Divorce In Thailand

[lopburi3]

There most surly can be financial conditions entered on the paperwork and some offices will be very pro active in suggesting this.

[Mario2008]

Here you can find a nice article about divorcing in Thailand:

http://www.thailawonline.com/en/family/div...n-thailand.html

[travellife]

There most surly can be financial conditions entered on the paperwork and some offices will be very pro active in suggesting this.

What financial conditions would they be pro-active about? If both people agree that all financial conditions have been resolved prior to going to the Amphur, what needs to be included?

Does a clause that clearly state that all financial issues have been resolved need to be included? I thought by signing the document without stating any financial conditions would mean that none exist.

[lopburi3]

In the case of my neighbor they advised her to obtain agreement on a schedule of payments from husbands retirement as she was a housewife and would need this to meet expenses.

I was not saying there could be none - just that there indeed could be some. If agreement is none then none it will be.

[Brunus]

Anyway, this is all moot as the OP doesn't state what nationality he is and if they married in Thailand or not, if not the situation changes somewhat doesn't it.

We are saying the same, I only use the term registering for both the officialy getting married (or divorced) as for notifying your contry that you are married/divorced abroad.

I don't know where the OP is from. Anyway in Italy the divorce abroad is not officially registered. There are 7 rules in order that the divorce is valid in Italy. One of them is that you have to ask divorce first abroad. If somebody has already asked for a divorce in Italy you have to divorce in Italy.

Also the place the wedding took place and the residence of the couple, might be a problem (wedding in Italy and couple resident in Italy).

I guess the OP should check the law of his country about that, to avoid problems

Edited December 9, 2009 by Brunus

[abdulrahman]

An italian citizen for( for example)married and resident inThailand,can obtain a Thai divorce,in Thailand,and it will be recognised in Italy too,

Other Countries have the same law.Translations,confirmed,are the norm too.

[Brunus]

Of course he can, but the divorce must not violate the other 6 rules or articles (don't know how to call them).

Particular case prenuptial agreement. In Italy is not valid. So if you divorce under Thai law, and you don't violate the 7 rules, your divorce can be registered in Italy. Let's say for example your wife doesn't get any money from you because of the prenuptial agreement when you divorce in Thailand. The divorce is valid in Italy but your wife can ask an Italian judge half of what you have earned after marriage, and she will win.

[travellife]

travellife in my experience.

1. Recommend BangRak

2. No translators are necessary if the foreigner is confident and can speak and understand reasonable Thai. The foreign spouse needs to satisfy the Umphur official they know what is happening. Witnesses are not required to know English. There is English speaking staff at BangRak.

3. Agree with lopburi3. Only documents listed in my post were required.

It would be better to have a translator that can speak Thai and English. It seems the official may request this.

Is there any business around the Bangrak office that can provide such a service? Or is it possible to use someone there that is there getting married that can speak both Thai and English (for convenience purposes). Bangrak seems to be a popular office for foreigners.

[Mario2008]

There are several translation agencies along wireless road that could help you with translation. They might be wiling to go with you. Might be cheaper to check if the amphur/khet has some staff that speaks English. I would say inquire there first.

[jobounce]

I recently got divorced. It was very easy, we just went to the amphur where we married and within 45 minutes were legally divorced. We had a quick meeting with the officer, who, when satisfied we both agreed to an uncontested divorce signed all the papers. We had to pay 2 motorbike taxi guys 200 baht to be witnesses.

[travellife]

I recently got divorced. It was very easy, we just went to the amphur where we married and within 45 minutes were legally divorced. We had a quick meeting with the officer, who, when satisfied we both agreed to an uncontested divorce signed all the papers. We had to pay 2 motorbike taxi guys 200 baht to be witnesses.

Jobounce. Thanks for the information. Do you speak Thai well enough to understand what the officer was asking? Or did your spouse or the officer just translate for you?

If a divorce is uncontested, there shouldn't be any concern from the officer. If there is no property or no debt involved, there is nothing to split up. So the process should be straightforward.

[travellife]

I read on a post that a Thai women getting divorced from a foreigner has to change her name to the foreign husband's last name before the divorce can be completed. Is this correct?

And how long can the Thai women keep the foreign last name after the divorce (assuming she doesn't change it back readily?

[lopburi3]

Have never heard of any such rule and as there is no longer any requirement that she ever changes her name to husbands suspect if it was ever true it is not now.

