Looking to buy a house in Pattaya next year, not land just a house.

I'm pretty sure I have read before that I can put the house in my daughters name? She has a Thai and British passport.

If you can is it a real minefield? I suspect it is, or does it just depend on the exact circumstances of the purchase and your own respective situations et etc...can change it later, does she have to wait until a certain age before she legally owns rhe property etc...

Feel free to tell me to contat a lawyer/real estate company if you want...

No, but I would suggest you use the forum search above right to find many prior threads on this topic. Try key words like "buying property minor child" or similar. Most if not all earlier threads will be in th real estate forum

Not exactly a minefield but this approach does not suit everyone and requires serious research before you commit to it. But for some it is a good idea indeed

No problem.

All my Thai property is in the names of my Thai children, who have British, American and Thai nationalities.

The children have no power over the property until they reach the age of 20.

No need to engage the services of a lawyer. Just pop along to the land office and they will show you the way.

Now, would I lie to you?

No problem.

All my Thai property is in the names of my Thai children, who have British, American and Thai nationalities.

The children have no power over the property until they reach the age of 20.

No need to engage the services of a lawyer. Just pop along to the land office and they will show you the way.

Now, would I lie to you?

Hi Beetlejuice,

Can I please ask for a little bit more detail on this because I'm considering to do this for my Thai granddaughter (Thai national) now 6.5 years old and a second granddaghter coming in November 2554 (after she's born of course).

- So, are you meaning just house or are you meaning land and house?

- Would you please share what ages your children were when you transferred to them.

Thanks.

No problem.

All my Thai property is in the names of my Thai children, who have British, American and Thai nationalities.

The children have no power over the property until they reach the age of 20.

No need to engage the services of a lawyer. Just pop along to the land office and they will show you the way.

Now, would I lie to you?

Nice one juice. For me this is a happy medium between not being able to put it in my name or putting in the the old womans, as she will have her own house (security) up in the jungles of Isaan. When I am ready to move I will obviously do full research and not just ask some strangers on an internet forum, but this is a start. One thing I have in my head though is what if I wanted to sell it before the child is 20, does that get complex? Also, the chances are she might hate the old man when she is 20 and might kick me out on to the streets if I am still alive and residing there

No problem.

All my Thai property is in the names of my Thai children, who have British, American and Thai nationalities.

The children have no power over the property until they reach the age of 20.

No need to engage the services of a lawyer. Just pop along to the land office and they will show you the way.

Now, would I lie to you?

Hi Beetlejuice,

Can I please ask for a little bit more detail on this because I'm considering to do this for my Thai granddaughter (Thai national) now 6.5 years old and a second granddaghter coming in November 2554 (after she's born of course).

- So, are you meaning just house or are you meaning land and house?

- Would you please share what ages your children were when you transferred to them.

Thanks.

This pertains to land and any property built on it. The Whole Caboodle.

I am not 100% certain as regards property and grandchildren.

But what I think you need to do in this case, is first transfer the property and land into the name of your child (Must be Thai) (parent of the grandchild you wish to put the property in trust to). Then the parent transfers the property into the name of the grandchild.

Again, check with the land office, because I'm not sure in this case.

There will be tax to pay on each land transfer, but it shouldn`t be too expensive.

My children were aged 8, 12 and 14 when the property was transferred over to them.

what if I wanted to sell it before the child is 20, does that get complex? Also, the chances are she might hate the old man when she is 20 and might kick me out on to the streets if I am still alive and residing there

you cannot sell the property with the approval of the court

you cannot guarantee your access to the property as minors can't enter into agreements like leases or usufructs - again - unless you get the approval of the court

like i said before, there are some potential downsides that render this approach unsuitable for some

No problem.

All my Thai property is in the names of my Thai children, who have British, American and Thai nationalities.

The children have no power over the property until they reach the age of 20.

No need to engage the services of a lawyer. Just pop along to the land office and they will show you the way.

Now, would I lie to you?

Nice one juice. For me this is a happy medium between not being able to put it in my name or putting in the the old womans, as she will have her own house (security) up in the jungles of Isaan. When I am ready to move I will obviously do full research and not just ask some strangers on an internet forum, but this is a start. One thing I have in my head though is what if I wanted to sell it before the child is 20, does that get complex? Also, the chances are she might hate the old man when she is 20 and might kick me out on to the streets if I am still alive and residing there

Yes, your wife can still sell the land and property before the child reaches the age of 20. Another point is that although the child will have some powers over the property at age 20, the child cannot sell the property until the 21st birthday.

Having the property in the child’s name means, that in the event of the death of a Thai wife, none of her ever caring, loving family can lay claim to anything as the next of kin, plus the sweet little wifey will not be able to take out any bank loans on the property.

My famous last words; They’re lovely kids, they would never do anything bad to me, as they kick my arse out onto the street.

In the case of divorce: If the property is in the name of a child under the age of 20, this is no guarantee that the wife cannot lay claim to any of it and must be taken to court for the judge to decide. As I said; there are no absolute sure-fire safeguards for the protection of our assets in Thailand. But I would rather gamble on the loyalties of my children, rather than a Thai wife and her family.

