Divorced and division of assets in Thailand

[The Beguiled]

What happens to the assets that a couple (Thai National and a Foreigner) accumulated in Thailand during their married time, when they divorce outside of Thailand?

What is the legal process in Thailand to settle the asset distribution?

[dotpoom]

50/50 I think of all assets accumulated after getting married.

[little mary sunshine]

Have a written receipt for every Baht you

Contributed to the:house,condo,car

Motorbike that were purchased. Get a good

Lawyer ....lucky if you get 10%...TIT your

Screwed

[nithisa78]

The teacher asked a bright-eyed boy, “If you

had one tomato and needed ten, how many more

would you have to buy?”

The boy thought a moment then said, “None!

I’d cut open my tomato, plant the seeds, and

grow many tomatoes.” The teacher, impressed by

the boy’s ingenuity, accepted the answer. The boy

had an appreciation for life that let him view it

more fully than others.

[nithisa78]

“Arjuna said: What is the destination of the man of faith who does not persevere, who in the beginning takes to the process of self-realization but who later desists due to worldly-mindedness and thus does not attain perfection in mysticism?” (Bhagavad-gita, 6.37)

fame is a vapor,
popularity an accident and riches takes wings.
the only thing that endures is character.

You can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.

[Dogmatix]

The Civil and Commercial Code section on divorce has some wording that says assets purchased after marriage but using proceeds from assets acquired before marriage can be counted as personal property, not joint marital property to be divided on divorce. I know a farang who is planning to argue that a condo in Thailand he purchased after marriage to Thai soon-to-be ex-wife was purchased from proceeds of selling assets overseas that he acquired before marriage even though the money to buy the condo was remitted to Thailand after marriage. He has documents to support his claim but I wonder if a Thai family court would accept that argument using overseas evidence against a Thai women. Surely it would be easy to produce evidence that you had assets overseas before getting married but does that make any difference to a Thai court? He also failed to disclose that he was legally married at the Land Dept when he transferred the condo to his name which I think might lead to complications as it is a criminal offence to provide false information to a government official. The condo is his only asset in Thailand and he has returned to live in his home country but wants to sell the condo.

Does anyone think he can get away with this ruse to avoid sharing anything at all with his Thai wife, who now has cancer, and kicking her out on the street with nothing?

[Minnehaha]

The Civil and Commercial Code section on divorce has some wording that says assets purchased after marriage but using proceeds from assets acquired before marriage can be counted as personal property, not joint marital property to be divided on divorce. I know a farang who is planning to argue that a condo in Thailand he purchased after marriage to Thai soon-to-be ex-wife was purchased from proceeds of selling assets overseas that he acquired before marriage even though the money to buy the condo was remitted to Thailand after marriage. He has documents to support his claim but I wonder if a Thai family court would accept that argument using overseas evidence against a Thai women. Surely it would be easy to produce evidence that you had assets overseas before getting married but does that make any difference to a Thai court? He also failed to disclose that he was legally married at the Land Dept when he transferred the condo to his name which I think might lead to complications as it is a criminal offence to provide false information to a government official. The condo is his only asset in Thailand and he has returned to live in his home country but wants to sell the condo.

Does anyone think he can get away with this ruse to avoid sharing anything at all with his Thai wife, who now has cancer, and kicking her out on the street with nothing?

Assets purchased after marriage are shared. This seems simple enough. Why complicate it with "when the funds came into country"? This pertains only to purchase, sale, tax, and remittance issues, not to divorce.

Failed to disclose he was legally married at the land department? Why? Did he buy the condo from his then wife? Was ownership transferred? Does he have the Chanote in his name? If The answer to last 2 is yes, then he can try to sell it before he gets divorced and run. I am not suggesting this, only pointing out what I think you are trying to get at.

If the marriage was filed here then once the divorce is filed the assets would be subject to part of the divorce proceedings, assuming it is done thoroughly. If married abroad and he is returning to that place, the ex would have grounds to go after him in that country to file under the laws there.

