Marriage - Divorce

[womble]

I would like to ask if anyone knows what rights woman have here when a marriage ends. If the marriage is registered at the Amphur, what does this gain? The family name is changed I know this, but what else changes.

If things go wrong does she have any claim to my money? If I die would my estate in Thailand be left to her?

If the marriage is registered in Thailand but not in UK does she have a claim to any money I have outside Thailand?

If we register the marriage at the British embassey do I have any benefits or does this just mean she gets a chance at grabbing some cash if it all goes tits up.

Obviously you don't get married thinking it will go wrong, but it does make sense to know what your getting yourself into.

I don't want replies about sin sot etc, there are enough threads on that and I have no problem with it.

It's legal and financial issues that i'm after.

thanks.

[terry57]

I would like to ask if anyone knows what rights woman have here when a marriage ends. If the marriage is registered at the Amphur, what does this gain? The family name is changed I know this, but what else changes.

If things go wrong does she have any claim to my money? If I die would my estate in Thailand be left to her?

If the marriage is registered in Thailand but not in UK does she have a claim to any money I have outside Thailand?

If we register the marriage at the British embassey do I have any benefits or does this just mean she gets a chance at grabbing some cash if it all goes tits up.

Obviously you don't get married thinking it will go wrong, but it does make sense to know what your getting yourself into.

I don't want replies about sin sot etc, there are enough threads on that and I have no problem with it.

It's legal and financial issues that i'm after.

thanks.

you sound a bit worried womble.

i hope things are ok on your home front.

good luck.

[womble]

No not worried but.....

we've been together over 3 years now and her family have started to ask. I'm happy to marry and take the pressure off providing I don't stand to lose too much. As far as i'm concerned i'm sure it will last, and I know in Thailand it's rare for the woman to ask for divorce.

I'm pretty comfortably off and the same age as her (laet 20's) and provide well for her, so not a bad catch I guess, she works too and has a good family, normal middle class family. Anyway I know people around her town are wondering when there will be a wedding and I don't want them to lose face by letting us go on living together for too long.

Like anything I get into long term I always like to know the possible consequences.

I know my questions may imply that i'm worried, but really i'm not at all.

I just think..........

You should never walk blind into anything.

[sbk]

I am guessing pre-nups are available in Thailand too, perhaps that is the way to go.

[GuestHouse]

If the marriage is registered in Thailand but not in UK does she have a claim to any money I have outside Thailand?

As Borris Becker learned to his cost, it does not matter where you get married, it is where you get divorced that makes the difference.

A prenuptual agreement would be worthless in the UK.

Why some enterprising lawyer has not latched onto the idea that s/he could make a fortune persuing foreigners married to Thais in their home country divorce courts is beyond me. It's a gold mine begging to be plundered.

[womble]

I thought thai women had no rights here......

So I could lose half of everything????

Is a prenup legal in Thailand?

If we do not register the marriage at British embassey can she still get me in UK? All my $ is offshore anyway so wouldn't really matter, more worried about what's here.

I didn't realise Thai woman could get your money here aswell!!

Perhaps having the ceremony at the parents house without signing official documents would be an answer?

I'm not risking being being fleeced sometime in the future thats for sure.

Edited November 22, 2006 by womble

[GuestHouse]

I thought thai women had no rights here......

Under Thai law women have a right to half the marital wealth in divorce. (Thai v Farang - consider half a starting point)

So I could lose half of everything????

No, if you get married, you can only loose the half you gave to your wife when you married her.

Is a prenup legal in Thailand?

I've no idea on that one.

If we do not register the marriage at British embassey can she still get me in UK? All my $ is offshore anyway so wouldn't really matter, more worried about what's here.

You do not have to register your marriage at the British Embassy for a British Court to rule on your divorce. The court needs only determine if it has jurisdiction over the marriage, this will usually be the case if you have any wealth in the UK or either party has a connection to the UK. Wealth in the UK could be, for example your pension.

I didn't realise Thai woman could get your money here aswell!!

It's nolonger your money, it becomes half their money once you get married.

Perhaps having the ceremony at the parents house without signing official documents would be an answer?

A British divorce court has ruled that a non registered marriage (that took place in Borneo) is a marriage for the purposes of divorce law in the UK.

I'm not risking being being fleeced sometime in the future thats for sure.

