Pre-nup- House - Land

[staccyy]

I’m a female farang married to a Thai. We bought a house before getting married and are buying more now.

Can we draft a pre –nup after the fact? Is it recognizable/vaild in Thailand if it's drafted late?

Or is it wiser to make up loan /lease agreement on the house and land purchases?

Since Thai men don’t have to sign documents stating it was their money to pay for land/houses like Thai Wives do, Isn't a loan agreement pretty secure between man and wife in the eyes of the Thai Law?

Thanks for your input!

stacy

[GuestHouse]

My advice would be the same as that I would give a foreign man married to a Thai woman.

Aim to achieve a balance of security, this is particularly important if you are funding purchases.

In the first instance consider where you are buying property and would you want to live there if you split up. For example, you might not want to live in your husband’s village but you might want to live near work in Bangkok.

As you say you have already bought a house/land then consider the above question. If you would want to live there in the event of a break up then convince your husband that you should have a lease on the property. If you are the breadwinner/provider the lease fee can be set at an amount to give him a fair income after a split.

If you wouldn’t want to live there after a break up then forget the lease and concentrate on future investments.

Think very carefully about further purchases. Are you investing money you cannot afford to loose? If you are funding further purchases insist on property that you can hold in your name – Condominiums.

If you are buying land, and you are funding the purchase, again insist on a lease and ensure that the lease is transferable. You might be told that the lease has no value, but, if you split up and want to release your capital you could offer the land for sale as a two part sale – Land price and lease price, securing your share of the sale.

My feeling is that unless you have a considerable amount of expendable wealth then a single home and a car are more than enough investments in Thailand.

Most expats friends of mine who have bought homes in Thailand have secure investments back home – House/Apartment, Pension, Savings etc.

If you have a house in Thailand then I would be concentrating on securing those investments at home rather than putting money into the double risk of a relationship and an unfriendly legal system.

[Dragonman]

I’m a female farang married to a Thai. We bought a house before getting married and are buying more now.

Can we draft a pre –nup after the fact? Is it recognizable/vaild in Thailand if it's drafted late?

Or is it wiser to make up loan /lease agreement on the house and land purchases?

Since Thai men don’t have to sign documents stating it was their money to pay for land/houses like Thai Wives do, Isn't a loan agreement pretty secure between man and wife in the eyes of the Thai Law?

Thanks for your input!

stacy

You cannot draft an ante(pre) nuptial agreement after the fact as this is what is called a post nuptial agreement. Ante nuptials must be registered by Amphur on marriage and attached to marriage certificate. As a relatively new concept, post nuptials are not tested in thai law, but are unlikely to succeed in Thailand.

Lease agreement OK, loan agreement not. You are liable for your husband's debts and therefore would effectively be lending to yourself.

"thai men don't have to sign documents, etc., etc." This is an urban myth as the law says "spouse".