Condo Law

[tardelli]

A good friend of mine in older age died in Thailand last year

and he still owns a condo in Thailand to his name ( foreign name)

but he is stil married on paper with an European lady ; he has a european wife with his surname

but she lives in Europe

and she want to come to Thailand totake over take the condo to her name.

we have been told here that she need a thai lawyer and go to cord to take over the condo

and it takes not less than 1 month to do it !!

is there any other example like that?

his wife says one month is long time to hang over in thailand; she cant stay one month.. is it a must to stay that long

or anyone knows shorter way.

thanks

[Delight]

Did he leave a Will ?

Edited February 4, 2013 by Delight

[tardelli]

No .. he did not leave any will ; he died suddenly by heart attact

and his wife want over take the condo to her name;

bu she wouldnt spend a month in Thailand if she doesnt have to.

she would stay more much 10 days to work it out all about ; like that.

Did he leave a Will ?

[Delight]

Given that there is no Will then a Thai Court will appoint an executor to wind up the affairs of the deceased man.

Based on what you say the wife has no legal right to live in Thailand -therefore if the Judge decides to award the condo to her she can only legally own it if she initially 'buys ' the condo.

The net proceeds from the sale will go to the estate of the deceased.She must pay the appraised price.She has to pay all transfer charges.

She will probably be able to repatriate the monies and she will then have the condo in her name.

If the court awards the condo to her and she does not 'buy' it then she has 1 year to sell it. If this does not happen within the year then the Land office will force a sale.

Your friend needs a lot time and lots of money to carry through .this process.i.e to aquire the condo in her name

Has her Lawyer explained the difficulties involved?

[cheeryble]

This is not about condo law it is about inheritance of property.

You could have any number of complications like alternative inheritors.......or at least a time allowance (quite proper too!) for alternative inheritors to claim.

Tell the lady not to hold her breath.

The best option might be for her to sell her claim to someone (yourself?) who trusts he knows the situation fully.

[Delight]

This is not about condo law it is about inheritance of property.

If you are of the opinion that the condo act has no bearing on the OP's question -then I suggest that you read Section 19 of the act -or follow this link.

http://www.samuifors...nheritance.html

[cheeryble]

This is not about condo law it is about inheritance of property.

If you are of the opinion that the condo act has no bearing on the OP's question -then I suggest that you read Section 19 of the act -or follow this link.

http://www.samuifors...nheritance.html

The OP seems to be saying the inheritress merely wishes to inherit and dispose of the condo.

She is certainly allowed to dispose of it under condo law.....it is only a question of if she first inherits, which I believe is irrespective of condo law.

Edited February 4, 2013 by cheeryble

[Delight]

This is not about condo law it is about inheritance of property.

If you are of the opinion that the condo act has no bearing on the OP's question -then I suggest that you read Section 19 of the act -or follow this link.

http://www.samuifors...nheritance.html

The OP seems to be saying the inheritress merely wishes to inherit and dispose of the condo.

Question for the O.P.

Does the wife simply wish to dispose of the property?

If so ,as cheerybie implies, the process,I think , is much simpler.

Edited February 5, 2013 by Delight

[cheeryble]

Perhaps I was pre-emptive in my assumption......but the way she seemed to want to be come and gone in a month hardly suggests she's interested in hanging around.

[Delight]

Perhaps I was pre-emptive in my assumption......but the way she seemed to want to be come and gone in a month hardly suggests she's interested in hanging around.

You may be reading it incorrectly.

However ,if you are correct it may be that she does not have to visit Thailand at all.

Perhaps she can bestow power of attorney to Tardelli.

If this occurs -then it is likely that the case and events following the judgement could go on for some period of time.

Suspect she will have to visit Thailand ,at some point, to sort out the money.

I think that she should state her motives.

[ThaiLawOnline]

It is a case of inheritance. When a person dies in Thailand without a Will, (and even with a Will) you must go to Court and appoint an administrator of the estate (executor). If there would be a Will, you do a process similar to a probate in Common law.

To do so, the lady must appoint a Thai lawyer and give evidence of the relationship with the death person. All documents in Thai Court must be given in Thai and evidence of the family relationship is given by foreign documents, stamped at their embassy, translated in Thai and legalized at the ministry of foreign affairs in Bangkok.

She can appoint a lawyer with a lawyer's appointement and a copy of her passport. She does not have to travel to start the process.

In Thailand, there are 6 ranks of heirs under the law. A kind of family tree is requested by the court and evidence of that must be presented.

Normally, for the trial, she must be present. Remember that the plaintiff in a petition has the burden of proof. I doubt it will be contested but in all the cases we did, and I was told by all our Thai attorneys that the petitioner, must be there to testify. It will be short, maybe just half a day, especially if not contested but there is a small trial and evidence must be shown to court,

The court will appoint an administrator of the estate (executor) and this person (or her or his lawyer) can go at the land department to transfer or sale the condominium. We have done many cases with properties, given to Thais (easy) or foreigners (there are rules to follow, more complex, sell or transfer) but I can't remember a condo from a foreigner to another foreigner. My guess is she will have the right to put it under her name, or sell it, or transfer it. But I might be wrong about the first option.

It is important to know if he has children or not. And about his parents, if they are still alive.

Delay in court is about 2 months. But make it 3 for Songkran, getting documents, starting the process, etc.