Death Of A British Citizen In Thailand

[Beetlejuice]

Although there maybe those with all the best intentions in the world, there are and are going to be many elderly ex-pats, perhaps suffering from ill health or dementia in Thailand that are vulnerable to deception and exploitation from those who would take advantage of them. Especially these days as so many are retiring here now.

There are still the legal aspects to take into consideration, plus the wishes of each individual concerned, if for one reason or another become incapable of handling their own affairs, either later on in life or what should happen upon they’re death.

My advice is, that if you are an ex-pat, no matter what your age, who has lost contact with relatives in the home country and living alone in Thailand, is to make a last will and testament with a well trusted friend or a reputable lawyer, both a Thai and English version and to make the friend or the lawyer the executor of the estate. To find a reputable lawyer, visit your embassy or consulate that will have a list of recommended Thai lawyers in their files.

Also as morbid as this may sound, plan your funeral, as to how and where and include those instructions within the will, providing of course that the funds are there to meet the costs.

I already have a family here, but have still made all my funeral preferences absolutely crystal to my family if in the event of my death.

On the other hand if some have no concerns as to what happens to them or their assets after they depart this world, than fair enough, but if you do care, it`s as I have mentioned above.

[BigJohnnyBKK]

On the other hand if some have no concerns as to what happens to them or their assets after they depart this world, than fair enough, but if you do care, it`s as I have mentioned above.

I would say not "fair enough", most clearly unfair to leave the burden of sorting out your affairs to people that haven't explicitly agreed to do so, and even more so in the absence of any guidance as to what to do, and triply so without access to the necessary resources to do without their having to rely on the charity of others or their tax dolllars.

I personally wouldn't want my ignorance and selfishness to be the two qualities I'm most strongly remembered for when I pass. . .

[oldsailor35]

Dear wordchild we are not going to try to take money from his account but as said the money we have collected is fast running out so who will pay the Britsh Embassy, I really don,t think so.His long term girlfriend will need to go to court to get his assets as thet weren't legally married

Why should his girlfriend be allowed to take a dead man's money,incredible!How can you make such an outrageous statement?

You also want to cremate him without allowing the British Embassy to see if he has next of kin,to repatriate his remains to?

This story stinks,there is something very wrong going on here!

Well, i don't know about Thailand or the UK., but when a friend died in Australia leaving a long term partner (de-facto wife) and no other dependants, she was legally entitled to everything that he left.

[oldsailor35]

I dealt with the death of a fellow Brit last year, cant for the life of me see where you get anywhere near a 70k bill ??? for what ??

Inform the Embassy, inform the local Police a death has occurred. Keep the body in an appropriate place until further WRITTEN instructions from the British Embassy or consulate official. DO NOT make any attempt to dispose of the remains until directed to do so or you will be in serious trouble.

We have done that but our friend has been with us for over 8 years and always told us he doesn't have any living relatives the bill has come from over 6 weeks in a very expensive hospital and the temple and coffin and funeral costs. Don't shoot the messenger I get my info from my boss.

Six weeks in hospital and no provision for his assets ?

[oldsailor35]

I dealt with the death of a fellow Brit last year, cant for the life of me see where you get anywhere near a 70k bill ??? for what ??

Inform the Embassy, inform the local Police a death has occurred. Keep the body in an appropriate place until further WRITTEN instructions from the British Embassy or consulate official. DO NOT make any attempt to dispose of the remains until directed to do so or you will be in serious trouble.

We have done that but our friend has been with us for over 8 years and always told us he doesn't have any living relatives the bill has come from over 6 weeks in a very expensive hospital and the temple and coffin and funeral costs. Don't shoot the messenger I get my info from my boss.

I'm very sorry about your friend, and about your loss and his girlfriend's loss.

Banking laws are similar throughout the civilized world so that banks can do international business with each other. Withdrawing money from an ATM is the same as writing a check or a withdrawal slip on the account. It must be done by someone who's authorized on the account. Anything else by someone else and especially after the owner is deceased would be fraud. It could be nothing other than someone pretending to be that owner when in fact he has passed!

The same would be for signing over the papers to a car. It would have to be a forgery, easily proven because the owner is deceased!

There are laws in every civilized country which dictate what happens when someone dies without a will. Also, how is it to be known that he didn't leave a will with an attorney or someone, and if so in what country? Would it be valid in LOS?

I say outright that I have no heirs and no family. I will always say that even to my children who are grown, living in the US, but who are drunks and drug abusers and have stolen from me! I disown them and I will tell you I have no remaining family. But under the law if I didn't have a will, my assets would go to my (former) children!

