When you thai'ed-the-knot did you bother paying for a pre-nup?

[uhhh ohhh]

I got half my house back here after our divorce, no problem, no prenup. She tried to get my stuff in Amerika, but I put everything in a trust before I married her, haha.

Per the discussion, I'm curious how would she get anything you had in America assuming the divorce was in Thailand? Was she a citizen? Did she have a Green Card? Did you buy something there with her? To get anything, I believe she would have to go through an American court. Were you married in America or Thailand?

I'm not being argumentative........just trying to improve upon my limited knowledge!

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

TallGuy....

You make good points....especially regarding the different "State" laws in the U.S. In regards to the other post where it was mentioned the Thai wife got 1/2 the assets through the American courts there could be a number of scenarios. Maybe a long marriage involving children....or just a long marriage? Maybe she became a citizen or obtained a Green Card? Maybe they were married in that state and he obviously didn't have a pre-nup? Maybe they opened a business together? Maybe a quirky thing in a certain state law? I'm sure there are other scenarios but these are top of mind to me.

Yes, divorce being a state law issue is perhaps where some folks have the potential to get into trouble.

While a lot of U.S. states are straight community property law states, which pretty much mirrors Thailand law, there are other states that give the family court judges more leeway to adjust the divorce division of assets -- based on the particular circumstances of the case.

So, I'm not saying that the above scenario could not happen -- just that it shouldn't be portrayed as the normal situation where every guy getting divorced should expect to surrender half of their pre-marital assets. That's certainly not the case under Thai family law. And it equally isn't the case in the various U.S. community property states, which include California and Texas, among others.

Re your quoted comment above, AFAIK, a Thai wife's U.S. citizenship status or green card status should have zero impact on what share of assets she would be legally entitled to in a divorce. It could, however, obviously impact her ability to be physically present in the U.S. to pursue a divorce legal action in some state court.

[bonobo]

Having been burned pretty badly in my previous marriage (I thought the law was the law. My ex did not, and it cost us both in the six figures in legal fees to show her the law was in fact the law) I opted for a pre-nupt for my Thai marriage. It wasn't very in-depth, giving her any family property coming to her (a couple of farms and homes) and a car I bought her while leaving all US property and investment accounts to me. I hope it never comes up, but regardless, it does offer peace of mind.

[In Search of Space]

Yes I did and the cost is insignificant. Basically what you brought into the marriage you can take out. What you accumulated during the marriage is 50:50. Personally I believe a pre-nup can lower the risk of a divorce especially where family get their teeth into the relationship but each to his/her own. The Thai pre-nup is very simple but must be registered at the same time as the marriage.

My friend got divorced recently and got half his house/10 rai of land. He also got court fees reimbursed. He said that it would never have happened without the pre nup. Actually, he is the first that I have ever known to get the full 50% on divorce. Sadly, he died just after the verdict. Be very careful with Thai women, especially Isarnese ones.

Be careful with all of them, mines from Bangkok and seems to think that she is entitled to everything we own in Thailand and 50 % of what we own in the UK. Everything acquired during the 26 year marriage and she has gone greedy and insane !

So perhaps a pre-nup is worth it

[jinners]

What i heard is that assets you had before marriage stay yours and only what is acquired during the marriage is 50 / 50. Maybe someone more knowledgeable about this as me can correct me if im wrong.

I had a friend whose wife divorced him through the courts in America and she got half his assets. Thai women are very smart. Do you really think they fall in love with old Hank from Houston or old Helmut from Hamburg?

What has this to do with my post ?

I agree with you but it makes no sense as an answer on my post.

what did you expect? It's TV, get ready for more vitriol, sarcasm and a heavy dose of cynicism. I'd suggest getting a pre-nup

[inzman]

I got half my house back here after our divorce, no problem, no prenup. She tried to get my stuff in Amerika, but I put everything in a trust before I married her, haha.

Per the discussion, I'm curious how would she get anything you had in America assuming the divorce was in Thailand? Was she a citizen? Did she have a Green Card? Did you buy something there with her? To get anything, I believe she would have to go through an American court. Were you married in America or Thailand?

I'm not being argumentative........just trying to improve upon my limited knowledge!

Got married and divorced in USA. Worst mistake was taking her to California. She became greedy. Thank god I put my house there and money in a trust

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Having been burned pretty badly in my previous marriage (I thought the law was the law. My ex did not, and it cost us both in the six figures in legal fees to show her the law was in fact the law) I opted for a pre-nupt for my Thai marriage. It wasn't very in-depth, giving her any family property coming to her (a couple of farms and homes) and a car I bought her while leaving all US property and investment accounts to me. I hope it never comes up, but regardless, it does offer peace of mind.

