Wills

[DavidOxon]

Hi

A friend of mine, who is getting on a bit in years, has asked me to 'take care' of stuff

after he shuffles off his mortal coil. Can anyone recommend a will writing service I can point him in the general direction of?

Thanks

Not sure if it has to be in Thai or English... It's just for the Thai part of his stuff, British side is already covered.

D

[chiang mai]

Kuhn Sumalee at 29 Tanin is excellent, her English language equally so, her office is on the ground floor of the Punna Condo building on Hauy Keow road, before CMU - cost to write the will is around THB 5k. Sumalee is one of the better lawyers in CM and very highly regarded. 08118824311 or 053142366.

Edited May 12, 2014 by chiang mai

[elgordo38]

I asked Siam Legal about a hand drawn simple will in English and they said it was legal. It must be dated and signed and name printed by 2 witnesses. You can get a reasonably priced English to Thai translation at the YMCA desk go through the front door turn left. Last I heard they charged 300 bahts a page. There was also a will form posted on TV about a month ago where you just had to fill in the blanks. It was posted in English and Thai

[amexpat]

The thing is, when it's your own will you will never know if it is executed as you wished.

I'd like to get feedback from people who have seen the results of wills made by lawyers, amphur fill in the blanks, etc.

[northernjohn]

A friend wrote his own will had it notarized at the American Conciliate it was in English. No problem. She received all the possessions he had . There was a lot more cash in America which he had done legally over there and had his son handling the estate there. He had put it in a trust for her. she also had access to his bank account here.

I will do the same here not that I feel it is necessary as what is mine is hers and my bank account is a joint one so there is no trouble there. This has worked for several years now. The money invested in Canada has her as the receiver of the cash and my boy has power of attorney in the case of my demise.

Edited May 12, 2014 by northernjohn

[amexpat]

Thanks for telling about the self-written will.

Anyone else?

[beau thai]

A friend wrote his own will had it notarized at the American Conciliate it was in English. No problem. She received all the possessions he had . There was a lot more cash in America which he had done legally over there and had his son handling the estate there. He had put it in a trust for her. she also had access to his bank account here.

I will do the same here not that I feel it is necessary as what is mine is hers and my bank account is a joint one so there is no trouble there. This has worked for several years now. The money invested in Canada has her as the receiver of the cash and my boy has power of attorney in the case of my demise.

All looks neat but surely your power of attorney finishes when you finish? They are only legal in your lifetime.

thought you had to appoint someone as executor in a properly drawn up Will if you want them to deal with your affairs after death. But maybe I am wrong....

[chiang mai]

The Amphur Will route seems popular because it's free, but it only seems suitable for simple wills and not complex ones. Essentially, you write the will and deposit it at the Amphur where it is sealed and witnessed as being sealed and a reciept issued, I believe there is a process of the will package being signed by the beneficiary which is then matched when the reciept is presented after death. I'm uncertain about the precise mechanics of the process but there are entire threads on this subject which can be easily found on this forum.

[northernjohn]

A friend wrote his own will had it notarized at the American Conciliate it was in English. No problem. She received all the possessions he had . There was a lot more cash in America which he had done legally over there and had his son handling the estate there. He had put it in a trust for her. she also had access to his bank account here.

I will do the same here not that I feel it is necessary as what is mine is hers and my bank account is a joint one so there is no trouble there. This has worked for several years now. The money invested in Canada has her as the receiver of the cash and my boy has power of attorney in the case of my demise.

All looks neat but surely your power of attorney finishes when you finish? They are only legal in your lifetime.

thought you had to appoint someone as executor in a properly drawn up Will if you want them to deal with your affairs after death. But maybe I am wrong....

No you are probably rite. I listed her as the receiver of the money and signed some papers naming my son as the one who would be handling the cash. Not really sure of the legal terms or conditions but they are OK with it.

[Oryx816]

Kuhn Sumalee at 29 Tanin is excellent, her English language equally so, her office is on the ground floor of the Punna Condo building on Hauy Keow road, before CMU - cost to write the will is around THB 5k. Sumalee is one of the better lawyers in CM and very highly regarded. 08118824311 or 053142366.

I second this recommendation emphatically. Sumalee is smart, thorough, and a straight shooter both as a lawyer and a friend. Her English is superb.

Edited May 16, 2014 by Oryx816

[CharlesHH]

I have never met a Thai-citizen lawyer, or really any professional here, who is not mostly working for himself and not his client. This goes for property agents pushing specific items which benefit them, doctors prescribing meds from their own hospital which they know costs twice as much as at a good pharmacy, and then there are govt workers. A known scam is for a private investigator to contact the person he is paid to report about and saying if the target person will pay more than his client, he will report nothing, then takes that hush money and a fee from his client, too.

Sad to say this, but I have seen it with my own eyes. I trust no one now days.