Don't just jump in and take matters into your own hands. Don't touch the money or the vehicle. It's a matter of law what happens to that and you could wind up in jail.

Finally, I don't understand why you believe you are responsible for that man's debts. I don't know Thai law on how debts get settled, but in most civilized countries creditors place a claim against the estate. I just don't know about that one.

Be careful, and again I'm sorry for your loss.

Thank you,but no debts and he was alone in life, no kids or anyone. I happens to a few of us

"Alone in life, no debts, no kids or anyone"................so where does the long term g/f come into it ?

[BigJohnnyBKK]

Well, i don't know about Thailand or the UK., but when a friend died in Australia leaving a long term partner (de-facto wife) and no other dependants, she was legally entitled to everything that he left.

Different jurisdiction - Australia's had very liberal definitions of the legal rights of de-facto partners for a long time.

[cheechoo]

i dont see how the parents would have no problems leaing the substantial amount after expenses to the gf. enuff so that she be ok foe a while. What kind of people are those parents. Seems like very nice people. who made the decision the gf gets the donations?

id be asking for a freaking refund. or @ least give the money to mallet.s twins.......lol.

[oldsailor35]

Hey guys, don't "knock" the Brit embassy in general. About 8 years ago i was robbed in Amsterdam. Wallet,money, passport Easy Jet tkt back to Luton all gone. Travelling on an Aussie passport i contacted the Aussie embassy who really could'nt be bothered, telling me to get to the Hague (no money) tomorrow !

In desperation i went to the Brit Consul, telling them that i had a Brit passport(which i had never used), but it was in the UK ! They took my particulars to check with Brit high commission in Canberra and told me to 'go away for a couple of hrs and have a coffee' but i said that with no money, i would wait there. They then gave me money and told me to be back by 4 pm. When i got back they gave me an envelope containing a letter for immigration and a ticket on the early evening flight with Easy Jet back to Luton. One problem when i got there, the "nice" man in a turban refused to let me get my car from the security compound mumbling something about "foreign tourists from Aust ., NZ., and S. Africa always messing up. Having served in Brit forces in Korea and Malaysia I felt like knocking his bloody his bloody turban off, but then along came his boss, an ex regimental sergeant major, we had a chat and i was on my way in a short while. Although "jobsworth" in the turban was'nt too happy.

So don't all Brit embassies and Consuls.

[mallet36]

i dont see how the parents would have no problems leaing the substantial amount after expenses to the gf. enuff so that she be ok foe a while. What kind of people are those parents. Seems like very nice people. who made the decision the gf gets the donations?

id be asking for a freaking refund. or @ least give the money to mallet.s twins.......lol.

See you next tuesday still not get it I think you have to be a native English speaker to understand Google it

[scorecard]

I dealt with the death of a fellow Brit last year, cant for the life of me see where you get anywhere near a 70k bill ??? for what ??

Inform the Embassy, inform the local Police a death has occurred. Keep the body in an appropriate place until further WRITTEN instructions from the British Embassy or consulate official. DO NOT make any attempt to dispose of the remains until directed to do so or you will be in serious trouble.

We have done that but our friend has been with us for over 8 years and always told us he doesn't have any living relatives the bill has come from over 6 weeks in a very expensive hospital and the temple and coffin and funeral costs. Don't shoot the messenger I get my info from my boss.

Six weeks in hospital and no provision for his assets ?

On the surface a good point. On the other hand I know a farang in Pattaya, been there probably 15 years, by his choice he has no contact with his wealthy family abroad, and they don't do know him because of his lifestyle. He has no wife or previous wife anywhere in the world and no kids anywhere, and he has no Thai wife, gf, etc. He spends most of his free time helping at two orphanages here in Thailand and he gives them a lot of cash / food / clothing etc., and supports better education for several kids.

The farang concerned (older guy) has numerous luxury house properties here (houses in several shell company names, none of which has been kept up to date) and numerous condos, also several luxury house properties and additional land in two western countries, plus an upmarket apartment building in one country, also 2 expensive cars in Thailand, and big money in Thai banks and in several other countries, overall this guys asssets are worth probably at least US$70 - 80million. Also has a severe heart condition and often forgets to take his medication.

He regularly tells people he doesn't care what happens when he dies and says openly that he has no will anywhere. His friends have pleaded with him to make a will, and to make some provision for his funeral etc etc. Friends have tried many times to get him to make a will to just leave everything to the orphanages. He's a very very stubborn guy, he totally refuses to listen.