AFAIK, under Thai family law, it specifically says that family inheritances received during a marriage are considered individual (non-marital) property for both the husband and the wife. That's one exclusion to the general notion of assets acquired during marriage being shared marital property.

Edited June 2, 2014 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I got half my house back here after our divorce, no problem, no prenup. She tried to get my stuff in Amerika, but I put everything in a trust before I married her, haha.

Per the discussion, I'm curious how would she get anything you had in America assuming the divorce was in Thailand? Was she a citizen? Did she have a Green Card? Did you buy something there with her? To get anything, I believe she would have to go through an American court. Were you married in America or Thailand?

I'm not being argumentative........just trying to improve upon my limited knowledge!

Got married and divorced in USA. Worst mistake was taking her to California. She became greedy. Thank god I put my house there and money in a trust

In terms of the law governing division of property in a divorce, AFAIK, it does NOT matter in which country you were originally married.

It DOES matter in which country a divorce proceeding is filed.

If filed in Thailand, Thai family law applies. If filed in the U.S., the family law of the state where the filing is made applies, regardless of if the original marriage was in the U.S. or elsewhere.

Under California law, generally, a wife in divorce shouldn't be entitled to the man's assets as they existed prior to the marriage. Just half of those acquired during the marriage.

[davidmann]

what ever money you take to Thailand expect to loose it all ,

[peterb17]

Weird- seems a pre-nup is completed on the assumption that you will divorce in the future( which seems to happen in a fair proportion of marriages) not exactly the best start to a marriage ?

So do you do one? Depends how much you love money?

[SunsetT]

Not just divorce, what about when one dies? Does anyone know if a Thai wife is legally entitled to inherit one's home country (UK) property and assets? Can this be negated in a will? I have no children or dependants in the UK.

[Gimbo]

Thank god I did not. She's got more money than I have...

[Mudcrab]

what ever money you take to Thailand expect to loose it all ,

Why? Please expand on this comment?

[HughJass]

don't be a sucker...if she or you feel the need for that outdated ceremony then just have a village wedding without registering at the local ampur..that way the family are happy and in the event u split up she has no right to anything you own...up 2 u if u want to build a house on her land but better to rent or buy a condo in your own name beforehand

[Max in Udon]

After legally marrying a young Thai girl, I bought a new house. At the time of purchase the real estate agent handling the purchase made papers in English and Thai, signed by myself, my wife, himself, and a witness from the office, and my signature on the back of the chanot at the land office. A few months later, we got legally divorced. Wife took everything that I had bought for her on a personal basis, including a new motor cycle. I kept the house, continued to live in it, and 2 years later I sold the house, keeping 100% of the money. Other Thai g/f's and wives in the village did not like me, as they were worried that I might tell their husbands / b/f's how I did it. I have moved on since, and have bought and sold houses on 2 occasions. Now I own 3 houses, have the chanots and blue books, but no Thai woman has her name on the papers or in the blue books. I can sell, gift, or transfer these houses at any time that I choose.

A good Real Estate agent who knows his stuff can help enormously, and save losing a lot of money.

These papers have been tested in court for other clients, and have been upheld.

[Anon999]

No

[smotherb]

What i heard is that assets you had before marriage stay yours and only what is acquired during the marriage is 50 / 50. Maybe someone more knowledgeable about this as me can correct me if im wrong.

I had a friend whose wife divorced him through the courts in America and she got half his assets. Thai women are very smart. Do you really think they fall in love with old Hank from Houston or old Helmut from Hamburg?

what about jake from???????????????? s$$t cant think of anywere,,,lol

Japan

Or Jacques from Djibouti

[smotherb]

After legally marrying a young Thai girl, I bought a new house. At the time of purchase the real estate agent handling the purchase made papers in English and Thai, signed by myself, my wife, himself, and a witness from the office, and my signature on the back of the chanot at the land office. A few months later, we got legally divorced. Wife took everything that I had bought for her on a personal basis, including a new motor cycle. I kept the house, continued to live in it, and 2 years later I sold the house, keeping 100% of the money. Other Thai g/f's and wives in the village did not like me, as they were worried that I might tell their husbands / b/f's how I did it. I have moved on since, and have bought and sold houses on 2 occasions. Now I own 3 houses, have the chanots and blue books, but no Thai woman has her name on the papers or in the blue books. I can sell, gift, or transfer these houses at any time that I choose.

A good Real Estate agent who knows his stuff can help enormously, and save losing a lot of money.

These papers have been tested in court for other clients, and have been upheld.

And, how much extra did paying the lawyer cost to win in court.

[ggt]

Pre-nup?...Nope...but now wish to hell I had...cost me a small fortune to untie-the-knot...

[nithisa78]

It is like throwing money away. Signing the kiss of death.

