Divorce during the current troubles

[LemmyDude]

Hi,

I am planning on getting a divorce from my Thai wife this April.

We both currently live in the UK and she has indefinite leave to remain so she won't get kicked out of the UK afterwards.

We have been married for 6 years but have now decided that we no longer want to be together.

We have both agreed to get a divorce and will do it by mutual consent.

We got married at an amphur in Bangkok and we are planning to go to Thailand in April to sign the documents etc.

Do you think we will have any problems doing this in April? i.e. do we need to worry about the current political situation or are all government offices running as normal?

I know it is the Thai New year on the 13th-15th April so we would be looking at going to the amphur during the week before.

[Mario2008]

Who knows what the situation will be in April.

But you can get a divorce at any Thai amphur, so one should be open to accommodate you without a problem.

At the time of registering the divorce you can enter any agreement you two have made into the records, with that it will be a binding contract. If no property to divide and no children it becomes less important.

[benalibina]

Good to read she is willing to divorce you in thailand....hope she does not change her mind.

[wym]

Actually with an amicable negotiated settlement, doesn't matter that much WHERE you do it.

In fact doing it in Thailand could still leave some possible complications down the road if you are both staying in the UK if things go bad down the road, possible for her to revisit the terms - if she had money to lawyer up.

So no children involved?

Clean and clear-cut division of assets or anything remaining as shared? Are the properties being divided here or there or mixed between?

Have you agreed to pay her any kind of ongoing alimony or other support?

Congratulations on "doing it right" so far, this situation can often be as or more stressful than illness even death of close family when it gets nasty. . .

Edited February 19, 2014 by wym

[Gutterboy]

Have just done the same thing with no problem. If you return to the same Amphur it should be easy, if it's a different Amphur then some will require a certified copy of your passport. This is not currently possible in Bangkok but easy to do in Chiang Mai (contact one of the translators next to the British Embassy).

Probably best to contact the Amphur first and double check what documents they require.

Also as a previous poster said, it will make the process easier if you have already decided who gets what!

Good luck!

[cms22]

I speak from experience. I got divorced from my Thai wife nearly a decade ago, and after talking to divorce lawyers in London we got divorced in the UK, and I'm glad we did.

The bottom line.... It doesn't matter where you get divorced. In my advice you should get divorced in the UK. The Thai system acknowledges all facets of a UK divorce but it is not necessarily the case the other way round (and I remember being told this by the lawyer).

You need to be very careful about getting divorced in Thailand because the same rules do not apply.

That's my advice.

Good luck

C

[Mario2008]

A divorce in Thailand is fully recognised in the UK.

What can be a problem is the splitting of assets. A UK-court might find that he settlement in Thailand is not according to UK-law. In particular if the other spouse is left out in the cold this might be a problem. But normally only if a large amount of money is involved will this play a role.

[belg]

funny, going onto your last holliday to go get divorced..

maybe you can find new love there and bring her on the way back

[BudRight]

Your wife says it's fine.

[louse1953]

A divorce in Thailand is fully recognised in the UK.

What can be a problem is the splitting of assets. A UK-court might find that he settlement in Thailand is not according to UK-law. In particular if the other spouse is left out in the cold this might be a problem. But normally only if a large amount of money is involved will this play a role.

If she hasn't been advised of her rights,by her lawyer,this can come back at a later date.She can't sign away her rights.Your lawyer will tell you this.Other women will be in her shell like.

[wym]

Actually on the topic of her being fully informed, the fact that she's coming back to her home country will be very much in his favor.

It's only if a judge back home thinks that the Thai court system is so unfair as to be in violation of basic human (women's) rights that there would be a problem wrt Thai assets.

For child custody, much higher standards and strong rights remain with the mother no matter what.

For UK assets, I would suspect a separate mutual agreement - perhaps even just a simple contract - would be a good idea executed in the UK with the help of a UK lawyer, and registered along with the Thai divorce terms with the UK family court when you both return.

It would be helpful if the OP would answer the questions here

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/705615-divorce-during-the-current-troubles/?p=7462004

[fatdrunkandstupid]

Just make sure you have a waterproof cover for your documents.

[LemmyDude]

Hi all. Thanks for all of your replies.

We have both decided to go ahead with the divorce and will fly to Bangkok to do it.

We don't have any children and my wife has told me she doesn't want any money from me.

She says that she just wants to be free.

So I think the divorce should be quite straightforward really.

I am a little bit scared about being single again after being so close to someone for 6 years. But I don't want to force someone to stay with me if they don't want to.

Thanks again for your messages.