I will probably need a lawyer to answer this question, but I thought maybe forum people may have knowledge in this matter. In event of my death my son will inherit my property in US and also trust fund. Hwever he first needs death certificate. In US these are signed by doctor, but here I am told police issue these and embassy then sends notification of death to next of kin. Are either of these legal as proof of death in American court?

You may need a better answer but my wifes is Thai and her brother die couple years back and the docter gave her a death certificate for her to collect the insurance she had on him.

You might want to also take into consideration the tax implications. The USA has some hefty inheritance taxes. Although the assets left behind may be valuable, the beneficiary may not have the means to pay the taxes.

(Not being a smartass, but one of my colleagues inherited a condo in NYC and had to borrow to pay the various taxes assessed.)

For an additional 1000 baht can be purchased post dated.

Death Certificates are issued by the hospital where death occurred or by a doctor if death occurred at home, in any event they can be translated and notorized by your embassy (for a fee!) which is acceptable by the courts in your home country. In all cases where a death occurs at home (foreigners) then the police are involved.

Death Certificates are issued by the hospital where death occurred or by a doctor if death occurred at home, in any event they can be translated and notorized by your embassy (for a fee!) which is acceptable by the courts in your home country. In all cases where a death occurs at home (foreigners) then the police are involved.

When you die your wife or someone will get the Thai death certificate translated to English and take it to the US consulate along with your passport. They will cancel your passport and issue your heirs 20 death certificates issued by the US State Dept.that can be used to close accounts etc in the USA. Believe it or not this service is free and it takes about 2 weeks to get the copies.

I forgot to add that if you need more then 20 copies of the death certificate then you must pay for them. I dont recall the price as we did not require more then the 20 free ones.

Thanks everyone for the information. it will make whole situation much easier to manage.