Marry a Thai - can she get my assets in UK or australia?

[BuffaloRescue]

Hi

Im British and Australian (dual citizen)

If i marry a Thai do i need to make a pre-nuptial agreement? Can she get my assets in UK or Australia. I have no intention of sponsoring her to become British or Australian

Thanks

[ozsamurai]

WOW, what a lucky catch you must be, already have her divorced and taking half your assets before you're married.... It must be love, love, love. Try at least to pretend to be human and you may get some advice.

Oz

[AnotherOneAmerican]

on your divorce

UK no

Australia yes

on your death

UK yes

Australia yes

[Bpuumike]

 

on your divorce

UK no

Australia yes

on your death

UK yes

Australia yes

Unmarried: no and no.

Pretty simple decision.

[howzat]

presume you mean if you fall of your perch before she does as can't believe you are thinking about divorce before marriage.!

You can have two wills. Thai will leaving all your Thai assets to your wife and your home country will leaving all your home country assets to your family or whoever.

[saroq]

WOW, what a lucky catch you must be, already have her divorced and taking half your assets before you're married.... It must be love, love, love. Try at least to pretend to be human and you may get some advice.

Oz

I don't see what your problem is with the OP's post. It's a sensible precaution to take because things change, divorce is common and if you have kids that you want to provide for in your home country making sure this is all legal is the smart thing to do.

[aliep]

Pre-Nup's are not legally binding in the UK and yes she can get half your assets in the UK if her lawyer is smart enough.

Don't get married unless she is richer than you. It's probably not her decision anyway, have you discussed it with her Thai boyfriend?

[wolf5370]

Pre-Nup's are not legally binding in the UK and yes she can get half your assets in the UK if her lawyer is smart enough.

Don't get married unless she is richer than you. It's probably not her decision anyway, have you discussed it with her Thai boyfriend?

It is possible, but unlikely she would get 50% of UK assets - especially if she does not live there, did not contribute the acquiring of those assets (i.e. you already own them on entering marriage) and you have other obligations (such as ex-wife, children etc with a claim to a percentage). If she is not a British Citizen, likelihood is she will not get a visa to come to the UK to sue for assets anyway, which means an expensive case for her to attempt from far away, with little guarantee of success. Although Pre-Nups are not entirely legally binding in the UK, they have successfully been used as a guidance and as a presumption of state of mind at time of marriage, it is likely a judge would follow the agreement where it seems fair and overrule anything that seems unfair. Very unlikely she would get 50% of pre-owned, overseas assets - it simply is not part of the marital home and estate. Any assets you purchase whilst married are fair game though - including mortgage payments on properties bought before the wedding, but paid throughout the marriage.

//Edit: Odds are that she would believe the pre-nup to be legally binding anyway - her Thai lawyer would probably think so too.

[Deez]

WOW, what a lucky catch you must be, already have her divorced and taking half your assets before you're married.... It must be love, love, love. Try at least to pretend to be human and you may get some advice.

Oz

One of the smart ones. After reading the horror stories on here can you blame him?

[robblok]

WOW, what a lucky catch you must be, already have her divorced and taking half your assets before you're married.... It must be love, love, love. Try at least to pretend to be human and you may get some advice.

Oz

I did the same back in the Netherlands its quite normal there... here its even more important.

[advancebooking]

you could always do the thai wedding ceremony and not the formal registration at the amphur office. In this situation there is no risk.

The amphur office marriage registration is considered legal marriage in terms of being recognised by Western governments.

If you have bill gates level of assets you might want to pay around 130,000 baht to a top tier firm to prepare a pre nup. If you pay a small incompetent lawyer you will get a dodgy job full of mistakes and they will only download the free version on the internet that most farang use. Your best to download it and pay a thai friend to prepare it. The cheap lawyers in this country are a joke and a waste of money. do it yourself is my advice.

[UncleE]

I agree, smart question unless you're broke and certain it'll be that way til the day you die. In my opinion only idiots would go off getting married without a pre-nup these days. And if you have more than a little money, I'd suggest you get a lawyer to advise you. Proper advance planning is a whole lot cheaper than fixing it later. I've seen even seasoned ex-pats get taken to the cleaners, particularly if she get smart, leaves you for a guy with more money, and has access to lawyers.

Remember, when you show her the pre-nup (which you'll have to get translated and have a Thai Lawyer of her choice explain to her), you simply say: "this is the paper that tells we're only getting married because we love each other, not for money". Then remind her the pre-nup is not a will, and you can remind her that if she does a good job taking care of you, it will be taken care of in the will. Obviously if she doesn't buy that then you probably need the pre-nup even more.

[koolkarl]

U r obviously gun shy so don't get married to anyone. U may be healthier and certainly wealthier.

[UncleE]

BTW, just saw newer comment. I got a pre-nup from Cathy Tran Reck a US lawyer in BKK for about 25K baht. So I think the other guys estimate was a little high unless you go to Baker & Mckenzie or some international law firm. But that might be worth it if you have a lot.