[taninthai]

That's not being stubborn it's pure stupidity

[tongoy]

Dear wordchild we are not going to try to take money from his account but as said the money we have collected is fast running out so who will pay the Britsh Embassy, I really don,t think so.His long term girlfriend will need to go to court to get his assets as thet weren't legally married

Why should his girlfriend be allowed to take a dead man's money,incredible!How can you make such an outrageous statement?

You also want to cremate him without allowing the British Embassy to see if he has next of kin,to repatriate his remains to?

This story stinks,there is something very wrong going on here!

Dear wordchild we are not going to try to take money from his account but as said the money we have collected is fast running out so who will pay the Britsh Embassy, I really don,t think so.His long term girlfriend will need to go to court to get his assets as thet weren't legally married

Why should his girlfriend be allowed to take a dead man's money,incredible!How can you make such an outrageous statement?

You also want to cremate him without allowing the British Embassy to see if he has next of kin,to repatriate his remains to?

This story stinks,there is something very wrong going on here!

I agree... sounds like a typical Thai story.... money.. money .. money... no realitves! I can't believe this!.. the "lovely" Thai lady took "care" of him all the years and now this ppor guy forgot to give her the pin number... anybody here who could

hack the number that this "lovely lady" could get for what she has worked all the years?

They have to do what the Embassy told them. That's it!

[BWPattaya]

As he was British, and 67 years old, he would have been receiving a UK State Pension. The British Embassy do not notify the DWP of his death so they need to be informed.

In about 1998 I was contacted by a lawyer about the death of someone who had died. He was over 90 years old. He had no family. The lawyers traced back through his family tree, right through to his grandfather then to the grandfather's brothers and sisters and their descendants. Eventually my father's name was linked to him, and thus my father's descendants, so I inherited my share. What I am saying is that your friend may not have had any known family but the laws of inheritance in the UK are there.

There is no need for you to be paying any bills. The British Embassy staff will be able to pay using his money in his bank account. They are in a position to arrange this legally with his bank.

I hope this is all useful.

[BWPattaya]

If the Embassy say that you can't do this then you must stop the cremation.

Last year I dealt with the deaths of two British citizens. The wat will not perform the cremation without checking the paperwork first. Death certificate from the hospital, letter from British Embassy etc. Again, act on the instructions from the embassy.

[Tanaka]

The OP claims that the estate owns the "expensive hospital" 70.000B yet he claims in another post that there are no debts! Furthermore the deceased is said to have stayed in said hospital for six weeks, the later in private ward costing 5.000B a day. The numbers just do not add up. And the deceased did not give the pin code to his atm card to his "boss"! Why on earth should he have done that? If anything he may have shared it with his longtime gf. And the hospital released the foreigner's body to whom and on what authority? I think the op was a troll.

[BigJohnnyBKK]

I think the op was a troll.

Or perhaps in the original sense, fishing for information planning for contingencies.

[BwindiBoy]

Dear wordchild we are not going to try to take money from his account but as said the money we have collected is fast running out so who will pay the Britsh Embassy, I really don,t think so.His long term girlfriend will need to go to court to get his assets as thet weren't legally married

Why should his girlfriend be allowed to take a dead man's money,incredible!How can you make such an outrageous statement?

You also want to cremate him without allowing the British Embassy to see if he has next of kin,to repatriate his remains to?

This story stinks,there is something very wrong going on here!

Calm down. From where I'm sitting it looks like a very good friend is just trying to take care of his dead mate. Good on him for that.

[Arkady]

Dear wordchild we are not going to try to take money from his account but as said the money we have collected is fast running out so who will pay the Britsh Embassy, I really don,t think so.His long term girlfriend will need to go to court to get his assets as thet weren't legally married

good to hear! BTW why would his girlfriend (longterm or not) have any right to his assets? This kind of situation is full of risk and best left to the embassy to sort out,very likely he will turn out to have had relatives in the UK just never talked about them.

I am afraid the girlfriend has no legal claim to his assets, if he didn't leave a will that names her as an heir. Any blood relation, however distant, has a prior claim, if he died intestate. If no relatives can be found, the state will claim his assets.

[bkk_mike]

The Embassy will need to establish/contact the legal next of kin & take their instructions before issuing the appropriate documentation.

Applicable link(s):

http://ukinthailand....if-someone-dies

HTH

He has no family, we are it our school

Legal next of kin in the UK can extend to first cousins for inheritance purposes. I'd assume it's the same for seeking permission.

i.e. unless his parents were also only children, there's a decent chance that he has legal next of kin. Even if it's family that he never had any contact with.