If I Am Taken To Court In Thailand

[James53]

I am in the UK, married in the UK and divorcing in the UK. Thai wife is now UK citizen. My barrister is concerned that any settlement in the UK would be invalid as ex could still pursue divorce through the courts in Thailand.

We have a business in Thailand that owns land so I have always assumed that once business is sold the the proceeds would be divided up in accordance with the shareholdings after expenses.

Can she go to court and how would a Thai court view a settlement. The kids live with me.

I am going to seek advice from a solicitor in Thailand.

[Farma]

From experience.

A property/asset settlement made outside Thailand can be accepted into a Thai divorce court as evidence.

This document needs to be translated, notarized and apostilised (sp) prior to acceptance by the court.

The Thai court may use the information from the overseas settlement when making their ruling on the division of Thai marital assets.

It's possible the court could award additional money to the wife.

[Mario2008]

It is always wise to ask advise of a lawyer. It might even be better to get a divorce under Thai law, because if you are in agreement with each other it will be a lot faster and cheaper.

Note that under Thai law you only devide the assets that were gained during the marriage, unless you have a nuptial agreement making different arragements.

The best advise you will get from a lawyer. i can recommend Isaan lawyers, specilized in family law. But if assets are involved you could also try Sunbelt or Siam Legal.

[Farma]

Civil judgments made by foreign courts Thailand has not entered into any treaties with any foreign countries for the reciprocal enforcement of civil judgments and therefore no foreign judgment may be directly enforced in Thailand. If a judgment has been given in a court outside Thailand, and it is desired to enforce it in Thailand (for example, because the Defendant has assets in Thailand) then it will be necessary for the foreign judgment creditor to issue fresh proceedings in the Civil Court in Thailand. The previous judgment will be admissible in evidence, but the Thai Court is entitled to give judgment based on the merits of the case. If judgment is finally given against the judgment creditor, then enforcement action can be taken, as discussed above.

The position is different in the case of foreign arbitration awards, which may generally be enforced in Thailand (see the following Chapter on Arbitration).

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