Perhaps you'd prefare to get married, have a wife around you, perhaps children but be able to dump them at a moments notice without having any responsibility for their welfare.

You could even get a young wife, and trade her in for a new model when she gets a bit too long in the tooth.

If you don't want responsibility, don't get married.

[mrbojangles]

I am led to believe (although not gone through it myself) that Thai divorce is pretty fair. Anything you had before the marriage would stay yours. Anything that you gained during the marriage would be subject to 50/50 split. Anything that was left by relatives, i.e. inheritance would stay with the person who inherited it.

The above is very brief but in a nut shell, is what i have been told. If it isn't the case, i would like to know what the actual case is.

Also, as stated above, it is where you get divorced that matters. The points i am led to believe are if you get divorced in Thailand.

[petecooper]

If you don't want responsibility, don't get married.

Well said.

If you're that concerned, maybe this is the wrong thing for you to be doing in your life.

You say "I don't mind getting married to take the pressure off.... etc" but IMHO this is not what the motivation to marry is supposed to be all about!

[womble]

If you don't want responsibility, don't get married.

Well said.

If you're that concerned, maybe this is the wrong thing for you to be doing in your life.

You say "I don't mind getting married to take the pressure off.... etc" but IMHO this is not what the motivation to marry is supposed to be all about!

No you are completly wrong and I will not entertain this suggestion. I have decided to stay with this girl the rest of my life, I am happy to marry but not if it could cost me. I don't think it's wrong to Marry after pressure from the parents, we live in Thailand and if i'm going to stay with her for life anyway it is not good to bring shame on her family by having her live in sin all her life.

I trust this girl but.....

A great many people here have been taken in and most of those trusted their wife. Thing is the wife was out to get them from the start, they couldn't know that because they were taken in.

So i'm basically out to protect myself. I'm happy to help out her family, set her up in business, and if we had a business together I would be happy to give her half of that.

But I have fairly substantial investments and would not be happy to lose half of this wealth and I do not think this is being unfair.

I'm not thinking of trading in for a sportier model in future years, but it's kind of expected that somone may suggest that on this forum.

Perhaps some others will come out and have more digs at what they think are my intensions.

The fact remains a great many people here are duped into marriage or giving money and then being ripped off.

I am 99.9 percent sure this will not happen. I want to protect myself for the 0.1 percent chance I do.

It's just as likley her feelings may change for me in the future, is it not right that I should want to know the consequences if that were to happen years down the road.

If I was poor I wouldn't give a toss, i'd have nothing to lose. This is not the case though, I have worked hard at building my wealth and would like to keep it thanks.

Some of you may have nothing to lose, fine. I think those who have more to lose though would like to know the consequences.

Like I said only a fool walks into anything blind.

There are some fools on this forum.

Edited November 22, 2006 by womble

[terry57]

I thought thai women had no rights here......

So I could lose half of everything????

Is a prenup legal in Thailand?

If we do not register the marriage at British embassey can she still get me in UK? All my $ is offshore anyway so wouldn't really matter, more worried about what's here.

I didn't realise Thai woman could get your money here aswell!!

Perhaps having the ceremony at the parents house without signing official documents would be an answer?

I'm not risking being being fleeced sometime in the future thats for sure.

you sound like a smart guy womble and always remeber to protect your money.

you can always get another women but if you lose all your coin as well your in big trouble as many guys will tell you.

cheers

[GuestHouse]

There are some fools on this forum.

It didn't become the sucess it is with them

[ltdknowledge]

If you don't want responsibility, don't get married.

Well said.

If you're that concerned, maybe this is the wrong thing for you to be doing in your life.

You say "I don't mind getting married to take the pressure off.... etc" but IMHO this is not what the motivation to marry is supposed to be all about!

No you are completly wrong and I will not entertain this suggestion. I have decided to stay with this girl the rest of my life, I am happy to marry but not if it could cost me. I don't think it's wrong to Marry after pressure from the parents, we live in Thailand and if i'm going to stay with her for life anyway it is not good to bring shame on her family by having her live in sin all her life.

I trust this girl but.....

A great many people here have been taken in and most of those trusted their wife. Thing is the wife was out to get them from the start, they couldn't know that because they were taken in.

So i'm basically out to protect myself. I'm happy to help out her family, set her up in business, and if we had a business together I would be happy to give her half of that.

