Making a will in thailand

[malcolminthemiddle]

Has any one any experience of making a Will here in Thailand to cover Thai Assets? Is it best to use a Lawyer? Is there a standard accepted format? Any comments appreciated.

[caughtintheact]

Malcolm,

As best I can determine, after a brief discussion with a lawyer, you will probably need to have an executor here and one in each country where you have assets (depending on whether the assets in each country are sizeable or notm and the ease of making distribution), as this will probably reduce the costs to the estate.  I am not saying this is gospel.  As to whether or not you should consult a lawyer, a lawyer will tell you yes, to make sure that the will is in accordance with Thai law.  No I am not a lawyer.  But I will recommend the only lawyer I know that I can trust:  Ron Cristal, Bangkok Legal Associates, 17th Floot, ITF Tower II Silom Road 02-231-6201. His bio is at http://www.aseanfocus.com/contactus/team-other.asp.  He became a Thai citizen a few years ago, and is originally American. His services are not inexpensive, but he is trustworthy.

[Dah fahrang]

Depends on your assets!

My wife made a straightforward will (pi nai gam) at Christmas, leaving our Thai assets (house, bank accounts, the lot) to our daughter (dual British/Thai national). It only cost 200 Baht, and was done at the local amphur in one hour.

Check with your local amphur first, before going to the possibly unecessary expense of using a lawyer.

Be aware that without a will, Thai probate means assets have a complex way of being split amongst offspring, and often include mothers in law!

And the 30 day rule of subsequent inheritance widely practiced in other countries does not exist in Thailand!

[Eneukman]

I deal with the administration of executries and this question can be quite complex. Generally speaking, it is best as has already been stated to have seperate Wills dealing with estate in each country where you have assets. Personally, I would always recommend getting a Will checked by a solicitor as this should avoid any problems in the future.

I cannot comment on Thai Law, but if you have assets in the UK, the Will dealing with your UK assets MUST be valid under the laws of the county in which you are domiciled. Domicile is extremely complex and is most definitely should NOT be confused with residence. It is possible to be resident in one country and domiciled in another. If you were born in the UK, to change your domicile to Thai obvioulsy involves moving to Thailand to live and ideally selling your home in the UK. Also you must have the intention of remaining in Thailand and never returning to the UK to live. Visits to family for holidays etc are ok. Therefore, if you are domiciled in Thailand, your Will dealing with UK assets will have to be valid under Thai Law. One way round this is to actually SIGN your Will dealing with your UK assets in the UK.

If you are updating either of your Wills, be very careful that you don't inadvertently revoke one of your other Wills. If you do a new Will in Thailand, send a translation of it to whoever holds your UK Will and ask them to confirm that it is still valid. I have actually seen a UK Will revoked in error before!

Retaining a residence in the UK would almost certainly suggest to the tax authorities that you intend returning to the UK to live and you will be deemed to have retained your UK domicile.

One other point to bear in mind is that if you are domiciled in Thailand, only your UK estate will be liable to Inheritance Tax but there is a restriction in the amount that can be passed free of tax to your husband/wife. Currently, this is £55,000 in addition to the nil rate band of £255,000. The excess will be taxed at 40%.

Hope this helps but if you have any specific questions e-mail them to me at [email protected].

Alan

[fester]

Are there "standard" wills in English+Thai available?

[Eneukman]

Don't know about Thailand, Fester though there are "standard" English styles available in the UK. I hate these as these are based on English Law whilst I deal mainly with Scots Law which has some major differences when it comes to dealing with Wills and so on.

My own view is that if you estate in Thailand and the UK or elsewhere, you really do need appropriate legal advice in BOTH countries ....... if for no other reason than you will make MY job a lot easier  .

Seriously though, I once dealt with a case where a guy did the exact opposite of what he was told and it gave me no end of grief trying to sort out the ensuing mess! I succeeded in the end though, more by good fortune than anything else.

Alan

[p1p]

I recently had to make a new will and set up/vary assorted trusts etc. My Thai lawyers advised me that I should have all documents prepared in the UK to be correct under English laws and then have them translated into Thai to be registered here. It is possible to sign and witness legal documents in the British Embassy/Consulate as this is effectively British soil. I have executors in Thailand for Thai assets and in the UK for British assets and all was quite simple to set up and very inexpensive in British terms.

I am fully domiciled here in Thailand.