Can A Foreigner Maried To Thai Wife Own Half Of Their House

[Jacko77]

Hi everyone,

I swear I have searched on this very complete forum, but I couldn't find the answer. My bad.

So: my wife and I are maried (under Thai and French law), we have a child (double nationality), we have bought a chanote land on her name, and we are building a house on this land, the work is at 70% completed.

Yet, I am aware of the fact that I can't own the land, but can I own half of the house ?

If so, can anyone indicate me the process without ruining my life savings in a law office ?

Massive thanks in advanced.

[PoorSucker]

Everything you acquire during marriage is joint property.

So yes, you will own 50% of the house.

In case of divorce she even has to sell the land and you will get half the worth.

[Theboy]

You can 100% of the house if you wish ?

[happynthailand]

get a yellow book

[JohnC]

Yes, foreigner can own house but not land , but as stated if you purchase after marriage your wife is entitled to half.

Edited November 1, 2012 by JohnC

[Jacko77]

get a yellow book

Super thanks to all for the fast answer. Huuu... What is a yellow book ?

[ballbreaker]

get a yellow book

Super thanks to all for the fast answer. Huuu... What is a yellow book ?

Its a book that shows the names of foreigners that reside in house. Thai's have a blue book that serves the same purpose. In both case it does not signify ownership of house listed in the book but only who resides in the house.

[Jacko77]

Getting closer and closer.

So the yellow book is the "tamien baan" for foreigners, but it doesn't mean ownership. I guess yellow book can be asked at the poo yai baan and amphur.

In fact, a house belongs for a half to any foreigner maried with a Thai, as long as this house has been purchased after mariage.

So no particular admin to do with land office ?

[happynthailand]

wife went to land office and stated that "she didn't have the money to buy the house,with out my help"

yellow book was issued.

she die's, her family can't clam the house as theirs.house is mine until I die,after that who cares 8^)

oh yea,we bought the house after we were married,in fact we own 4 homes,yellow book for each.

Edited November 1, 2012 by happynthailand

[Jacko77]

her family can't clam the house as theirs.

I thought yellow book was not a proof of ownership ?

[TommoPhysicist]

get a yellow book

Super thanks to all for the fast answer. Huuu... What is a yellow book ?

Its a book that shows the names of foreigners that reside in house. Thai's have a blue book that serves the same purpose. In both case it does not signify ownership of house listed in the book but only who resides in the house.

Tabian Baan (Blue or yellow) does show the person who has control of the property (front page).

(Leaseholder or Owner or Usafunct holder or responsible adult if the owner is a child).

People who live in the house are then listed in the appropriate book as resident there on the following pages.

Yet, I am aware of the fact that I can't own the land, but can I own half of the house ?

You can own a house you have built, as a foreigner. If you register it as such right at the start. If you do nothing, it will be entirely her house and land.

But you can't own a house that has already been registered as land+House owned by a Thai. Not allowed to split after registration.

Edited November 1, 2012 by TommoPhysicist

[simple1]

her family can't clam the house as theirs.

I thought yellow book was not a proof of ownership ?

No it is not proof of ownership, only proof of residence issued by the Amphur

[uptheos]

wife went to land office and stated that "she didn't have the money to buy the house,with out my help"

yellow book was issued.

she die's, her family can't clam the house as theirs.house is mine until I die,after that who cares 8^)

oh yea,we bought the house after we were married,in fact we own 4 homes,yellow book for each.

Interesting article. http://www.phuketpicture.com/property/buy-land-and-house.php

Is it illegal to give money to a girlfriend to buy land and house?

Well, it is illegal for the girlfriend or wife to use money you gave her to buy land. The giver becomes involved in something illegal even if it is done simply as human kindness and the giver has no intention or desire to own or use the land!!

[transam]

So what if the cash for the house/land was sin sod to mum who gave it to daughter to do just that. Loop hole perhaps. ?

[TommoPhysicist]

wife went to land office and stated that "she didn't have the money to buy the house,with out my help"

yellow book was issued.

she die's, her family can't clam the house as theirs.house is mine until I die,after that who cares 8^)

oh yea,we bought the house after we were married,in fact we own 4 homes,yellow book for each.

She owns four homes, you own nothing.