But I have fairly substantial investments and would not be happy to lose half of this wealth and I do not think this is being unfair.

I'm not thinking of trading in for a sportier model in future years, but it's kind of expected that somone may suggest that on this forum.

Perhaps some others will come out and have more digs at what they think are my intensions.

The fact remains a great many people here are duped into marriage or giving money and then being ripped off.

I am 99.9 percent sure this will not happen. I want to protect myself for the 0.1 percent chance I do.

It's just as likley her feelings may change for me in the future, is it not right that I should want to know the consequences if that were to happen years down the road.

If I was poor I wouldn't give a toss, i'd have nothing to lose. This is not the case though, I have worked hard at building my wealth and would like to keep it thanks.

Some of you may have nothing to lose, fine. I think those who have more to lose though would like to know the consequences.

Like I said only a fool walks into anything blind.

There are some fools on this forum.

You speak my kinda language, well said.

[terry57]

wombel,

the thing is that when 2 people decide to wed or even just live together its all good intentions at the start.

now life being what it is sometimes things change after a few years and people go there own ways. theres's nothing wrong with this as its a fact.

another fact is that when you split up the male will have tp part with a substantial part of the wealth whether earned before or in the partnership.

i'll give you a EXAMPLE.

myself has never been married as i did not want the responsibility of children and never thought i would be in a relationship forever as im heading to live in los.

ive had 2 long term relationships (7 years each) and a few shorter ones.

when my long term ones fell over it cost me a <deleted> load of money and assets and we were not even married.

just the way it works mate and we did not even have to go to a lawyer.

lucky ive still got a fair bit of coin left and my only worry now is the same as yours.

what is going to happen as far as security on my assets go when i finally settle in los and find myself a nice women as that will happen for sure when i open myself up to this possibility.

look mate,

when you got the answer sorted out can you please let me know. ?

cheers

[mrbojangles]

Womble, don't listen to the guys who say "if your thinking about divorce already, don't get married blah, blah, blah". You have every right to know and to ask what you are letting yourself into.

I got married to a girl i was going to spend the rest of my life with and never thought about, if it all went wrong. Well guess what, it did go wrong and it cost me. Once bitten and all that

[mpdkorat]

If you don't want responsibility, don't get married.

Well said.

If you're that concerned, maybe this is the wrong thing for you to be doing in your life.

You say "I don't mind getting married to take the pressure off.... etc" but IMHO this is not what the motivation to marry is supposed to be all about!

No you are completly wrong and I will not entertain this suggestion. I have decided to stay with this girl the rest of my life, I am happy to marry but not if it could cost me. I don't think it's wrong to Marry after pressure from the parents, we live in Thailand and if i'm going to stay with her for life anyway it is not good to bring shame on her family by having her live in sin all her life.

I trust this girl but.....

A great many people here have been taken in and most of those trusted their wife. Thing is the wife was out to get them from the start, they couldn't know that because they were taken in.

So i'm basically out to protect myself. I'm happy to help out her family, set her up in business, and if we had a business together I would be happy to give her half of that.

But I have fairly substantial investments and would not be happy to lose half of this wealth and I do not think this is being unfair.

I'm not thinking of trading in for a sportier model in future years, but it's kind of expected that somone may suggest that on this forum.

Perhaps some others will come out and have more digs at what they think are my intensions.

The fact remains a great many people here are duped into marriage or giving money and then being ripped off.

I am 99.9 percent sure this will not happen. I want to protect myself for the 0.1 percent chance I do.

It's just as likley her feelings may change for me in the future, is it not right that I should want to know the consequences if that were to happen years down the road.

If I was poor I wouldn't give a toss, i'd have nothing to lose. This is not the case though, I have worked hard at building my wealth and would like to keep it thanks.

Some of you may have nothing to lose, fine. I think those who have more to lose though would like to know the consequences.

Like I said only a fool walks into anything blind.

There are some fools on this forum.

You are right to be careful. Basically as I understand it, what you own when you enter the marriage remains yours and visa versa in the case of the wife. What you buy after marriage is jointly owned.

[LaoPo]

Womble:

Always marry with a pre-nuptial agreement, whether in LOS or UK or both !

It's not just to protect you but also the lady in question. Too many people (heavily in love ) still marry without a pre-nup and end up being in serious trouble, once the marriage fails....

