Divorce Through Court

[ajcnx]

Any real time experience of getting a divorce through court and splitting the assests as said 50-50 . 

Need real experience what really happened in your case. As my wife just wants to kick me off without anything that we possess and earned in 16 years.

everything that we own is all in her name but we acquired it together by working together in 2 different bussiness. If i go through court what are my chances.

Thanks in advance.

[happylarry]

PM sent.

[MikeyIdea]

If the assets were bought after you two legally married, then your chances are good indeed. Juvenile court will split assets 50/50 and they will also ignore any agreement that you perhaps had to sign at the land office/amphur. I have seen this happen in court myself

 

Your have 2 risks here

1) Your Thai lawyer

2) Wifey refuses to sell, puts price so high that it will never sell etc. That will prolong things considerably but should not affect the end result

 

Any kids involved? 

 

Ground Rules:

You can trust the court but not your Thai lawyer. Tell your lawyer from the beginning that you will let the court order and appeal if you don't get 50% and follow through on it. Never show any hesitation when you tell your lawyer that. Any Thai lawyer who says that appeal takes more than a year is exaggerating, Family court is normally quick. If you sign a mutual agreement, then you stand no chance appealing it so never sign anything that you are not happy with. Always bring your own interpretor and don't let him get close to your lawyer. Any Thai lawyer who suggests that you should/could get less than 50% because of whatever is most likely not fighting well for you. Any lawyer who says that you can't get 50% because of the agreement that you perhaps signed at the land office/amphur is not fighting well enough for you, just let the court order and that will most likely change.  Most Thai lawyers don't know that you have to appeal for assets not transferred as per court agreement within one year of original court agreement date regardless of if the other party appeals, don't miss this. If you don't get 50% of assets in court for whatever reason (foul play...) then most likely better take your chances in the appeals court. If you have doubts that your lawyer supported you as he should, then replace him for the Appeals court

 

Courts have a different working style in Thailand but they are generally very fair and not biased against foreigners and fathers, these posts can teach you more what to expect in court

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/948816-daughter-travelling-with-mewill-i-have-difficulty-leaving-thailand-with-her/?page=2#comment-11375871

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/949770-does-the-court-listen-to-12-year-old-childrens-wishes-in-case-of-divorce/#comment-11258492

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/944516-child-maintenance/#comment-11190079

 

Harry is always posting good advice :)

 

Good Luck

 

Mikey 

 

[happylarry]

Good post Mikey except for one thing I don't agree with, when you say bring your own interpreter to the court.....are you serious mate.

Before I explain I have to say that I am biased because my wife is a court interpreter, and a damn good one too.

Anyway good interpreters are few and far between so you can't just grab someone off the street. You may know someone who speaks English quite well but do they know all the legal terms that would be used. I doubt it. Similarly when it comes to having my car serviced at a garage, my wife can't tell me what parts the mechanic are talking about because she simply has never come across these words.

Also you need to consider that the interpreter isnt just there to fill you in on what the judge is saying, the interpreter is actually representing you in the court as much as the lawyer is, because when you are being questioned it is the interpreter who has to interpret your answers and put it over to the court, so you definitely don't want someone who is going to be umming and aaahhhhhing.

My wife and I have been together for thirteen years now and she now speaks English like a native and not only has she been working in the courts for over four years but she is also doing a law degree so she can become a lawyer herself eventually, anyway that's my bit of marketing over but seriously Mikey you want to consider all this carefully before you give that bit of advise again.

So what do you think?

HL

 

[ajcnx]

13 hours ago, MikeyIdea said:

If the assets were bought after you two legally married, then your chances are good indeed. Juvenile court will split assets 50/50 and they will also ignore any agreement that you perhaps had to sign at the land office/amphur. I have seen this happen in court myself

 

Your have 2 risks here

1) Your Thai lawyer

2) Wifey refuses to sell, puts price so high that it will never sell etc. That will prolong things considerably but should not affect the end result

 

Any kids involved? 

