Thai Banking System

[smithy82]

Something is not right here. This is a situation of intestacy. Oldest son or not,there are legal avenues to go through that the banks and the Scottish court will recognise. I'm not even sure that an executor is appointed from amongst the heirs. There are things like prior rights, legal rights and remaining estate.

At first glance and not having all the information, I would say it is improper for Smithy82 to be accessing his late father's bank account. If my hunch is right, then it would also be improper for anyone to advise him how to go about it.

For all we know, all the siblings (and possibly a wife) will miss out. For all we know, Smithy82 would never have been in the will had there been one. For all we know, there was a will but this Thai account was not mentioned and only Smithy82 knows about it. For all we know, S82 is just a mate of the deceased and the only person aware that there is a Thai bank account. Numerous possibilities. The bottom line is that he probably/possibly has no rights whatsoever to access the account.

The story that the solicitors could do nothing adds to my skepticism.

Just saying.

With regards to your skepticism, with the fact that there was no will when my father passed away I was legally placed as the executor to his estate. He was wasn't married and his only children were my brother and myself and with me being the eldest I was made the executor. I have all of the legal documents to prove this and was advised that there is nothing illegal with accessing the account of my deceased father. All inheritance tax has been paid through the HMRC and the only reason that this issue remains unresolved is due to my solicitors struggling to contact the kasikornbank and were unsure whether the cost of recouping the money might out way the actual value of the account as the Scottish Law Society couldn't recommend a reputable law firm in Thailand.

With that I joined this forum to see if anyone had any previous experience or suggestions and I have since instructed my solicitors to contact the Thai embassy with regards to this.

I have also had issues with the IRS in America as my father had shares through an American investment company.

This is all above board and because you don't have all of the facts I understand why things might not add up.

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

Edited February 4, 2014 by smithy82

[nithisa78]

Sincere condolences. If you can access the account internally? Perhaps you can just do an International wire transfer to the bank you want the money at. You will need the swift code of the receiving bank. Or transfer it to another Thai bank where you get more cooperation.

[cosmosis]

Hi... I would suggest the following steps:

Starting with your father's last updated Bank Book showing the balance on the account, then

1. Obtain your father's UK Death Certificate, if he died in Thailand get the Thai Death Certificate as well

2. If you still have access to your father's last Passport, obtain a copy of it.

3. Obtain copy of your own Birth Certificate (which will show your father's name) and a Copy of your own Current Passport.

4. Obtain UK Grant of Probate/Letters of Administration in your name as Executor.

5. Get all UK Documents translated into Thai by a Court Certified Translator.

6. Select a local fiduciary (Accountant/Lawyer) in the Province/Town of the Bank Account.

7. Fly over here and collect the funds yourself.

All the best... life is simple, its people who make it complicated.

[siamjimi]

I agree with the other posts - fly in and take care this yourself - bring the death certificate and a copy your fathers will and/or court documents showing you’re the sole survivor and have been granted rights to his estate. Whatever documentation you have no matter how significant or insignificant you may think it is - Thailand is a confusing state of affairs and request the oddest documentation for transactions such as this.

Make at least 2 copies of your passport and have the Embassy notarize and endorse them.

Have the embassy notarize 2 copies of the death cert as well

request an affidavit stating that you are who you say you are you are, that you are the sole receiver of his estate, that you are in possession of a valid death cert and that you have the account number and password of his bank and your specific intentions are to access his bank with the correct passcode number to draw out the funds.

You must try and get as much validation from the embassy for each document as you can

Processing time for these things is typically fairly quick

It will cost you a good amount to have all these items either notarized or affidavits (BTW - you write the affidavits yourself and the embassy notarizes them - keep the affidavits short ansd simple leaving room for broad interpretation)

If this is a large bank balance - you could simply open your own bank account - this is also an excellent solution to your dilemma - open yourself a bank account and transfer it from your dads accoutn right from just about any ATM into your account [you stated you have the passcodes - right ?] - you cannot carry over 10,000.oo Euros back into the UK

Bringing cash into the UK

If you bring €10,000 or more in cash, or the equivalent in another currency, to the UK from outside the European Union (EU) you must declare it.