[nithisa78]

I've lived worked and fought all over this planet. If I didn't get there my beloved son covered it. He's twice the man I am.

This past Thanksgiving, my Thai Goddess wife and I went to some friends for celebrate and give thanks.

Few days later I was back there. Frank was there a guest of our friend. His wife recently deceased. RIP

We three dialog. Frank says why do so many men go to foreign countries and get married. Joe says, Gus did ask him.

He does, I say, they give you your monies worth, none of them cheat you. Of course you can't cheat an honest man.

WE agree and go to the pool.

Of course most of us don't know what we have until we lose it. Okay, that's as polite as I can be at this moment.

You're either with God or against Him, there is no middle ground. NONE.

[BlackJack]

reminded to all guys

have a pre nup

dont get married

keep your head as there are plenty of fish in the waters

pay a lawyer some bahts and then possibly not loose your shirt

[PattayaPhom]

Have a written receipt for every Baht you

Contributed to the:house,condo,car

Motorbike that were purchased. Get a good

Lawyer ....lucky if you get 10%...TIT your

Screwed

What absolute rubbish.......and you are a teacher?...no wonder the education system is in such a mess

[Dogmatix]

The Civil and Commercial Code section on divorce has some wording that says assets purchased after marriage but using proceeds from assets acquired before marriage can be counted as personal property, not joint marital property to be divided on divorce. I know a farang who is planning to argue that a condo in Thailand he purchased after marriage to Thai soon-to-be ex-wife was purchased from proceeds of selling assets overseas that he acquired before marriage even though the money to buy the condo was remitted to Thailand after marriage. He has documents to support his claim but I wonder if a Thai family court would accept that argument using overseas evidence against a Thai women. Surely it would be easy to produce evidence that you had assets overseas before getting married but does that make any difference to a Thai court? He also failed to disclose that he was legally married at the Land Dept when he transferred the condo to his name which I think might lead to complications as it is a criminal offence to provide false information to a government official. The condo is his only asset in Thailand and he has returned to live in his home country but wants to sell the condo.

Does anyone think he can get away with this ruse to avoid sharing anything at all with his Thai wife, who now has cancer, and kicking her out on the street with nothing?

Assets purchased after marriage are shared. This seems simple enough. Why complicate it with "when the funds came into country"? This pertains only to purchase, sale, tax, and remittance issues, not to divorce.

Failed to disclose he was legally married at the land department? Why? Did he buy the condo from his then wife? Was ownership transferred? Does he have the Chanote in his name? If The answer to last 2 is yes, then he can try to sell it before he gets divorced and run. I am not suggesting this, only pointing out what I think you are trying to get at.

If the marriage was filed here then once the divorce is filed the assets would be subject to part of the divorce proceedings, assuming it is done thoroughly. If married abroad and he is returning to that place, the ex would have grounds to go after him in that country to file under the laws there.

The section of the CCC referred to is this:

"Section1472. As regards to Sin Suan Tua (personal property), if it has been exchanged to other property, other property has been bought or money has been acquired from sellingit, such other property or money acquired shall be Sin Suan Tua."

Some websites suggest that it is only assets purchased with income earned after marriage that qualify as conjugal properties. Assets bought with income earned before marriage or purchased with proceeds from sale of assets purchased before don't qualify. I have no idea how Thai courts interpret this and whether they accept evidence of prior ownership from overseas.

He bought the condo in his own name after marriage and lied by saying he was single when asked whether he was married or not at the Land office. If it is noted on the chanote that you are married you need spousal permission to sell. His problem is that the wife is living in the condo. He has no problem with having her kicked out on the street, despite her illness, but doesn't dare do it without a court order supporting his claim that it is his sole property.

Yes, I believe the wife could pursue his far more substantial assets overseas after being divorced in Thailand but he assumes she lacks the wherewithal to do that as he plans to leave her penniless, homeless and sick.

