Divorce and Land purchase enquiry from messed up newbee

[monners2016]

Hello guys , Can anyone clarify Thai law regarding the purchase of land in Thailand after being married to a Thai national . My ex wife wants a quick divorce next month while I am in Thailand . She returned to Thailand in sept 2015 . She had been in the UK with me since 2012 . While in UK I agreed to a joint 5 yr loan with HSBC to purchase land in her hometown of Buriram . the HSBC loan agreement has been signed by both parties and states loan for purpose of land purchase in Thailand . I have been lumbered with this debt for the next 3 yrs at £300 month .
Also since she had returned home I have found email evidence that she has been in contact with a guy from USA since 2013 at least . Although one of of emails states she had been emailing this guy since she came to UK to be with me . Could I divorce her stating unreasonable grounds ref her love for this guy in USA . Would there be any point ? What could I hope too achieve ?
I would like to recover some of my money back if possible ! Does anyone think I have a chance in hell to do this ! I feel so cheated and used .
All I have done since and leading up to our wedding is work my butt off to provide her what she needed . She was obsessed with purchasing as much of her Grandmas land as possible since her time here in UK .
The land ; The land was owned by her grandma . Given to Grandma by Thai government as she was one of the original settlers in her district of Buriram . The land has been divided to close relatives . Land in total was 10 Rai . My ex now owns 6.5 Rai of the land.
Since arriving here in 2012 my ex has been home twice and the last time was in 2014 when she had to return home regarding the transfer of land in her name .
( I have been since told that I should have been there at the office to sign a paper to declare that none of my funds were used to purchase this land . obviously I was not there and I did not sign anything )
I think the land is probably in her moms name to safeguard the purchase ! Although if mistakes have taken place the oversight could may well of happened due to the fact there was a cousin working in the land office at the time . Yes its a mess yes my head is in bits .
Is there anything I can do to recover any of my money ? Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated .

[sunnyjim5]

As a foreigner you cannot own or have a financial interest in Thai land.

I doubt there is anything you can do to recover your money.

[NeverSure]

This isn't legal advice. It's just my advice. Know when to cut your losses at any time in life. If you can get out of this with no lawyers and no hassle, and all that happens is that you make the payments for 3 more years you have a better deal than a Western divorce would probably give you.

There is also peace of mind. You can spend the next three years fighting, or you can go have a beer. Remember something. No one can make you angry. Anger is your personal reaction to something. What you might experience as anger, another guy might just blow off. See what I mean?

Don't let her get you twice - the first time for hurt and money, and the second time by stealing a bunch more of your emotions you might expend on a fight. Don't let her steal five more minutes of your emotional energy. Blow her off. Be thankful you didn't get nailed for big money by building her a farang mansion.

Blow it off and get on with your life. Easier said than done I know, but it's what you need to focus on.

Cheers.

Edited February 21, 2016 by NeverSure

[Gsxrnz]

You have no chance of recovering any money from the land. You have an obligation to pay your debts to HSBC in the UK - as does your Thai wife, but she's not going to worry about that.

What's the security for the loan to HSBC? It can't be the land, so I'm guessing it's a lien/mortgage on some UK property of yours.

You don't say if you're married in UK or Thailand. If married in the UK then she can do you for half your UK assets, less joint debt. If this is the case, be careful.

If married in Thailand you can whistle Dixie for any claim against her assets.

Best bet as Neversure says, have a beer and count your blessings. You've only half been taken to the cleaners.

Oh, and next time I suggest you do some due diligence on the woman in question and the laws (such as they are) of the land.

I wouldn't sign a loan document with anybody if I don't have legal rights to the asset being purchased - it just defies logic. If anybody really wants to give their Thai wife/GF a car/land/house/gold - consider it a gift.

[MAJIC]

You have no chance of recovering any money from the land. You have an obligation to pay your debts to HSBC in the UK - as does your Thai wife, but she's not going to worry about that.

What's the security for the loan to HSBC? It can't be the land, so I'm guessing it's a lien/mortgage on some UK property of yours.

You don't say if you're married in UK or Thailand. If married in the UK then she can do you for half your UK assets, less joint debt. If this is the case, be careful.

If married in Thailand you can whistle Dixie for any claim against her assets.

Best bet as Neversure says, have a beer and count your blessings. You've only half been taken to the cleaners.

Oh, and next time I suggest you do some due diligence on the woman in question and the laws (such as they are) of the land.

I wouldn't sign a loan document with anybody if I don't have legal rights to the asset being purchased - it just defies logic. If anybody really wants to give their Thai wife/GF a car/land/house/gold - consider it a gift.

More like legal theft,we hear this story I

[arunsakda]

Rule #1) Do not purchase a home (or land of course) to be registered in a womans name.

I'm surprised nobody warned you, or maybe you did not listen and now you start your journey down the well worn path of Farang misery and failure.

Contrary to what others have said however, if you can prove adultery you may be able to recover some assets before a Thai court. Good luck but cut your losses asap.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[mcfish]

When in Thailand rent rent rent...and not talking condos

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[Pib]

If I read the OP's post correctly he got the loan in the UK. And just because the loan paperwork identifies the purpose of the loan to buy land in Thailand that means nothing in reference to loan collateral. Plus the OP said the land is probably in grandma's name. Sounds like the loan was just a personal loan for around 18,000 pounds without any collateral requirement.

Probably the only chance in the OP in getting some money out of the future ex-wife is try to get her to give him X-amount of money before agreeing to a divorce....basically no divorce until they settle up the outstanding loan amount. Or, just suck it up as a hard lesson learned and get on with live without a cheating wife.

[HauptmannUK]

Sounds like your going to be paying about £11k back over the next three years. Not to diminish your suffering, but I would say you got off pretty lightly compared to some. I would put it down as the price you've paid to receive an education...

[blackcab]

Everyone had pretty much summed it up. With the UK loan you will have to pay because she won't. With the Thai land, there is a high probability either:

1. She never purchased it, or

2. She purchased it in her mum's name so you have zero chance of claiming anything when the divorce happened. This of course will lead you to the correct conclusion that you have been played by everyone since day one.

You cannot recover your money, no matter what any lawyer tells you. All the lawyer will do is tell you what you want to hear then take your money. This is the follow on scam.

Even if the land is in her name and you divorce her then claim half, the land has to be sold for you to get your money. Do you think for one second a Thai person will buy that land when her entire family don't want that to happen? Any potential purchasers will be warned off by the family of one if the areas longest inhabitants.

You would pay good money to a lawyer to get you half of something that is worth nothing.

Walk away. Seriously. Otherwise this will be going on for years.

Question: What sort of land, where is it and how much did you pay per rai?

[ubonjoe]

Topic closed at OP's request.