Divorcing An Estranged Wife

[likewise]

Posting for a friend whose English skills are close to none, so here's his saga and questions.

About 13 years ago he got married to a Thai girl, when the time was there to move to his country (Finland) she refused to go with him.

Since then they haven't contacted each other anymore, he doesn't even know where she is.

About 3 years ago he moved to Thailand permanently and would like to marry his new GF.

Any guys on here who know how he can divorce the first wife? Let's not forget he has no idea where she is and they haven't been in contact for 13 years.

Or can he just marry his new GF without bringing up the past?

Thanks

[Soutpeel]

Posting for a friend whose English skills are close to none, so here's his saga and questions.

About 13 years ago he got married to a Thai girl, when the time was there to move to his country (Finland) she refused to go with him.

Since then they haven't contacted each other anymore, he doesn't even know where she is.

About 3 years ago he moved to Thailand permanently and would like to marry his new GF.

Any guys on here who know how he can divorce the first wife? Let's not forget he has no idea where she is and they haven't been in contact for 13 years.

Or can he just marry his new GF without bringing up the past?

Thanks

I would have thought his passport number would recorded somewhere in system attached to his previous wifes name ??, so wouldnt have thought just marrying the new GF would be a good option as he may also be committing a criminal offence in Thailand...bigamy ??

Would think in this instance he needs to go and see a lawyer and straighten this out, because he should be able to divorce his estranged wife in absentia and get married again....Make him go see a lawyer

[likewise]

In case he sees a lawyer and they track her down can she still ask for money or whatever before agreeing to a divorce?

Or would it be possible to divorce her without her signing after such a long time?

[MJo]

Thai friend of mine had similar problem with Cambodian lady. If i remember correctly he needed to publish add in local newspaper in PP looking to get in contact with the ex and after certain time when there was no contact he got his divorce from court here in Bangkok. Kind of prove to the court that he had been looking for his ex but she can not be found to sign the docs. Now this is based on just my bad memory so i would recommed using laywer to handle it or at least advice what is needed for the divorce.

And he always has the option of divorcing in Finland providing he did register his marriage there. I would assume thai courts recognize foreign divorce ?

[likewise]

As far as I know his marriage never got registered in Finland.

Putting an add in a local paper might be a lenghty process?

[MJo]

That's just what i remember my friend had to do in his case. Not sure if it applies to all cases.

Take a look on this ongoing similar thread. There is good information for divorcing without knowing the other party's whereabouts.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Girlfriend-D...ba-t265948.html

[Soutpeel]

As far as I know his marriage never got registered in Finland.

Putting an add in a local paper might be a lenghty process?

Why?...it would have to be published for a specified period only, after which he could go ahead with a divorce in absentia, he has tried to contact his estranged wife.

The problem could start if during that period his estanged wife "re-appears" and starts asking for money

He really needs to go and see a lawyer

[likewise]

Ok, thanks Mjo will also advice him to seek the assistance of a lawyer.

[likewise]

As far as I know his marriage never got registered in Finland.

Putting an add in a local paper might be a lenghty process?

Why?...it would have to be published for a specified period only, after which he could go ahead with a divorce in absentia, he has tried to contact his estranged wife.

The problem could start if during that period his estanged wife "re-appears" and starts asking for money

He really needs to go and see a lawyer

Indeed, thanks Soutpeel. That's just the issue if she would suddenly turn up and ask for money that would definitely ruin his party.

[BWFC]

Thai friend of mine had similar problem with Cambodian lady. If i remember correctly he needed to publish add in local newspaper in PP looking to get in contact with the ex and after certain time when there was no contact he got his divorce from court here in Bangkok. Kind of prove to the court that he had been looking for his ex but she can not be found to sign the docs. Now this is based on just my bad memory so i would recommed using laywer to handle it or at least advice what is needed for the divorce.

And he always has the option of divorcing in Finland providing he did register his marriage there. I would assume thai courts recognize foreign divorce ?

This is correct; I have recently done something along these lines. He will need to get a lawyer who will do everything for him. An add will need to be placed in a local newspaper (notice of Petition for divorce) and will need to run no less than 30 days. If she does not come forward within these 30 days the lawyer will then file for divorce on the grounds of having lived apart for more than 2 years. Whole process will take about 9 months (did for me)

[likewise]

Ok, thanks for the info lads.

[likewise]

Can she still ask for a financial settlement after so many years?

[thaicbr]

Was the marriage an Amphur marriage or just a Buddhist ceremony. If Buddhist then he is not even legally married. If Amphur then he needs to get a lawyer and do as the other poster have suggested.

In those days a lot of the time it would have just been a Buddhist thing.

Also having been stung the 1st time. Why the <deleted>+k does he want to get married again???????????????

Allan

Edited May 18, 2009 by thaicbr

[givenall]

Was the marriage an Amphur marriage or just a Buddhist ceremony. If Buddhist then he is not even legally married. If Amphur then he needs to get a lawyer and do as the other poster have suggested.

In those days a lot of the time it would have just been a Buddhist thing.

Also having been stung the 1st time. Why the <deleted>+k does he want to get married again???????????????

Allan

I agree with thaicbr. Just get a Buddhist marriage and let the law out of your business and may be do the legal thing later if at all

[likewise]

It was a legal marriage at the Amphur.

[CWMcMurray]

I would guess if he tries to get divorced in Thailand and they can find his wife (very good chance they will be able to find her), there could be issues of her trying to extort money out of him or contest the divorce. If she doesn't contest it or they can't find her then no problem, very cheap and easy in Thailand.

I would also guess that if he files for divorce in his home country it is very unlikely that his wife will be able to be found by the local court. So it is a near certaintly that the divorce will be uncontested. Then you would need to bring the divorce papers here in Thailand, have them translated and should hold up without any additional proceedings (as long as no assets in Thailand).

I believe that the above is true, but would still recomend consulting a lawyer to confirm.

[likewise]

ok, thanks for the info all. I've explained all this to my mate and think that using a lawyer will be the best way to go.

Maybe just maybe it would be good to try and find out if she hasn't divorced him yet in the mean time since he has lived in Finland most of the time.

Edited May 19, 2009 by likewise

[Boo]

presumably the wedding certifiate issued at the time of their marraige will have her thai id number & address at the time on it. A thai lawyer could then use those to check if a divorce had been made by her in his absense?

[kimincm]

You say your friends E nglish skills leave a bit to be desired,unless his gf is in great control of the Finnish language,sounds like old mates heading down the same path to disaster.

[jrbkk64]

You may find SHE has divorced your friend already!! ;-)

Edited May 22, 2009 by jrbkk64