By the way I am not supportive of his behaviour, just curious about how a Thai court would handle it. Personally I would suggest dividing the Thai assets 50% without risking the cost and uncertainty of a court fight against a Thai. Also there is the outside risk that she might get legal aid in his country to force him to sell up his property there, where there is no concept of personal/ conjugal property. In such a case, his actions in the Thai court would not look good in a farang family court. But he is pigheaded and determined on revenge.

[Expattaff1308]

In Thailand there is usually the 50/50 split in assets, its in the west you will get screwed!!

[peterb17]

Why on earth do people get married, the stigma of living in sin disappeared long ago.

The divorce rate must be astronomical and probably the proceeds funds a quarter of Isaan .

[HughJass]

its alright saying the court will split the assets 50/50 but in the case of land or houses even if they are put up for sale the thai spouse or her family can warn off any perspective buyers without your knowledge so as it never gets sold thus remaining in her charge...you on the other hand will have moved on and would not be welcome in the village after the split

[ericthai]

Have a written receipt for every Baht you

Contributed to the:house,condo,car

Motorbike that were purchased. Get a good

Lawyer ....lucky if you get 10%...TIT your

Screwed

bullscrap. i know several guys that got divorced in Thailand. The courts were fair to them. you are right TIT this is not the west where a guy gets screwed.Thai law says assets are split 50/50

the stories you hear of guys getting screwed are the ones where the guy is being stupid. Builds a house and put is in his girlfriends name, buys car, motorcycle etc all in her name and never gets married so these is no divorce so difficult to go to court. If they do get married then the guy never tries and fight to get anything, just believe as he always has what is wife tells him that he cant get anything and goes away with his tale between his legs. i feel bad for allot of these guys that come to Thailand and loose everything, but in reality they only have themselves to blame, they dont think and protect themselves which they should never build a house or only buying a condo in his name, car his name etc. or only rent.

[Saan]

The teacher asked a bright-eyed boy, “If you

had one tomato and needed ten, how many more

would you have to buy?”

The boy thought a moment then said, “None!

I’d cut open my tomato, plant the seeds, and

grow many tomatoes.” The teacher, impressed by

the boy’s ingenuity, accepted the answer. The boy

had an appreciation for life that let him view it

more fully than others.

Groan.

[Saan]

I've lived worked and fought all over this planet. If I didn't get there my beloved son covered it. He's twice the man I am.

This past Thanksgiving, my Thai Goddess wife and I went to some friends for celebrate and give thanks.

Few days later I was back there. Frank was there a guest of our friend. His wife recently deceased. RIP

We three dialog. Frank says why do so many men go to foreign countries and get married. Joe says, Gus did ask him.

He does, I say, they give you your monies worth, none of them cheat you. Of course you can't cheat an honest man.

WE agree and go to the pool.

Of course most of us don't know what we have until we lose it. Okay, that's as polite as I can be at this moment.

You're either with God or against Him, there is no middle ground. NONE.

Double groan.

[patongphil]

Have a written receipt for every Baht you

Contributed to the:house,condo,car

Motorbike that were purchased. Get a good

Lawyer ....lucky if you get 10%...TIT your

Screwed

bullscrap. i know several guys that got divorced in Thailand. The courts were fair to them. you are right TIT this is not the west where a guy gets screwed.Thai law says assets are split 50/50

the stories you hear of guys getting screwed are the ones where the guy is being stupid. Builds a house and put is in his girlfriends name, buys car, motorcycle etc all in her name and never gets married so these is no divorce so difficult to go to court. If they do get married then the guy never tries and fight to get anything, just believe as he always has what is wife tells him that he cant get anything and goes away with his tale between his legs. i feel bad for allot of these guys that come to Thailand and loose everything, but in reality they only have themselves to blame, they dont think and protect themselves which they should never build a house or only buying a condo in his name, car his name etc. or only rent.

y

Completely agree with you Ericthai. I too know a few guys in the same boat - in actual fact I see one every time I look into the mirror. I actually came out with way more than 50% as ex had no idea how much I actually earned!