When the land was transferred to her name, you signed a document at the land office to state the property was entirely hers, and you would not have any claim on it in a divorce (You sign three Thai documents and copies of your passport and marriage certificate). If you didn't sign the form, the land office wouldn't have done the land transfer. Your fault you can't read Thai and don't know you are signing your marital rights away. This document doesn't affect your right to inherit from your wife after her death. But village weddings don't count.

Edited November 1, 2012 by TommoPhysicist

[uptheos]

wife went to land office and stated that "she didn't have the money to buy the house,with out my help"

yellow book was issued.

she die's, her family can't clam the house as theirs.house is mine until I die,after that who cares 8^)

oh yea,we bought the house after we were married,in fact we own 4 homes,yellow book for each.

She owns four homes, you own nothing.

When the land was transferred to her name, you signed a document at the land office to state the property was entirely hers, and you would not have any claim on it in a divorce (You sign three Thai documents and copies of your passport and marriage certificate). If you didn't sign the form, the land office wouldn't have done the land transfer. Your fault you can't read Thai and don't know you are signing your marital rights away. This document doesn't affect your right to inherit from your wife after her death. But village weddings don't count.

Yup. he only has the right to reside in it, as long as he keeps it in good condition and the family can claim it as theirs (NOK).

Edited November 1, 2012 by uptheos

[TommoPhysicist]

Yup. he only has the right to reside in it, as long as he keeps it in good condition and the family can claim it as theirs (NOK).

You forgot to say .... and pays all the bills, outgoings and running costs.

[soi41]

wife went to land office and stated that "she didn't have the money to buy the house,with out my help"

yellow book was issued.

she die's, her family can't clam the house as theirs.house is mine until I die,after that who cares 8^)

oh yea,we bought the house after we were married,in fact we own 4 homes,yellow book for each.

This has to be one of most factual WRONG posts on Thaivisa ever!

As stated in posts above, the yellow book is a confirmation of adress, nothing else. You can get a yellow book for a rented house. And the yellow book is issued by amphur, NOT the landoffice.

As for having 4 yellow books, simply not true! How can you have more than one adress here?

Not even possible for Thais. Got a rental house with blue book, no name in the book, because my wifes adress is, where we actually live.

You might be happyinthailand, but if you believe what you are told by your wife/inlaws about your ownership-rights, I can tell you they are HAPPIERinthailand!

[happynthailand]

i should have said we own 4 house's in 4 different citys (towns),thus 4 books

[livinginthericepatties]

i talked to an attorney here in thailand, who said if divorced everything is split 50-50, if my wife died it all goes to me, the chanote is in my wife name, with my last name since we are married and her family would have no claim on anything.

[Jacko77]

Thanks to all, so to make a summary, as long as a foreigner is legalley maried to a Thai (man or woman) :

*In cas of divorce, if the land and house are sold, half of the worth goes to the foreigner, half to the Thai spouse, no matter if the house has been registered to the foreigner's name or not.

Now wich of the following applies :

*In case de Thai spouse dies, the foreign spouse inherits of the land and house (but he can't own the land ???).

OR :

*In case de Thai spouse dies, theire chilren inherit from this property, and the survival foreign spouse takes care of his children's assets until they reach 21 years old. But, the survival foreigner spouse cannot sell the property.

*The yellow book can stand as a proove that the foreign spoose was indeed living in the propetry and that the mariage has been consumed. The Thai spouse cannot ask the foegin spouse to leave.

*If the property is bought before wedding, the foreign spouse can ask for a usufruct.

Conclusion: a forgeiner simply lets his Thai spouse buying house and land on her/his name, and keeps a right on it in case of divorce or decease.

Is that correct ?

[simple1]

i talked to an attorney here in thailand, who said if divorced everything is split 50-50, if my wife died it all goes to me, the chanote is in my wife name, with my last name since we are married and her family would have no claim on anything.

The answer to the question 'can a foreigner inherit land in Thailand' is yes, as a statutory heir, but he cannot register ownership of the land because he will not be given permission. Under present law he must dispose of the land within a reasonable period (meaning up to 1 year) to a Thai national. If the foreigner fails to dispose of the land the Director-General of the Land Department is authorized to dispose of the land and retain a fee of 5% of the sale price before any deductions or taxes.