 

Ground Rules:

You can trust the court but not your Thai lawyer. Tell your lawyer from the beginning that you will let the court order and appeal if you don't get 50% and follow through on it. Never show any hesitation when you tell your lawyer that. Any Thai lawyer who says that appeal takes more than a year is exaggerating, Family court is normally quick. If you sign a mutual agreement, then you stand no chance appealing it so never sign anything that you are not happy with. Always bring your own interpretor and don't let him get close to your lawyer. Any Thai lawyer who suggests that you should/could get less than 50% because of whatever is most likely not fighting well for you. Any lawyer who says that you can't get 50% because of the agreement that you perhaps signed at the land office/amphur is not fighting well enough for you, just let the court order and that will most likely change.  Most Thai lawyers don't know that you have to appeal for assets not transferred as per court agreement within one year of original court agreement date regardless of if the other party appeals, don't miss this. If you don't get 50% of assets in court for whatever reason (foul play...) then most likely better take your chances in the appeals court. If you have doubts that your lawyer supported you as he should, then replace him for the Appeals court

 

Courts have a different working style in Thailand but they are generally very fair and not biased against foreigners and fathers, these posts can teach you more what to expect in court

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/948816-daughter-travelling-with-mewill-i-have-difficulty-leaving-thailand-with-her/?page=2#comment-11375871

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/949770-does-the-court-listen-to-12-year-old-childrens-wishes-in-case-of-divorce/#comment-11258492

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/944516-child-maintenance/#comment-11190079

 

Harry is always posting good advice :)

 

Good Luck

 

Mikey 

 

Thanks Mikey,

I beleive i do not need a Interperator as i can speak good and fair enough Thai and my vocabulary is pretty good. 

But thanks for your help and concern . 

[MikeyIdea]

22 hours ago, happylarry said:

Good post Mikey except for one thing I don't agree with, when you say bring your own interpreter to the court.....are you serious mate.

Before I explain I have to say that I am biased because my wife is a court interpreter, and a damn good one too.

Anyway good interpreters are few and far between so you can't just grab someone off the street. You may know someone who speaks English quite well but do they know all the legal terms that would be used. I doubt it. Similarly when it comes to having my car serviced at a garage, my wife can't tell me what parts the mechanic are talking about because she simply has never come across these words.

Also you need to consider that the interpreter isnt just there to fill you in on what the judge is saying, the interpreter is actually representing you in the court as much as the lawyer is, because when you are being questioned it is the interpreter who has to interpret your answers and put it over to the court, so you definitely don't want someone who is going to be umming and aaahhhhhing.

My wife and I have been together for thirteen years now and she now speaks English like a native and not only has she been working in the courts for over four years but she is also doing a law degree so she can become a lawyer herself eventually, anyway that's my bit of marketing over but seriously Mikey you want to consider all this carefully before you give that bit of advise again.

So what do you think?

HL

 

 

Harry, I think the same as you, the interpretor is sometimes more important than the lawyer in court. What I mainly mean is that it should not be one recommended by or someone who knows the lawyer well but I also have a serious concern to consider with interpretors attached to the court. I'll explain below

 

We already know that a lawyer = one who is within the establishment so to speak feels the pressure of the hierarchy so much that he often doesn't advice that it is better to go against the judges wishes and just let the court order even though he knows it is true

 

This is not necessarily because he is bad, this is simply the force of Thai culture. It is starting already in early childhood and it is reinforced all through the school years and continues through university. It is not a coincidence that a teacher or a professor teaches the same mistake year after year because no student ever tells him that he is wrong. It's the power of the culture and it doesn't stop when we enter a court room. If you find a lawyer who recommends you to "let them order," then stick to him, they're pretty difficult to find

 

I wrote what I did because if an interpretor is attached to the court and feels he is part of the establishment, then he also feels the the same pressure. He works and walks in the same corridors where the judges get the same respect as God. If he can distance himself from all this, if he can think "I am outside this" then he/she is a superb choice. That is difficult! 

 

I can think of many Thai's in the office I work who would be excellent interpreters, but I'd of course rather choose an interpretor attached to the court than a lower educated person or one who lacks self confidence and authority.. I agree with you, an interpretor is equally important to the lawyer or sometimes more important too. I have seen the tough lawyer shrink to nothing when he was told off by the judge, an interpretor must not! 

 

I think that a Thai interpretor married to a farang and used to the western style would be absolutely excellent. I think that I and your wife would make a great team and happily argue the judges to death politely not caring even one bit about their status :)  I doubt many of the other court interpretors would 

 

Totally depends on who 

 

I'm interested in your wife's opinion about the other interpretors attached to the court. Do they feel the same pressure as the lawyers or do they consider themselves outside that?

 

Mikey

 

[happylarry]

Mikey I have asked her and she tells me that other interpreters that are connected to the court just turn up at the hearing and literally just interpret word for word and have no feeling or input into the proceedings at all. They are literally doing their job but they are JUST doing their job, so personally if I ever needed an interpreter one day then I most certainly would not have one provided by the court.  Also I would never entertain going into court without one even if I could speak Thai, I'm sure there are very few farangs who are that proficient at the language and for the sake of saving a few baht up against the possibility of losing a few million or whatever then theres no contest. But as the saying goes you can lead a horse to water but you cant make it drink.....lol

HL