The pre-nup has to be (also) in a language the Lady can read and write and fully understands; so, in most cases in has to be translated in another (in your case:Thai) language.

I have done the same (but different language); I have however put a special clause in the agreement that if the marriage would eventually fail, my wife will get a certain 'sum' which is more than fair and she would be able to continue her life 'comfortable'.

But that's up to each and everyone, of course.

Some people consider a pre-nup as a kind of mistrust but a marriage is a 50/50 agreement and in most cases one of the partners has (considerable) more money/assets than the other.

But it is more or less the same if one would go into a business-agreement on a 50/50 basis....would you want to share your assets/money also with this partner if the business goes bankrupt because of mistakes this partner makes and the tax-people and/or creditors come looking for more...... ?

NO !

Good luck in your marriage but be prepared.

LaoPo

[whopper]

pack your shit and leave the country if you dont like it anymore. The chances of the ex finding you are very small, esp. if they cant get visas , cash etc.

[gregchambers]

UK law is, I think, one of the people involved has to be UK resident, so if you are non-resident should be okay.

As you say, keep your assets in a third country not much they can do against you.

[GuestHouse]

UK law is, I think, one of the people involved has to be UK resident, so if you are non-resident should be okay.

Not true. The Court Decides if it has jurisdiction on the basis of residence of the divorcing parties in the UK, or the residence of any wealth of the divorcing parties in the UK.

So, if you have an occupational or private pension in the UK, that would be sufficient grounds for the a UK court to agree to hear a divorce petition, since the pension is subject to division of assets on divorce.

Likewise a house, savings, or any investments.

Like I said above, this is a gold mine begging to be plundered.

[womble]

wombel,

the thing is that when 2 people decide to wed or even just live together its all good intentions at the start.

now life being what it is sometimes things change after a few years and people go there own ways. theres's nothing wrong with this as its a fact.

another fact is that when you split up the male will have tp part with a substantial part of the wealth whether earned before or in the partnership.

i'll give you a EXAMPLE.

myself has never been married as i did not want the responsibility of children and never thought i would be in a relationship forever as im heading to live in los.

ive had 2 long term relationships (7 years each) and a few shorter ones.

when my long term ones fell over it cost me a <deleted> load of money and assets and we were not even married.

just the way it works mate and we did not even have to go to a lawyer.

lucky ive still got a fair bit of coin left and my only worry now is the same as yours.

what is going to happen as far as security on my assets go when i finally settle in los and find myself a nice women as that will happen for sure when i open myself up to this possibility.

look mate,

when you got the answer sorted out can you please let me know. ?

cheers

I will let you know, two friends of mine in Uk just went through extremely messy divorces, they lost a load and both of their money grabbing wives went into the marriage with nothing.

The way things are going in UK, woman will get every last penny the guy has. Heather Mills is an example, she claims her only fault was to fall in love, if thats the case she should drop the figure of her settlement to something acceptable like 1 or 2 million, not half! She's full of it and a prime example of why us men need to understand the law and protect ourselves.

Now listen, I have no problem with sharing $ we made in business together, or paying maintainance to my kids, but I will not hand over money I worked my arse of for before I even met her, why should I, and I willn not hand over money that I made on my own investments even though they would be offshore anyway so I guess not an issue.

When a marriage ends for whatever reason there are two ways woman often try to get back at the man, the kids and money.

Personally I'm a firm believer that kids should be with their Mother (ideally both parents), although in certain unfortunate circumstances the father is sometimes the best option.

I'll say this again, I do not think the marriage will end, and I certainly wouldn't moan about giving her a fair amount of money if it did for whatever reason but..................

The fact remains she is just as likely to end it as me and like anything in life that involves risk, it nice to know just exactly what those risks are.

[pluto_manibo]

Why get married just buy her a house...that shows commitment as well and is fair.

[sumrit]

I believe if you want to get divorced in the UK you don't have to go through the UK courts, if you both agree you can get divorced through the Thai embassy in London. The papers are available on the London Thai embassy web site and basically you decide between yourselves how to divide any money, property etc (maybe a prenup) and who has custody of any children, and go to a prearranged appointment to the embassy with the relevent documents and two witnesses. No solicitors are involved and as far as I have been told (by a thai friend going through this at the moment) there are no lengthly delays. It can all be sorted in a few weeks but it does need agreement between both parties.

