Condo Ownership

[Alex_03]

Hello all,

I'll buy a condo in my name this month. I would like to know what is happpening to the condo when I'll die.

I'm married with a Thai woman but we are register only in my country, so for Thai law she still single. We've also a son. Even my name is in his birth certificate, we'll need to do some legal procedure when he'll be 5 years old ( they need to interview him ) to "qualify" myself as a father ( or something like that... ). He is holding both Thai passport ( with my wife surname ) and my country passport ( with my surname ). So I would like to know if my wife and/or my kid, can have the condo ownership in the event of something happening to me.

Thanks in advance

Alex

[smilingjim]

Hello all,

I'll buy a condo in my name this month. I would like to know what is happpening to the condo when I'll die.

I'm married with a Thai woman but we are register only in my country, so for Thai law she still single. We've also a son. Even my name is in his birth certificate, we'll need to do some legal procedure when he'll be 5 years old ( they need to interview him ) to "qualify" myself as a father ( or something like that... ). He is holding both Thai passport ( with my wife surname ) and my country passport ( with my surname ). So I would like to know if my wife and/or my kid, can have the condo ownership in the event of something happening to me.

Thanks in advance

Alex

Make out a will in Thailand - registered with the local office where you are buying the condo.

Any good Thai lawyer can do this for you. Pattaya expats website has an excellent article on this.

http://www.pattayacityexpatsclub.com/index.php

look up topics - wills & taxes (last one at the bottom of the page).

[dsfbrit]

You may decide to do something other than make a Will as Smiling Jim sensibly suggests for this particlur situation relating to the condo.

If you do then I would suggest you still make a separate Will for Thailand for all your Thai assets.

I have two wills - a Will for Thailand assets and a Will for UK assets.

I forget all the subtleties of why my lawyer advised I had to do this, but Thai law prefers a Thai Will.

enjoy your new condo Alex

[smilingjim]

You may decide to do something other than make a Will as Smiling Jim sensibly suggests for this particlur situation relating to the condo.

If you do then I would suggest you still make a separate Will for Thailand for all your Thai assets.

I have two wills - a Will for Thailand assets and a Will for UK assets.

I forget all the subtleties of why my lawyer advised I had to do this, but Thai law prefers a Thai Will.

enjoy your new condo Alex

The general rule for estate planning is to have a will for each country that you have assets in.

The main reason for this is that each country tends to have different laws so there could be legal battles over how the assets should be distributed - the last thing beneficiaries would want at such a traumatic time.

The ideal situation is to have a trust as this is quickly dealt with whereas a will can take a long time to sort out - Grant of Probate alone can take a minimum of 6-12 months, even in simple cases. Unfortuately trust law does not exist in Thailand!

dfsbrit - As you are a Brit I hope you have considered any possible Inheritance Tax Liabilities!

[astral]

I am not sure why you think your wife is single?

If you are married that is it.

It does not matter where the ceremony took place, as long as it was a legal marriage!!

Your wife should simply register her status with the local Amphur office.

They will need a certified translation of your marriage certificate, and your embassy will help with that.

By the way probate of a US or UK will is accepted by the Thai courts,

I am not sure about other nationalities.

[dsfbrit]

dfsbrit - As you are a Brit I hope you have considered any possible Inheritance Tax Liabilities!

I have sorted out the IHT thanks. When I did my Will I decided to sort everyhting else out at the same time. Can retire in peace now.