[Explorer]

since we are on the topic -

if a non-o (based on marriage) carrying a WP (no extension yet) goes for divorce, will the visa and WP be void?

what about if on non-o extension with WP?

Explorer

[lopburi3]

Will have no effect on a visa entry - if the Non o extension is based on work it would end at the end of work - not marrriage. If based on marriage it would not likely to be noticed until next renewal due but would technically end at end of marriage.

[travellife]

Have never heard of any such rule and as there is no longer any requirement that she ever changes her name to husbands suspect if it was ever true it is not now.

Maybe the post I read was old. I think it was from a lawyers site that said the Thai wife must change her name to the foreign husbands last name before getting the divorce certificate. She can than change her name back to her maiden name. Maybe this is done at the Amphur and most people don't know they are signing a paper to change their name first, and than change it back.

The other issue with having a foreign last name may be related to a legal issues also. Maybe the Thai officials thinks it is best to remove the foreign last name rather than keep it because of future property or financial issues. This seems strange since in some countries you can change your name to anything you want. So if a Thai person wants a foreign last name they should be able to change it and keep it.

[Farma]

Travellife, from my experiences the Thai woman needs to have the latest I.D. card reflecting her current name and marital status prior to the Umphur accepting her divorce application.

In the past women were expected to change surname to the husbands surname. This is no longer the case.

On marriage the woman indicates what name she will use after marriage. The same applies on divorce, the woman indicates what name she will use after divorce.

Once married or divorced it is then up to the woman to update her I.D. card to reflect her new marital status (Ms or Mrs.) and name.

I’ve personally seen a number of Thai women who haven’t bothered to update their I.D. cards after marriage turned away by the Umphur when they applied for divorce. They were told to return and apply again once they’d updated their I.D. cards.

[DegenFarang]

Surprised this was not covered in the thread:

If you (foreigner) marry a Thai woman, then get divorced - what would she be entitled to in terms of your assets? If she were entitled to something, could she go after foreign held assets (bank accounts, stocks, real estate etc) or would it be limited to things held in Thailand? What if children are involved, is there court ordered child support in Thailand? Are prenup's where she gets nothing upon divorce a possibility here?

[Mario2008]

Under Thai law, is there is no prenuptial, the wife is entitled to half of all wealth (and debts) you acquired during the marriage and you the same from what she acquired. That is not limited to assets in Thailand, but how to enforce it is another matter. The question which other country we would be talking about would matter.

Prenuptial agreements are possible, but must be entered at the same time you register the marriage. Your own country might not always honor a prenup if it is deemed unfair.

If children are involved, the court can order child support. Remember that child support is for the child. In Thailand the amount is generally speaking not very much. If you are no longer in Thailand but in your own country, the court in your own country could be asked to determine the amount of child support.

[caf]

I read on a post that a Thai women getting divorced from a foreigner has to change her name to the foreign husband's last name before the divorce can be completed. Is this correct?

And how long can the Thai women keep the foreign last name after the divorce (assuming she doesn't change it back readily?

No it is not correct. The spouse can use any name before the divorce. The amphur checks the id not the name.

In my case my now ex-wife changed her name from my surmame to a completly new name before the divorce. This merely delayed matters by about two weeks while the amphur checked that the ids were the same.

A divorced spouse can use any name she chooses before and after divorce. She can keep your name, revert to her former name, choose a completly new name.

Hope this helps

[aussiebebe]

I'm suprised by the quality and usefulness of the information on this thread. I'm reading things I never knew and it's amazing how I rushed into something knowing so little about it.

What would happen/what would you do if your Thai spouse just left? In this worse-case senario, maybe he/she left for someone else or just left - what steps would/could you take?

If anyone's got any information/details, it would be great to share,

cheers

[Farma]

Aussiebebe in that case you would have a couple of options.

Contact your spouse and agree to an uncontested divorce.

or

If he doesn’t agree or can’t be contacted you will need to employ a lawyer and apply for a contested divorce through court. The link provided by Mario2008 in post #32 gives the procedure. Be aware that this requires a period of separation, can be expensive and take years.

Once the court orders a divorce, take the court order along with the documents relevant to you from post #14 to the Umphur. I would recommend taking your lawyer along as well. Registering divorce and obtaining the divorce certificate can be done without the other party in attendance.

