Liability for wife's debt

[Arco]

Hi,

Please understand my poor English..

 

I have a Thai wife and we've been married for around 3 years.

Now I'm considering to apply for Non O multi entry visa, but there is an issue about my wife's debt.

 

I have only my own bank account for keeping my salary and a car (under my wife's name).

Will any of these be taken by banks due to following debt of my wife, after getting the visa?

(frankly I'm not sure whether this debt-issue is relevant to the visa, because so far there has been no problem even I have a marriage certificate)

 

Basically my wife just let her family use her name for all of her debts (credit cards, loan for property-house) and I also was not involved (signed) in any.

They haven been paying back by themselves, but the situation went wrong and they couldn't pay back for several months already.

Now my wife got to be sued by the banks.

[JAS21]

First thing to do is for your wife to transfer everything that she owns out of her name. Buy the car off her. Just go with her to the LTO and pay the transfer fee. If she ownes a house bit unlucky as the bank will want it eventually. I think ignore all letter and don't admit the debt.

 

Don't let her transfer anything to her family who clearly are totally irresponsible!

 

There have been several topics on debts ... I'm sure someone will point you in the right direction.

 

If she doesn't work another option is for you both to move but don't change her name in the house book.

 

Tough

[ubonjoe]

10 hours ago, Arco said:

I have only my own bank account for keeping my salary and a car (under my wife's name).

Will any of these be taken by banks due to following debt of my wife, after getting the visa?

(frankly I'm not sure whether this debt-issue is relevant to the visa, because so far there has been no problem even I have a marriage certificate)

The basic answer is no.

You can get multiple entry non-o visa at the consulate  in Savannakhet Laos without any money in the bank.

Only an extension of stay based upon marriage requires 400k baht in a Thai bank for 2 months or proof 40k baht income.

[wayned]

10 hours ago, JAS21 said:

 

Don't let her transfer anything to her family who clearly are totally irresponsible!

 

Really!  Sounds like a well thought out plan, by everything in wife's name and let the farang pay! 

[steven100]

hmmmmm  .....  wifey has prolific debt which I didn't know prior to our marriage ...

 

what could possibly go wrong  .....

[glegolo]

Come to think about the name of this thread and have a question for you guys.... Are we husbands, really responsibel för our wifes debts, before and during our marriage??

 

Would be nice to know the obvious, I guess..

Thanks for your input..

 

Glegolo

[hocuspocus]

11 hours ago, Arco said:

Hi,

Please understand my poor English..

 

I have a Thai wife and we've been married for around 3 years.

Now I'm considering to apply for Non O multi entry visa, but there is an issue about my wife's debt.

 

I have only my own bank account for keeping my salary and a car (under my wife's name).

Will any of these be taken by banks due to following debt of my wife, after getting the visa?

(frankly I'm not sure whether this debt-issue is relevant to the visa, because so far there has been no problem even I have a marriage certificate)

 

Basically my wife just let her family use her name for all of her debts (credit cards, loan for property-house) and I also was not involved (signed) in any.

They haven been paying back by themselves, but the situation went wrong and they couldn't pay back for several months already.

Now my wife got to be sued by the banks.

I was worried about that happening to me so we got married in Hong Kong (not registered in Thailand) as basically my wife's family are irresponsible with money, taking out loans for cars etc and not having the resources to pay the monthly payments. Yes I help them with payments but only because I can but if anything went wrong with the relationship I could walk away and not worry about their debts if my wife has acted as guarantee. Everything I have in Thailand is in my name. I fail to see how banks will lend 400,000 baht to poor farmers to buy a second hand car without them having a good credit rating yet they would not lend money to me with probably 10 times my wife's family's income.

[gosamgo]

I had a situation not too many years ago! Unknown to me,  my wife went guarantor for her nieces car and after some years things went wrong and the repayments were stopped?

The finance company went looking for her niece who could'ent be found. They then looked for the car which also could'ent be found. My wife the guarantor was found, but they realized she had no assets or income. It was then they had an 'eureka moment' when it was discovered she was married to a Farang who owned his own Condo!  They then applied to the courts for possession against the outstanding amount and one day I was called back from my breakfast and confronted by a very nice man who officially served me papers to the effect that I should pay this amount without delay or lose my Condo!  Lucky I knew where the car was, took possession, sold it for the exact amount owed and considered myself blessed that I had learned such a valuable lesson!

[vukovar77]

39 minutes ago, hocuspocus said:

I was worried about that happening to me so we got married in Hong Kong (not registered in Thailand) as basically my wife's family are irresponsible with money, taking out loans for cars etc and not having the resources to pay the monthly payments. Yes I help them with payments but only because I can but if anything went wrong with the relationship I could walk away and not worry about their debts if my wife has acted as guarantee. Everything I have in Thailand is in my name. I fail to see how banks will lend 400,000 baht to poor farmers to buy a second hand car without them having a good credit rating yet they would not lend money to me with probably 10 times my wife's family's income.

