Married in UK, want to divorce in Thailand.

[BangkokTony]

I married a Thai lady in the UK in 2001. We moved to Thailand in 2006. We have 2 daughters by our marriage aged 7 and 10. We have been seperated nearly two years. We have agreed on all financial aspects and custody etc. We want a straightforward, no complication divorce.

From what I have read it appears we have to have a contested divorce because we are both living in Thailand. We did not marry in Thailand.

Is there anyone on this forum who has had the experience of divorcing in Thailand but married abroad?

Any recommendations for lawyers?

[DGS1244]

Married in UK then I think you will find that you have to divorce there, cannot do in Thailand. I would have done it ages ago if I could have!!! Might want to check with UK Embassy.

[max72]

Have you registered your marriage in Thailand ?

If not, you should do so before proceding with the divorce.

I know it can sound funny go and register a marriage if what you want is a divorce, but you want to divorce in Thailand, so you need to figure as married before. A translated marriage certificated from UK without registering your marriage before would not work, that would help you to register it before and than divorce. It can take several months, but I don't think there are possible shortcuts.

Once your marriage is registered in Thailand,I think it is possible for you to proceed with the divorce according to the Thai laws, hence you will need a lawyer for that.

Ask a lawyer just in case.

[cms22]

I am divorced from my Thai wife more than a decade. If you are living separately that can count towards the divorce if you can evidence that you have been living separately.

[gandalf12]

I dont know how you married i.e church or whatever but Thailand doesnt recognised you are married unless you have been through a Buddhist marriage ceremony. I would contact a lawyer in Thailand to get a proper answer

[BangkokTony]

Thanks for your replies. I will check with the Embassy and then take the matter further.

[The Fat Controller]

gandalf12, you have got it completely WRONG !

The Buddhist marriage means NOTHING in legal terms.

A civil wedding ceremony at an amphur is the only recognised form of marriage,

[Hardy99]

Hello Bangkok Tony.

May be it is different about what province you live in, but I had the same Situation as you. Divorced in 2013 without a problem about the wedding was abroad. We did Register the wedding in the Thai Embassy in Europe, but they did not notify it forward so there was no Registration at ampheur XY. My wife always used her maiden name, as soon as she got back to Thailand she ordered a new passport and ID where the wedding was not anymore noted, same as the namechange. The most important is that you dont have a fighting divorce as you say, because the Thai Courts will send you home possibly 3-4 or more times to think over as long as they should rule one off you guilty... (with acepted agreement no one is guilty/not guilty).

You set up a "Contract of compromise" or "Konvention" what rules EVERYTHING out. Specially about the Kids. You should take a lawyer because it anyway must be all in Thai language.. You probably will have to go with your Kids, wife to the juvenile Court, or a place given you by the juvenily court where they make interviews with the kids and seperatly you and your wife. They will write a Report what they suggest and forward that to family court and your lawyer. When all that is done it does not matter you married on the moon or earth.. I was divorced in 2 hours, all written again and signed by all Partys in the court. Then wait about 1 - 2 month to get the final paper that says that the divorce is in effect. (Thai law, because every Party could possibly make an Appeal during 30 days).

I wish you best luck, my divorce was done at the Family court in Bangsaen (Chonburi). What I did give to the lawyer was a translated and stamped (by the Thai Embassy in Europe) of the Original wedding certificate from abroad. (seen and translated by the Royal Thai Consulate in.... and the Garuda stamp).

[danmarnj]

Unless your marriage was registered in Thailand, you cannot divorce in Thailand.

[danmarnj]

From Sunbelt Asia Legal Advisers (from Stickman's column):

Your ability to get divorced in Thailand would be dependent on two major factors: the nationalities of each person and whether or not the marriage was registered with the Thai Embassy if your wife is Thai.

If neither spouse is a Thai national then you would not be able to divorce in Thailand.

If your wife is Thai then it would depend on whether or not you registered your marriage with the Thai Embassy in the United States. If you did, then you would be able to get divorced in Thailand since your marriage would be in the system and you could register your divorce at any District Office. You would need to bring your passport (ID card and house registration for Thai) as well as return the marriage certificates (each was given an original when they registered their marriage). It should also be noted that if there is any dispute over assets or custody then your best option would be to obtain legal counsel. Sunbelt Asia Legal Advisors has English and Thai-speaking legal advisors who can provide assistance in this case.

If you did not register your marriage with the Thai Embassy then you would also not be able to divorce in Thailand as under Thai law the marriage must be registered in Thailand.

[VBF]

May I suggest you investigate the following and please check my suggestions are legal as I'm not an expert!

As you're legally married in UK but the marriage is not registered in Thailand, I presume that if you divorce in UK, you will remain single in Thailand.

If you and your wife have agreed on the terms and conditions and have, as you say, been apart for more than 2 years use a UK solicitor remotely.

By that I mean, with email, Skype etc, there is no need to actually visit the solicitor and any paperwork can be couriered (DHL, TNT or whatever)

I would think that if any documents need witnessing you could ask any adult (preferably a British, European, or American passport holder as our legal systems are "similar")

Now I stress and repeat that I'm not a legal expert and would not encourage illegal activity so I repeat - please check!

What I do know is that when I divorced my Thai ex, we were both in UK but she vanished and did not respond to letters to her "last known address" - in theory that should have been a problem but it all went through smoothly (more than the marriage did!)

The above is just a suggestion and you will of course need to find a UK solicitor - have you family in UK who could help and make the initial enquiries?

Good Luck.

[catman20]

another sad case of a man putting his life in the control of a woman,

when will these fools learn