Divorce In Los Advice Needed

[chiangmai1970]

hi all

been back in Blighty for couple of years and my Thai wife is in LOS, neither of us want to be back in the others country for foreseeable future so we have agreed to divorce.

I have read online that I HAVE TO be present in Thailand for the final court hearing. is this totally true? No way round it? The LOS I know so well always had multiple choices for situations needing more than one choice.....someone please bring good news and say it can be done long distance, want to move on with life.

Second thing is she is asking for pretty big sums of money to complete this, how much does it actually cost.

thanks in advance for any help

CM

[yabaaaa]

Id just ignore all requests for money change phones etc etc unless you really want to throw money away.

I have a feeling she can just claim "abandonment" for a divorce?

[chiangmaibruce]

I have a feeling she can just claim "abandonment" for a divorce?

That's correct - it is one of the options for divorce. suggest OP visits a site like thailawonline.com and searches on "divorce" for details of the law, procedures, etc

[GuestHouse]

I'd say that unless she is asking for a really ridiculous amount of money then it would be wise to negotiate the sum, pay up and turn up for the divorce hearing.

It is in your own best interest to close the book and be there to make sure the book is closed. Right now you have an open ended liability that could start making claims on you any time in the future - You might not ever have to pay up, but you are open for legal costs and a whole lot of aggravation.

Do what needs to be done to close this as quickly and as with as little arguments as possible.

[Thanyaburi Mac]

If you can agree with your wife on the terms of divorce, sums of $$$, etc, the final action can be done at the local amphur/district office in 30 minutes and for about free. That might be worth the plane ticket over and back. A court action can drag on for a long time and in the end could go against you. Even if you end up paying her some sum, need to balance that against the plane ticket and speed of action.

Check out divorce law here: http://www.thailand-lawyer.com/divorce.html

Mac

[sarahsbloke]

You need to give such details as

Can she get back to the UK to file for divorce, does she have residency ..... if not it's unlikely she can claim your UK assets

If she is stuck in Thailand then just forget it, as said before, change phone number, let her get on with it.

Divorce in Thailand by mutual consent costs nothing, just a trip together to the Amphur office.

Did you get married at the Amphur office?

[kikoman]

I was divorced from my Thai wife in a mutually agreed divorce, Thailand is a community property country and any assets ,other then real estate are 50-50. If you do not have any children it is a lot easier. went to the Amphur office after a long wait ,we were divorced in about 30 Min's, you have to have two witnesses to the divorce.

Depends what you have as community property, you may negotiate with her on that giving her that instead of a cash payment, that is what I did, half of the value of any house and or improvements is yours.

If she demands a cash settlement for her agreeing to a divorce, do not do it.

I know that in the state of Arizona in the US, you publish in a newspaper your intent to divorce her, for 6 weeks if she dose not answer your intentions, you can be granted a divorce from her. That wife lived in Indiana and I published the notice in a small town bi-weekly paper in Arizona and was granted a divorce.

Maybe some part of the UK have a similar type of divorce law, Check it out.

My Thai divorce was free.

Good Luck!

Cheers:

[Farma]

The way I see it you have a couple of choices.

She could file in the court for divorce on abandonment grounds as mentioned above. You wouldn’t need to visit Thailand or appear in court. It would take a couple of months for the court to issue a divorce order. She then takes that order to the Umphur to receive her divorce certificate.

She would require the services of a lawyer to file the application in court.

The downside is you would never receive a copy of the divorce certificate unless at some later date you made a trip to Thailand and visited the Umphur yourself.

Or

You agree to visit Thailand and both visit the Umphur together to obtain an uncontested divorce. No lawyer is required and the divorce is free. Uncontested divorce is easy and quick.

The downside is the cost of your airfare plus the possible amount she may request from you to settle the matter.

Or

The very last option (not recommended) would be to go through a contested divorce in the courts. As previously mentioned this method can take a long time and become very costly. Lawyers are involved and you will be required to appear in court at least once.

Again once the court issues the court order which can takes a month or more to reach you, you will then need to take it to the Umphur to register the divorce and receive your divorce certificate.

[slapout]

You are asking a question that cannot be given an intelligent answer until you provide detail to the circumstances of the marriage. Big sum of money is in the eye of the beholder, as no figure was mentioned, it is a personal decision. What kind of relationship do you want, with soon to be ex? Is property involved? Is marriage registered and where? When you furnish all the pertinent legal details, you will probably get some usable suggestions.

[chiangmai1970]

Thanks all, am beginning to get a better idea of it all.

Details, well first I cannot get to LOS in the next couple of years, have family commitments here which rule it out, and really want to do this without going back.

My wife and I are on pretty good terms and she also wants this resolved so as to move on, just the family pressure her to get what she can. Fact is we have no shared property etc, she has the new car which is fine, and I left her what I could before I left. She is asking 200,000 baht to finalise things which for me is a lot in my present situation, but would take whatever I offered probably.

I do want to do this and part on good terms.

The abandonment scenario seems good for both of us, any further advice much appreciated. Such as lawyer fee for this etc.

CM

[chiangmai1970]

and yes marriage registered at local amphur office.

[noise]

and yes marriage registered at local amphur office.

Since you have family problems and said 200,000 baht is a lot of money right now, you obviously can't go to Thailand. However, you did say you are on good terms with your wife, so I assume she understands your current situation.

As others pointed out, going for a court ordered divorce would cost her money. Even if you sent some token amount, lawyers would eat it up.

It wouldn't hurt to suggest she go to the Amphur, explain the situation, and ask if there is not some way you could fill out papers, swear to them (get them notarized) in the UK, and send them to her so she could appear by herself for an uncontested divorce. I do not know if it is possible, but it sounds reasonable.

If she is from a town with a kamnan, a town in the same amphur you got married in, getting him to accompany her to the amphur would help. He would know the right people to talk to and would not be kept waiting. His presence would lend credibility to the request.

[Thakkar]

I'd say that unless she is asking for a really ridiculous amount of money then it would be wise to negotiate the sum, pay up and turn up for the divorce hearing.

It is in your own best interest to close the book and be there to make sure the book is closed. Right now you have an open ended liability that could start making claims on you any time in the future - You might not ever have to pay up, but you are open for legal costs and a whole lot of aggravation.

Do what needs to be done to close this as quickly and as with as little arguments as possible.

Good advice. Always a good idea to tie up loose ends.

Since at the moment a 200k settlement is more than you can afford, perhaps you can agree to staggered/defered payments. As there's no acrimony, something can surely be worked out that's fair all round.

Good Luck.