Treat each other well. Let that be your pre-nup. Write it together and both of you sign it. If in fact (truth) something belongs to us, not hell or high water could take it. That is also fact in world of lies. Best of luck. God be with you. For most of us in most of the world any huge move, it is normal that there is transition period, love, faith, trust, gets us through it. Not any stinking pre-nup. If we think we need pre-nup, what we really need is move on, find the right partner. No harm, no foul.

You posted on TV about pre-nup, you're a good person, sabai, sabai. Enjoy each other, enjoy your lives.

If I had supernatural power, I could take you up to the Pure Land of Amitabha Buddha for a visit, or to the Kingdom of God if you are a Christian. I am sure that everything would be nice and clean there, with beautiful scenery. But once you were there, how would your footsteps be? Can you be sure that your footprints on the Pure Land would not show traces of worries and sorrows you carried from this samsaric, worldly life? If you take your worries and sorrows along with you and set them on the Pure Land, you would defile the Pure Land and make it much less pure! To deserve the Pure Land, you must be able to take peaceful and anxiety-free steps right here on this samsaric ground.”

- Thich Nhat Hanh, "Guide to Walking Meditation"

Edited June 2, 2014 by nithisa78

[nithisa78]

Thank god I did not. She's got more money than I have...

Yes and though you more than pass................she is easier to look at.

[bonobo]

Having been burned pretty badly in my previous marriage (I thought the law was the law. My ex did not, and it cost us both in the six figures in legal fees to show her the law was in fact the law) I opted for a pre-nupt for my Thai marriage. It wasn't very in-depth, giving her any family property coming to her (a couple of farms and homes) and a car I bought her while leaving all US property and investment accounts to me. I hope it never comes up, but regardless, it does offer peace of mind.

AFAIK, under Thai family law, it specifically says that family inheritances received during a marriage are considered individual (non-marital) property for both the husband and the wife. That's one exclusion to the general notion of assets acquired during marriage being shared marital property.

That could be true for Thailand, but if we got divorced in the US, they would consider those assets community property. This way, there is no question. Those assets are hers and mine are mine. The rest, well I would hope we could come to a satisfactory agreement.

Actually, that is why a state such as California is easy to determine. THe law is pretty much the law without regard to who was cheating on whom, who was doing what, etc. My ex, who never worked except for a couple of temporary internships, was entitled to half of my house. I knew it, and I never fought it. On the other hand, the $300,000 + I paid for her medical school was a community asset, and I was entiteled to a payback of half of that. Unfortunately, her new boyfriend, another doctor, didn't think that was fair, so we had to go to court to fight that out.

[DJH77]

When my future wife and i went to the Sheriffs office to get the Marriage License, the Sheriff handed me a form for me to complete and i had to list everything i Owened Prior to the wedding. I told the Sheriff that i would have to take this home to fill it out as there was a lot to be listed. The Sheriff replied that it didn't have to be that comprehensive, just put in the main things, but i insisted that it would take me some time to list it all and took it home to make sure that i left nothing out. The next day i returned to the Sheriffs office to hand in the completed list and the Sheriff informed me that if we were to seperate in the future, Nothing on this list could be claimed by my Wife as it was all mine prior to the wedding, this included my Thai Company which included the land on which my house was built and all the inclusions in the house that i had listed and also my car. This document was apparently included in the Marriage Documents as the Sheriff attended the wedding and completed everything for us so there would be no confusion or complaints at a later date if things didn't work out. I happy to say that 7 years later all is still great with the wife and i. I have never heard of this happening to any other foreigner in my Province when they applied to get married, and i have been here for 12 years. So there are laws to protect Foreigners it seems but they are not usually told of this when they apply. Obviosly it saves time and paper work if nothing is said.

[Eneukman]

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What i heard is that assets you had before marriage stay yours and only what is acquired during the marriage is 50 / 50. Maybe someone more knowledgeable about this as me can correct me if im wrong.

That's my understanding as well.

Alan

[JSixpack]

Knew a guy who did a pre-nup and it paid off big time when his new wife promptly jumped ship soon as he took her to the USA and sued him for divorce. Total shock. He ended up not paying a baht. HIGHLY recommended.

[davidst01]

do the pre nup. A small cost for big protection

[ghworker2010]

do a pre nup. small cost for big protection

[Anon999]

Not just divorce, what about when one dies? Does anyone know if a Thai wife is legally entitled to inherit one's home country (UK) property and assets? Can this be negated in a will? I have no children or dependants in the UK.

I have English and Thai Wills that specifically mention each other and that one does not invalidate the other. They state exactly what goes where and to whom.

[BlackArtemis]

No, her father laughed and said there was no need to "buy his daughter" and that he had enough money. He said it was my duty to use my / our money to plan a good life together.

[mesquite]

The ultimate prenup: Don't get married.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5494092/SteveStansell95ValentinesStory95XXX.m4a

Edited June 6, 2014 by mesquite