[GuestHouse]

Womble, I'm beginning to understand exactly why it is you are in Thailand.

[paulsmithson]

First marriage to an English girl lasted 23 years,I worked bloody hard and was very sucessful in business and never played around ( never wanted to and I was too busy working)

Result-she cleaned the bank account out in 86 when I was starting an import export business Thailand and UK.

One year later and I arrive back in the uK with £50 and a new wife.

-20 years later and I am wanting to retire to Thailand. my wife had been a good wife ( I thought) and never cheated on me. I had educated her to the extent where she had gained Bsc here and apart from her education had never worked except as my company secretary ( a job that she did well)

Then the crunch-she has been a gambler for year ( I knew and tried to keep it under control-she had used a little of my money and as long as that had been quantified it was not welcomed by myself but it was simply a bad triat that I sought to wean her off)

Earlier this year she confessed to being in severe financial trouble with huge debts acquired as a result of her gambling. Under Uk law I am responsible for her debts so cleaered many but am stil left with over £50,000 to pay and only £38,000 in the bank.

Decided to sell the house and cash in my investments and retire to Thailand

Big discussions followed about whose bank account the money wold go to in Thailand.

I told her staright that the money was earned by me-fortunately she does now know the English law too well.

She was gutted when i down loaded the land registry title to three parcels of land that i own to see that they are all owned in my name and not joint names.

I will retire there next year and will move my money out of the UK.I may even move it into Thai bank account in my own name but am worried that she may then make her move and try for half of my hard earned cash.

Had she been totaly honest with me in the Uk I would have given her my last breath never mind half my money-She has had an education from me and had never worked so I think that i have fulfilled any obigations to her now.Her thanks to me has been to get me in debt .

Yes I wil come to Thailand and look after her there in a modest way and she will never starve.

If she even tries to get my monies she will fail.Regardless of any court.

Al I would say to any young guy is that any woman -regardless of race or length of relationship-will screw you if things go wrong. protect yourself at a times and do a better job of it than I have foolishy done

[LaoPo]

1 question Paulsmithson:

do/did you have a pre-nuptial arrangement prior to your marriage(s) ?

LaoPo

[jumnien]

I got married to a Thai woman 4 years ago and was advised by my US lawyer to get married in Thailand and do a pre-nupt in Thailand, which we did. There were large assets and partnerships to protect. The process of writing the pre-nupt was very beneficial to our relationship as we revealed more of what our expectations and fears were. If you want to contact me off line, just send me a message.

[Tornado]

Im going through a dicorce at the moment myself, I was lucky I never registered the marriage, otherwise the ex would of gotten a lot more than she contributed - in a lawyers hands that is..

Splitting up assets to seperate a relationship is a horrible position as you once cared for the woman (still do to some extent) and you want the best for both of you (in my case anyway) without losing years of saving and collecting to ensure a quality of life.

I have asked my ex what she wants, but she is stubborn and says she wants nothing.. That I will not do to her, as she was a great part of my life and she deserves a portion of "our" assets.

My position is probably a little unique but also a worry for me. Im going back to our house today to try and make here keep a few assets to make her life as easy as I can.

[Buckwheat]

I'll never forget the words of Elmer Kauffamn, spoken to me the day I got married...

"I hope the screwing you're gettin' is worth the screwing your gonna get"

[a2396]

I would like to ask if anyone knows what rights woman have here when a marriage ends. If the marriage is registered at the Amphur, what does this gain? The family name is changed I know this, but what else changes.

If things go wrong does she have any claim to my money? If I die would my estate in Thailand be left to her?

If the marriage is registered in Thailand but not in UK does she have a claim to any money I have outside Thailand?

If we register the marriage at the British embassey do I have any benefits or does this just mean she gets a chance at grabbing some cash if it all goes tits up.

Obviously you don't get married thinking it will go wrong, but it does make sense to know what your getting yourself into.

I don't want replies about sin sot etc, there are enough threads on that and I have no problem with it.

It's legal and financial issues that i'm after.

thanks.

[/quote

Don't get legally married to her, inless you want to take her back to UK, in which case you may have to. There is no reason to complicate your life by a legal marriage, if you are residing in Thailand. Many, many Thais do not. If the girl or family doesn't like it, tell them to take a hike.