Tin pot lawyers in Thailand- check their work if getting a pre nup done

[jack71]

The old saying 'you only get what you pay for' applies to most things including lawyers in Thailand.

I asked around for quotes to do a pre nup- 10,000 from mr tin pot, 30,000 baht from another guy and 120,000 from a top tier firm.

I thought I might as well go with the cheap option as Im not well off but still want to protect my assets... but what a mistake.

The first visit we talked about what I want done. The second visit nothing had been done and I showed them a template prenup I downloaded from the internet. The 3rd visit they presented a 1 page brief pre nup with many errors including not putting the wifes id card or my passport number (on the doc) and a few other things. I told them again that I wanted it in the same format as the template version. The 4th visit they provided a version close to the one from the internet but many important things left out. They had really poor attention to detail.

In the end I obviously should have paid 30k or 120k but who knows if the experience would have be any different. I was slightly perturbed on the 4th visit as I had the impression that the lawyer was actually not doing any of the work. I asked why this was the case and was duly informed that he could not type and that 'they do all the typing for me'- but I think it really meant they do all the work for me.

If you have modest assets and want to save money I would recommend downloading the free pre nup from the internet and doing it yourself. The truth is that the bargain basement lawyers are incompetent and wanted 10k for a 1 page doc which actually would not have protected me at all. It was a joke- as if a school student wrote it (i.e. school project)

After this experience I would recommend checking ALL their work if you ever have to use a lawyer in the future.

chock dee amigos

jack

[Soutpeel]

Is the downloadable version in Thai ? If its not what happens if you go to court ?.... English is not the accepted legal language in a court, further your soon to be Ex wife could claim in court she signed a document in language she doesn't full understand, considering it will be in legal English, which a lot of native speakers can't understand to start with

My point is this is a downloadable DIY pre-nup in English even "legal" in a Thai court

Yes you should have paid the extra money

[CharlieH]

Is such a document even legal and binding in any Thai court? Or would Thai precedents make it invalid.

Just a thought.

[96tehtarp]

Thanks for your post.

You are still way ahead of the herd. Any prenup is better than no prenup. (Although your experience sounds just awful).

Don't forget to get a will done at the amphur.

Like anything else anywhere caveat emptor.

[jack71]

yes its downloaded in thai but has english translation also.