[Dogmatix]

its alright saying the court will split the assets 50/50 but in the case of land or houses even if they are put up for sale the thai spouse or her family can warn off any perspective buyers without your knowledge so as it never gets sold thus remaining in her charge...you on the other hand will have moved on and would not be welcome in the village after the split

I think the property would eventually be handed over to the Legal Execution Dept to sell, if the registered owner drags their heels in selling it. The problem with Thai village houses is that usually none of the villagers would have money to buy a house and no one else would want to live in the village. Thais investors from elsewhere are willing to buy agricultural land in the hope that it will appreciate but not village houses which no one will rent from them. So even the Legal Execution Dept would probably not be able to sell the property for more than the value of the land, if they could sell it at all.

It is prudent to assume that, if you put up money to buy land and/or build a house in a village, that money is gone for ever. Even in Bangkok it is best to value landed property at the land price only and depreciate any own design building to zero immediately. Where I live in Bkk we see Thais buying relatively new houses and demolishing them immediately because they don't want to live in some one else's house (maybe ghosts there) and want their own design anyway. Uniform style houses on an estate are becoming more of an exception, if the estate is maintained in good condition and doesn't turn into a slum within 5 years. Of course construction quality is an issue in Thailand. Most 30 years old houses are ready for the wrecking ball, even though they can make them look really nice when new. The beauty is just superficial.

[scandinavi]

Does land office always check marriage status before transferring the ownership of house + land? How is the case if the sale happens couple of years after divorce?

How about selling the car which have been bought in marriage? Is it possible to sell it without spouse signature?

[Arkady]

In the division of property that can be ordered by the Thai Family and Juvenile Court is not as clear cut, as many would think from a cursory reading of the Civil and Commercial Code. The wording of the law refers to management of the property which is, in fact, significant. In order to ensure that property that one spouse purchased before marriage or purchased after marriage using the proceeds from sale of assets purchased before marriage, it is also necessary to prove that that spouse has been the sole manager of that property. Thus property acquired before marriage can still be regarded as conjugal property by the court, if the other spouse has been involved in managing it. For example, if one spouse bought a condo for investment before marriage but allows the other spouse for find tenants for it and pay expenses relating to it etc, it could be deemed conjugal property. This could also apply, if one spouse bought a condo before marriage, then both live in it after marriage and the spouse that didn't buy it pays utilities bills and central charges. In case of doubt, the law provides that assets must be considered conjugal assets and divided 50:50.

The same could also apply to houses owned by the Thai spouse of a mixed couple or houses built on land that was pre-owned by the Thai spouse. As we know, the Supreme Court once ruled in a case that a house bought in the name of a Thai wife with money remitted from overseas by her foreign husband was conjugal property. That was simply enforcing the principles of the Civil and Commercial Code in determining that the property had been bought by the wife after marriage (with the husband's money).

[Arkady]

Does land office always check marriage status before transferring the ownership of house + land? How is the case if the sale happens couple of years after divorce?

How about selling the car which have been bought in marriage? Is it possible to sell it without spouse signature?

I am not sure about cars and motorcycles but the Land Dept should note on a title deed, if the buyer is married or single. If married, it will require the other spouse's signature to sell. This is not joint ownership as such. Once you are divorced, it should be OK to sell property, since there will either have been a mutual agreement about division of property or the court would have ordered it. I am not sure about divorce overseas though because the court would not have had authority to divide assets in Thailand. Therefore the Land Dept would probably be correct in demanding spousal permission. You would have to check with the Land Dept beforehand what documents would be needed in either case to avoid a nasty surprise that could delay a sale or make it fall through. Sometimes logic is not a good predictor of how things will be done in a government office.

[Macclad]

What about,say,your company pension......would a Thai wife have any rights to some of that ?