Making A Will In Thailand

[samuijack]

Can somebody clarify the law relating to making a will in Thailand.

I have a thai girlfriend for 4 years now and not married. I have property in the uk which I wish to leave to my english daughter.

I went to a thai lawer today and asked to make a will, leaving any assets in thailand to my girlfriend and the property to my daughter. He said that I could leave any assets I had in thailand to my girlfriend, but as I was not married to her, under thai law it was not possible to make a will to leave assets outside of thailand.

I tried to make a will in uk for this purpose some time ago, but was told by a british lawer that under uk law, probate would be decided in the country where I was domicile eg. thailand, so I must make a will in tahiland.

I don't understand why I can make a will leaving my thai assets to anybody in thailand, unmarried. But I must be married to a thai in order to leave my uk assets to my english daughter. Why as a farang should the fact that I have a thai wife, make a difference who I leave my foreign assets to as I am not leaving it to her.

[PattayaParent]

My solicitor in UK made a Will for me there and advised me to also make a Will in Thailand to cover my Thai assets.

The solicitor here had no problem making a Will covering my Thai assets only.

I suggest you split them into 2 Wills.

[coventry]

Make a 'public will' at the Amphur for the GF. I'm almost sure it's free to make. I believe a 'public will', in Thailand, is the only will that's uncontestable, no lawyer required.

Edited April 8, 2009 by coventry

[chiangmaibruce]

I think either you misunderstood the thai lawyer or he misunderstood you, as what he said makes no sense. Best course of action is two wills, each one including reference to the other.

there are several prior threads in thaivisa on Wills - try a search to locate some

the other thing to do is google/yahoo on "making a thai will" to locate some other good sources - mainly papers in the web sites of various thai law firms

[bownepark]

I'm not a lawyer but it seems a little analysis of the rules in this area would answer your question.

Hard to believe a will in Thailand will have any consequence on your property in the UK. Your UK estate will be settled in the UK under UK law, a Thai will would be irrelevant. I think the confusion stems from the term "domicile". As a UK person, you're considered to be domiciled in the UK even though you are living in Thailand. You would need to take significant steps to move your domicile to Thailand which it's very unlikely you've done. For instance, do you have a permanent resident visa in Thailand? Without the right to remain in Thailand on a permanent basis your domicile would not be here. So it would remain in the UK.

Anyway, tell the lawyer in the UK you're domiciled in the UK and make the will there for your UK assets.

[PattayaParent]

I'm not a lawyer but it seems a little analysis of the rules in this area would answer your question.

Hard to believe a will in Thailand will have any consequence on your property in the UK. Your UK estate will be settled in the UK under UK law, a Thai will would be irrelevant. I think the confusion stems from the term "domicile". As a UK person, you're considered to be domiciled in the UK even though you are living in Thailand. You would need to take significant steps to move your domicile to Thailand which it's very unlikely you've done. For instance, do you have a permanent resident visa in Thailand? Without the right to remain in Thailand on a permanent basis your domicile would not be here. So it would remain in the UK.

Anyway, tell the lawyer in the UK you're domiciled in the UK and make the will there for your UK assets.

Very BAD advice.

If you claim domicile in UK your estate will be subject to 40% Inheritence Tax and is inclusive of your Thai assets.

You don't need to have a permanent residence visa for Thailand to be considered as non-domiciled in UK.

[rolfefox]

Make a 'public will' at the Amphur for the GF. I'm almost sure it's free to make. I believe a 'public will', in Thailand, is the only will that's uncontestable, no lawyer required.

please describe what Amphor is and is there one located in Pattaya your help is appreciated regards Rolfe

[mark5335]

Make a 'public will' at the Amphur for the GF. I'm almost sure it's free to make. I believe a 'public will', in Thailand, is the only will that's uncontestable, no lawyer required.

please describe what Amphor is and is there one located in Pattaya your help is appreciated regards Rolfe

Amphur is similar to a City Council Office in western countries.

In Pattay check whether there is a city hall building, it may be located there.