Processing the divorce is similar to the process in post #14. The Umphur will issue 1 divorce certificate and annotate the rear of the Khor Ror 6 "Registration of Divorce" with the details of the court order. The signature space where the other party would normally sign the Khor Ror 6 is annotated “Verdict in lieu of consent”.

Edited December 25, 2009 by Farma

[Mario2008]

if your souse just left you might also have another problem. In case of being on an exension of stay based on marriage you can noot renew that extension, as that requires you living with your spouse.

[travellife]

I read on a post that a Thai women getting divorced from a foreigner has to change her name to the foreign husband's last name before the divorce can be completed. Is this correct?

And how long can the Thai women keep the foreign last name after the divorce (assuming she doesn't change it back readily?

No it is not correct. The spouse can use any name before the divorce. The amphur checks the id not the name.

In my case my now ex-wife changed her name from my surmame to a completly new name before the divorce. This merely delayed matters by about two weeks while the amphur checked that the ids were the same.

A divorced spouse can use any name she chooses before and after divorce. She can keep your name, revert to her former name, choose a completly new name.

Hope this helps

Caf, thanks for the response.

I think the person at the Amphur was making up his own rule. Maybe he wants to influence the Thai person to remove the foreign last name. I think it has to do with cultural pride rather than the law. This seems to be an example of anti-foreign sentiment that crops up in Thailand periodically...actually that happens in every country to some extent.

[amnat]

Regarding the letter "Affirmation to marry". Is there any proper checks on statements such as the person declaring themselves as "single" are true or not?

I am pretty sure that someone I know declared this and yet he is really married to someone else who deserted him in Thailand, but never got divorced officially.

If this is true then presumably the "new" marriage is not strictly legal?

It also follows that over a period of time (some years) the embassy issued 2 letters of Affirmation based on him claiming he was single on both of them, surely?

[Mario2008]

Regarding the letter "Affirmation to marry". Is there any proper checks on statements such as the person declaring themselves as "single" are true or not?

I am pretty sure that someone I know declared this and yet he is really married to someone else who deserted him in Thailand, but never got divorced officially.

If this is true then presumably the "new" marriage is not strictly legal?

It also follows that over a period of time (some years) the embassy issued 2 letters of Affirmation based on him claiming he was single on both of them, surely?

The embassy should check if he is not already married abroad. (some like the US embassy can't do that and asks you to make a sworn statement. Lying on that statement is a criminal offence).

The amphur will check if the persons are already married in Thailand itself.

[johnnybgood]

Nice to read a first hand report.

Now,if only my wife would agree? :D

[johnnybgood]

Nice to read a first hand report.

Now,if only my wife would agree? :D

Divorce is a dish best served cold.........

Hi Guys,

Can anyone translate the divorce application I've attached? Maybe better to know what I (and others) have to sign

I'd like to refresh this thread, as it looks like I've wasted 10 years of my life living here trying to be happily married.

Any tips or guidlines with the 50-50 rule on moveables? Can I really say bye bye to the house, garden, land and all things I've contributed to?

My heart really isn't into lugging half the furniture, it's only material things isn't it?

I'm thinking of just moving to another country to start again at 60 years old - what a downer!

The real loser will be her son whom I never adopted but loved and nurtured through private school and now college.

Any helpful advice would be appreciated.

PS I used a lot of "Baht Bus's" info years ago when I first arrived, and of course Thai Visa, never thought it would happen to me! Sad.

[ludditeman]

Any tips or guidlines with the 50-50 rule on moveables? Can I really say bye bye to the house, garden, land and all things I've contributed to?

My heart really isn't into lugging half the furniture, it's only material things isn't it?

If the house was purchased after you were married, you are entitled to half of it on divorce.

If you signed a letter to the effect that the money used was hers, it doesn't matter, you are still entitled to half.

Once married a husband and wife cannot legally enter into binding contracts of any sort with each other.

So anything you or she signed is not legally binding, 50/50 is the rule.

Being married is worse for her than you.

If married she can't make any contract without your signature.

Can't buy or sell property, no loans, banks are hard to deal with.

So don't give up on your half of the house.

Edited September 14, 2011 by ludditeman

[johnnybgood]

Thank you 'ludditeman' for taking the time to share your knowledge.:jap:

The point about signing a letter concerning the money used ----- well I never went to the land office! - I did wonder about it's importance.

It's like playing 'Gin Rummy' -- slowly picking up strong cards and discarding until one's ready to face a lawyer or Amphur.