[thaimlord]

WOW, what a lucky catch you must be, already have her divorced and taking half your assets before you're married.... It must be love, love, love. Try at least to pretend to be human and you may get some advice.

Oz

Planning ahead isn't inhuman, it's just commonsense. In fact it's bordering on insanity NOT to plan ahead, in my opinion.

It isn't like no-one ever gets divorced or dies.

TL

[maswov]

I think you would have to register the marriage with your embassy if she were to have any legal claim. I'm not sure if Australia and UK are the same as US where assets owned prior to the marriage are not considered community property.

[Jasun]

Australia, you don't even have to be married. She only has to prove you've been living in a de-facto relationship.

[Toscano]

Marrying a Thai is a risky business , you need to be very careful , remember in terms of money a bargirl is always a bargirl .

I am lucky married to a school head teacher , with salary of her own , own house and land .

My advice would be don't marry a Thai if you are worried about your assets .

[wolf5370]

you could always do the thai wedding ceremony and not the formal registration at the amphur office. In this situation there is no risk.

The amphur office marriage registration is considered legal marriage in terms of being recognised by Western governments.

If you have bill gates level of assets you might want to pay around 130,000 baht to a top tier firm to prepare a pre nup. If you pay a small incompetent lawyer you will get a dodgy job full of mistakes and they will only download the free version on the internet that most farang use. Your best to download it and pay a thai friend to prepare it. The cheap lawyers in this country are a joke and a waste of money. do it yourself is my advice.

Must be careful of the so called "common law wife" which is valid in some countries - it is not recognised in the UK legally (cohabitation) for purposes of separation unless there are children (and then only for maintenance, support, residency, etc) or domestic violence (careful as this is the Hail Mary some women will use in this situation!). A separate suit for co-ownership of assets and property would be taken as any tort law case - no different than neighbours that share (i.e. joint purchase) an asset, say a drive along grass cutter, that becomes in dispute when one decides to move and take it with them. Pre-Nups can actually help here in the UK - as there was no marriage, it becomes a contract of ownership of assets and has perhaps a better legal standing (if worded accordingly without mention of marriage/divorce being the activator).

[bankei]

Yes, she can get at your australian assets - whether you marry or are defacto. Look at the family law act, s 79 property settlements

[arjunadawn]

WOW, what a lucky catch you must be, already have her divorced and taking half your assets before you're married.... It must be love, love, love. Try at least to pretend to be human and you may get some advice.

Oz

I don't see what your problem is with the OP's post. It's a sensible precaution to take because things change, divorce is common and if you have kids that you want to provide for in your home country making sure this is all legal is the smart thing to do.

Perhaps it's sensible... yet there is an air of negativity in these few sentences. The negative declaration alone "I have no intention..." clearly sets the mood. I agree with Oz; not just wisdom in this OP. This is called a mercenary motive, and few things born of such maneuverings are wholesome. I wish her good luck.

[Rorri]

After reading the OP's story the only thing I can say is ALL THAI ladies, keep well and truly away from this guy... he appears only to be after a free "ride".

[Rorri]

Bpuumike, on 01 Aug 2014 - 00:19, said:Bpuumike, on 01 Aug 2014 - 00:19, said:

 

AnotherOneAmerican, on 31 Jul 2014 - 19:07, said:AnotherOneAmerican, on 31 Jul 2014 - 19:07, said:

on your divorce

UK no

Australia yes

on your death

UK yes

Australia yes

Unmarried: no and no.

Pretty simple decision.

The op clearly stated married.....did you not read his comment, was rather long winded, all 5 lines, which included Hi and Thanks.

[recycler]

If she's a smart talker you don't even need to get married for her to get your assets ;-)

[fabphil]

Pre nups not binding in oz...Family Court can over rule them...

Just do a village marriage if u want to stay outta trouble...

[Strangebrew]

Firstly why marry if your worried about assets secondly see firstly.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

From reading the past posts/threads here on this subject, it seems the particular area of vulnerability for Brits and Aussies married to Thais is when they MOVE their wife to the home country and reside there. That makes it easy to file for divorce there under those countries' rules and with your assets there on the table.

But if the couple is staying in Thailand only, it would be much harder for a Thai wife to seek foreign assets in any kind of Thai divorce proceeding, and her chances of traveling abroad by herself to file abroad would be difficult in most circumstances.

From everything I've ever been able to find/read on the subject, the chances of a Thai court divorce proceeding trying to attach any assets outside Thailand is pretty slim. And even if there was such a ruling, the divorcing party would then have to be able to get the ruling validated in a foreign court and enforced there -- neither particularly easy or cheap to do sitting on a perch in Thailand.

.

[JohnP1752]

She must go to Australia if she is to attempt any claim, so she would first need a visa or residency and an air ticket.

[jacky54]

She must go to Australia if she is to attempt any claim, so she would first need a visa or residency and an air ticket.

And spend a fortune on lawyers fees, something not many Thai women would want to do so all pretty unlikely.

[MarcThanyaburi]

My friend had a prenuptial they were married 2 years as soon as they had a kid it all changed prenuptial goes out the window this is the uk she done him for the house