EDIT: For more info go to http://www.samuiforsale.com/knowledge/inheritance-laws-thailand.html

Edited November 2, 2012 by simple1

[livinginthericepatties]

^{yes, but as an amerian i can own the land and the business if over 2 million invested, i have 4 million invested from overseas money, in the business house, and another 2.1 million in land 20 miles away, which i will be building a resort on, am i worried about being divorced, i have been with my wife 16 years now, she is not a greedy person, i will split it if something happens, and if she dies i have 1 person in her family that ( and the only one in her family ) that i would trust with the properties, she lives in koh samui, her and my wifes sister have a very good business their, and she works non-stop, but when i build the resort, i will pry her away from her mom, ( or wait till her mom dies ) to run it for me, since i don't want to bother with it..i know very well, that people here are not to be trusted..wife's family #1..they have been the biggest problem for me..almost everyone else have been pretty nice, i have been here 4 1/2 years..}

[simple1]

^{yes, but as an amerian i can own the land and the business if over 2 million invested, i have 4 million invested from overseas money, in the business house, and another 2.1 million in land 20 miles away, which i will be building a resort on, am i worried about being divorced, i have been with my wife 16 years now, she is not a greedy person, i will split it if something happens, and if she dies i have 1 person in her family that ( and the only one in her family ) that i would trust with the properties, she lives in koh samui, her and my wifes sister have a very good business their, and she works non-stop, but when i build the resort, i will pry her away from her mom, ( or wait till her mom dies ) to run it for me, since i don't want to bother with it..i know very well, that people here are not to be trusted..wife's family #1..they have been the biggest problem for me..almost everyone else have been pretty nice, i have been here 4 1/2 years..}

OK, you are referring to the Treaty of Amity that provides certain advantages to American citizens. For those that are interested go to:

http://www.doingbusinessthailand.com/thailand-business/investing-in-thailand-the-us-thai-amity-treaty.html

[jbrain]

i should have said we own 4 house's in 4 different citys (towns),thus 4 books

As another poster stated already, you can not own 4 yellow books as you can have only 1 address in Thailand.

You can have 4 blue books which on the first page shows the Thai owner or a Tai company as owner.

The yellow book is solely for foreigners and only shows proof of address

[happynthailand]

you can own 4 yellow books,but you can only use 1 address,don't know why people think they know everything.

go figrure.

[Gary A]

I have a simple question. Does anyone know for sure any farang who actually got 50 percent of the marital property through the court? Yes, I know the courts have awarded the 50 percent but the court is a civil court with no power of enforcement. I would suggest that if you are going to divorce that you be very nice to her because you will get only what she voluntarily gives you. I'm not talking about the court's judgement, I'm talking about money in your hand.

[tombkk]

you can own 4 yellow books,but you can only use 1 address,don't know why people think they know everything.

go figrure.

Do you really have four yellow books? I have blue books for the properties I own, and each Jao Ban and tenant can only be in one.

I almost had a yellow book for the place where I reside but am now included in the normal blue book fot it.

Sent from my LG-P698f using Thaivisa Connect App

[transam]

you can own 4 yellow books,but you can only use 1 address,don't know why people think they know everything.

go figrure.

Do you really have four yellow books? I have blue books for the properties I own, and each Jao Ban and tenant can only be in one.

I almost had a yellow book for the place where I reside but am now included in the normal blue book fot it.

Sent from my LG-P698f using Thaivisa Connect App

Didn't think a farang could be in a blue book.

[jbrain]

you can own 4 yellow books,but you can only use 1 address,don't know why people think they know everything.

go figrure.

Maybe you should get some glasses as you have difficulties reading and probably are colorblind as well.

I said you CAN NOT own 4 YELLOW books since you can have only 1 address in Thailand,same as you can have only 1 address in your homecountry.

You CAN and will own a BLUE book for each and every house you own.

A YELLOW book has the ONLY purpose of registering the foreigners address, hence you can have only 1.A yellow book has no value at all, other then proof of address.

A BLUE book has the houseowners name on the first page, which only can be Thai, and the people who are registered at that address on the following pages.

A foreigner who is legally married with a Thai houseowner can be listed on the second page of the BLUE book.