It`s all about making the best of a situation that isn`t very good in the first place.

what if I wanted to sell it before the child is 20, does that get complex? Also, the chances are she might hate the old man when she is 20 and might kick me out on to the streets if I am still alive and residing there

you cannot sell the property with the approval of the court

you cannot guarantee your access to the property as minors can't enter into agreements like leases or usufructs - again - unless you get the approval of the court

like i said before, there are some potential downsides that render this approach unsuitable for some

Quite right.

What the parents are in fact doing is putting the property in trust for the children, not making them the owners until they reach adulthood.

As you said; this method maybe suitable for some and not for others, because as with anything, this is not perfect and does have drawbacks.

For example; even if you consider your children as the best kids in the world, it has to be taken into consideration as to who they may meet and marry later on. Pappa and mamma reach 80 years old, on their last legs, loving son and his darling wife decide dear sweet parents are living too long and no longer wish to wait any more time for their inheritance and so on.

So it`s something which needs a lot of thought and careful consideration.

You have to weigh up the pros and cons and decide for yourselves.

It is all very confusing and overwhelming. I was right all along in my first post, it is indeed a minefield.

you cannot sell the property with the approval of the court

oops, and of course I meant to say "you cannot sell the property without the approval of the court"

I also forgot to mention that there is a short article on this topic in the September edition of the Chiang Mai expats club's newsletter

http://www.chiangmaisos.com/expat-newsletter/

A foreigner can legally own a house, but not land. If you build a house, you will need the construction drawings and building permission to be your name and to keep all bills/invoices as proff. You may obtain title as something like "Master of the Hose" in your yellow Housebook. I you buy a house, you can have a kind of deed issued by the Land Office for the house only (not land). Children with Thai nationality can own both shares and land, but cannot dispose ower it, before the age of 20.

No problem.

All my Thai property is in the names of my Thai children, who have British, American and Thai nationalities.

The children have no power over the property until they reach the age of 20.

No need to engage the services of a lawyer. Just pop along to the land office and they will show you the way.

Now, would I lie to you?

Nice one juice. For me this is a happy medium between not being able to put it in my name or putting in the the old womans, as she will have her own house (security) up in the jungles of Isaan. When I am ready to move I will obviously do full research and not just ask some strangers on an internet forum, but this is a start. One thing I have in my head though is what if I wanted to sell it before the child is 20, does that get complex? Also, the chances are she might hate the old man when she is 20 and might kick me out on to the streets if I am still alive and residing there

Yes, your wife can still sell the land and property before the child reaches the age of 20. Another point is that although the child will have some powers over the property at age 20, the child cannot sell the property until the 21st birthday.

Having the property in the child’s name means, that in the event of the death of a Thai wife, none of her ever caring, loving family can lay claim to anything as the next of kin, plus the sweet little wifey will not be able to take out any bank loans on the property.

My famous last words; They’re lovely kids, they would never do anything bad to me, as they kick my arse out onto the street.

In the case of divorce: If the property is in the name of a child under the age of 20, this is no guarantee that the wife cannot lay claim to any of it and must be taken to court for the judge to decide. As I said; there are no absolute sure-fire safeguards for the protection of our assets in Thailand. But I would rather gamble on the loyalties of my children, rather than a Thai wife and her family.

It`s all about making the best of a situation that isn`t very good in the first place.

Not correct. Your wife cannot sell the land before your child is of age.

No problem.

All my Thai property is in the names of my Thai children, who have British, American and Thai nationalities.

The children have no power over the property until they reach the age of 20.

No need to engage the services of a lawyer. Just pop along to the land office and they will show you the way.

Now, would I lie to you?

Hi Beetlejuice,

Can I please ask for a little bit more detail on this because I'm considering to do this for my Thai granddaughter (Thai national) now 6.5 years old and a second granddaghter coming in November 2554 (after she's born of course).

- So, are you meaning just house or are you meaning land and house?

- Would you please share what ages your children were when you transferred to them.

Thanks.

This pertains to land and any property built on it. The Whole Caboodle.

I am not 100% certain as regards property and grandchildren.

But what I think you need to do in this case, is first transfer the property and land into the name of your child (Must be Thai) (parent of the grandchild you wish to put the property in trust to). Then the parent transfers the property into the name of the grandchild.

Again, check with the land office, because I'm not sure in this case.

There will be tax to pay on each land transfer, but it shouldn`t be too expensive.

My children were aged 8, 12 and 14 when the property was transferred over to them.

Hi beetlejuice,

This is a bit late but perhaps worth sharing. My Thai son just went to the CM land office, his 'report', in summary:

- At first, when he asked about grandchildren there was a negative response but a more senior officer then joined the conversation and said 'why not' makes no difference. Son says the more senior guy was quite pleasant, listened a lot, and added that it would be advisable because of my age to have the fathers name added to the chanut specifically as the person responsible to manage the property on behalf of the child until 20 yrs old. Actually I like this idea.

- Same senior guy agreed that the approriate law is unclear about a minimum age, and he shared that he would give his approval for this transfer if the child was about 7 or 8 years old, but he would want to meet the whole family first, including the farang grandfather.

- Same senior mentioned that he's well aware that there are many differing opinions and actions taken in cases like this at the various land offices across Thailand.

- Son asked whether the regulations are likely to change to get a clearer picture . Answer: a big laugh and 'not soon'.