Cash includes:

notes and coins

bankers’ drafts

cheques of any kind (including travellers’ cheques)

If you’re travelling as a family you need to declare cash over €10,000.

Declaring cash to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC)

1.Download and complete form C9011 ‘Cash declaration’ (PDF, 56KB) or get a copy at the port or airport.

2.Make a copy - if you fill in the form at the port or airport, it automatically makes a carbon copy, if you download and complete the form, print 2 copies.

3.Leave a copy in the drop-box at the port or airport and keep the other to show Custom Officers.

Penalties

You could face a penalty of up to £5,000 if you don’t declare your cash or give incorrect information.

[siamjimi]

Hi... I would suggest the following steps:

Starting with your father's last updated Bank Book showing the balance on the account, then

1. Obtain your father's UK Death Certificate, if he died in Thailand get the Thai Death Certificate as well

2. If you still have access to your father's last Passport, obtain a copy of it.

3. Obtain copy of your own Birth Certificate (which will show your father's name) and a Copy of your own Current Passport.

4. Obtain UK Grant of Probate/Letters of Administration in your name as Executor.

5. Get all UK Documents translated into Thai by a Court Certified Translator.

6. Select a local fiduciary (Accountant/Lawyer) in the Province/Town of the Bank Account.

7. Fly over here and collect the funds yourself.

All the best... life is simple, its people who make it complicated.

All of which is good sound advice - I would look closely at the suggestive nature of all the help responses and follow suit

[siamjimi]

Hi... I would suggest the following steps:

Starting with your father's last updated Bank Book showing the balance on the account, then

1. Obtain your father's UK Death Certificate, if he died in Thailand get the Thai Death Certificate as well

2. If you still have access to your father's last Passport, obtain a copy of it.

3. Obtain copy of your own Birth Certificate (which will show your father's name) and a Copy of your own Current Passport.

4. Obtain UK Grant of Probate/Letters of Administration in your name as Executor.

5. Get all UK Documents translated into Thai by a Court Certified Translator.

6. Select a local fiduciary (Accountant/Lawyer) in the Province/Town of the Bank Account.

7. Fly over here and collect the funds yourself.

All the best... life is simple, its people who make it complicated.

All of which is good sound advice - I would look closely at the suggestive nature of all the help responses and follow suit

I stand corrected - in order to simply transfer funds from his account to your account you would require the ATM bank card connected to his account - I apologize for my loss of sensible advise

[lucifer666]

Can't fund PP from a Thai bank account, only deposit into it.

Workaround is a virtual credit card like Kasikorn offers.

Yes you can. Both Krung Thai and Bangkok banks allow it. Don't know about other banks but these are the ones i use.

[makkam]

Smithy,

Firstly, sorry for your loss but to be honest you will have to jump through hoops! Hoops that are designed to make modest amounts of money not worth recovering.

With regards to online banking, to transfer funds or add a new Thai bank account to the transfer list requires something called a OTP (one time password) which is sent to a mobile phone! For personal banking this limit is 50'000 THB a day

Find a senior but amenable customs official and see what his/her price is.

There'll be hundreds to choose from

[wym]

Can't fund PP from a Thai bank account, only deposit into it.

Workaround is a virtual credit card like Kasikorn offers.

Yes you can. Both Krung Thai and Bangkok banks allow it. Don't know about other banks but these are the ones i use.

It's not the bank that's an issue, originally PP didn't allow it but as someone else has posted that's now changed.

[retell]

You fly in, bring in death certificate and proof of relationship

No different to any other bank

I faced the same trouble but needed death certificate ,copy of proof relation (if only you , if got more heirs ,more copy of that with sinatures also goes for copy passports), copy his passport , copy my passport signed , also document with signature village chief that states he lived there , and allot of patience , took me 6 months to get 40000 thb transferred , and they said small amount like this not so much trouble