.

if anyone can recommend one up north the 2 I have seen were in one case dishonest and second refused to give me aprice estimate on paer(no doubt tax dodging but did not inspire confidence)

I am quite happy to pay the going rate for professional service

2 As acontract is it valid in English only like my will,do we need witnesses,stamps etc

3 Have been told to deposit with Poo Yai Ban,Land Office and my lawyer,bank embassy

All opinions especially based on experience rather than hearsay

Chok Dee from SUNNY C Rai

[Chaimai]

All opinions especially based on experience rather than hearsay

Chok Dee from SUNNY C Rai

I used Isaan Lawyers who are based out of Korat. They may be a bit too far south for you but most of what I did was via email anyway. I found them extremely helpful and good value.

[scotsman]

Hi Rubba johnny

If you go to see or talk with a good lawyer in the company in korat or sunbelt in bangkok they will inform you of all the details you will need to setup a usufruct. They will write up your usufruct in Thai & in English so you & your wife will understand. You can have a usufruct for 30 years or for life.

Regards

Scotsman

[RubbaJohnny]

Thank you both

[ThaiLawOnline]

1) You might need a lawyer to draft a nice contract. The registration is often more difficult then drafting the contract. It depends where you are, if you are married or not, etc.

a) In Kalasin, don't ask me why, they don't want to register a usufruct when people are not married.

b )In Nong Khai, last week, we could NOT register superficies COMBINED with a lease. NO IDEA WHY. But they accepted to separate the sale of the house and the land, which was for them, the first time. It's common in BKK, Hua Hin, Pattaya, Phuket...but not in Isaan.

c) I've seen officers in Land department making mistakes when they register a lease. (For example, missing the clause for inheritance). If you can't read Thai, that might be a problem. This is another reason why it's better to have a lawyer there, but it's not necessary.

We did one usufruct in Phayao but that was EXCEPTIONAL. We don't go up north, neither down south. A local lawyer will normally NOT REALLY know usufruct as they are quite rare in some places... We normally only work in Isaan.

Something about quoting via email, sometimes, we also refuse to quote, especially if the email looks suspect, a hotmail address, don't want to leave a phone number, etc. And some contracts are difficult to quote, like a will, because they can be very simple or very complicated.

2) A contract could be valid in Thailand if done only in English. But some contracts needs to be in Thai... You might need to add a clause for the governing language. Again, you are in Thailand. If you do a contract only in English, many people won't understand and some government offices or the Courts could require a translation. This is why we almost only do bilingual contracts (except if the clients are Thai, then, only in Thai).

3) I don't understand your last question about the deposit with the Poo Yai ban. No tea money, or deposit, is normally required for a lease or usufruct. There are fees to register them, and taxes. I saw tea money in only ONE case concerning a usufruct in 2 years.

If you are in the South (Phuket), I recommend Siam Expat Law. I know who works there and he is very professional. Sunbelt offers competitive prices and many people are happy with them.

Good luck.