Where There's A Will

Bangkok Post, Spectrum,Sunday November 23, 2008

WHERE THERE'S A WILL:

The forgotten spouse and other loose ends

In a previous article we talked about the importance of proper estate planning in Thailand. From the cradle onwards we all are encouraged to plan ahead, especially where it comes to things nobody wants to think about - things like death, taxes and retirement.

At the risk of overwhelming you, there are some other things to think about in connection with your estate: the problem of that spouse you have not seen for years, for instance. Does he or she share in your estate? What about children born before you were married?

As we said before, if you die in Thailand without a will, your spouse takes half of the marital property and your estate gets the other half, along with possessions from before the marriage. Then the highest ranked statutory heirs - the relatives eligible to inherit from you - divide everything in your estate equally. In descending order, the list of statutory heirs is: descendants, parents, siblings of full blood, siblings of half blood, grandparents and uncles and aunts.

But it is not nearly that simple. What about the spouse? Your spouse, unless you have divorced him or her, is also considered a statutory heir, even if the two of you have been living apart as a result of desertion or some legal form of separation. If there is an heir in the descendants category, the spouse is an equal in this category.

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marshbags

Edited November 23, 200817 yr by marshbags