To help them to pay their debts,you will make them just more irresponsible!

Most of Thais think that it is normal for farangs to pay for a family and they are not grateful !

[vukovar77]

6 minutes ago, gosamgo said:

I had a situation not too many years ago! Unknown to me,  my wife went guarantor for her nieces car and after some years things went wrong and the repayments were stopped?

The finance company went looking for her niece who could'ent be found. They then looked for the car which also could'ent be found. My wife the guarantor was found, but they realized she had no assets or income. It was then they had an 'eureka moment' when it was discovered she was married to a Farang who owned his own Condo!  They then applied to the courts for possession against the outstanding amount and one day I was called back from my breakfast and confronted by a very nice man who officially served me papers to the effect that I should pay this amount without delay or lose my Condo!  Lucky I knew where the car was, took possession, sold it for the exact amount owed and considered myself blessed that I had learned such a valuable lesson!

Yeah,it is a Thai Law!

I know Thai women which has to pay for her husband debt more than 2 M BHT.She even does not know about this debt!

Many Thai women try to find farang husband to pay her or lover or family debts!

[SOUTHERNSTAR]

I think I am right to say that this situation will depend on when the debt was occurred and what assets was bought when. If the debt was occurred before marriage then the husband should not be accountable. A farang husbands assets that he bought before marriage is also outside of the joint estate. To transfer assets from your wife into your name now will help nothing as any assets gained after marriage form part of the joint estate. A good pre nup can also prevent this. If you go into hiding now you will be hiding for the rest of your life. Get a legal opinion from a good lawyer as we aren't qualified to give 100% correct advice

[kingstonkid]

The simplistic solution is to find out how much debt there is.  Contact the organizations or banks holding the debt and cancel all access for funds.  Have her set up a payment program with the people that she owes.

 

They are not stupid if she makes a reasonable and continuous payment even if it is small they will leave her alone.

 

If she gives money or assistance to family in any means stop it that is the money she can use.

 

Are you responsible for her debt NON BUT

 

Do you like driving your car, and living in your house?

 

If the answer is yess then you need think about what you need to do.

 

Again paying off the debt is not important it is making payments

 

[Searat7]

1 hour ago, gosamgo said:

I had a situation not too many years ago! Unknown to me,  my wife went guarantor for her nieces car and after some years things went wrong and the repayments were stopped?

The finance company went looking for her niece who could'ent be found. They then looked for the car which also could'ent be found. My wife the guarantor was found, but they realized she had no assets or income. It was then they had an 'eureka moment' when it was discovered she was married to a Farang who owned his own Condo!  They then applied to the courts for possession against the outstanding amount and one day I was called back from my breakfast and confronted by a very nice man who officially served me papers to the effect that I should pay this amount without delay or lose my Condo!  Lucky I knew where the car was, took possession, sold it for the exact amount owed and considered myself blessed that I had learned such a valuable lesson!

My brother in law once defined a guarantor as an A hole with a pen

[janpharma]

Don't ever "gurantee" and don't ever let them have a Credit Card...

[jacko45k]

2 hours ago, glegolo said:

Come to think about the name of this thread and have a question for you guys.... Are we husbands, really responsibel för our wifes debts, before and during our marriage??

 

Would be nice to know the obvious, I guess..

Thanks for your input..

 

Glegolo

Well the 'before' is redundant is it not, as the debt was still there when you got married?

[hocuspocus]

2 hours ago, vukovar77 said:

To help them to pay their debts,you will make them just more irresponsible!

Most of Thais think that it is normal for farangs to pay for a family and they are not grateful !

What my wife does not realise is that while I am helping pay their debt, is that work on the house I am building (for my wife) will stop until the debt payments stop. Believe me I was going to put a lot more into the house than they are getting from me. At the end of the day my wife will be the loser as by supporting her loser parents my wife will lose out as she risks the chance of not getting the house finished.My wife backs her family all the way and when I start telling her that they are losers (her mother is ok but father is a lazy a---) she gets annoyed and makes excuses for her parents.Lets face it most Thai people are easily fooled into believing what you tell them (ok not just Thai people).So I convince my wife that the only money I have spare every month is the debt payment money and it is up to her weather or not it goes to pay the debt or be spent on the house.

[oldhippy]

17 minutes ago, hocuspocus said:

What my wife does not realise is that while I am helping pay their debt, is that work on the house I am building (for my wife) will stop until the debt payments stop. Believe me I was going to put a lot more into the house than they are getting from me. At the end of the day my wife will be the loser as by supporting her loser parents my wife will lose out as she risks the chance of not getting the house finished.My wife backs her family all the way and when I start telling her that they are losers (her mother is ok but father is a lazy a---) she gets annoyed and makes excuses for her parents.Lets face it most Thai people are easily fooled into believing what you tell them (ok not just Thai people).So I convince my wife that the only money I have spare every month is the debt payment money and it is up to her weather or not it goes to pay the debt or be spent on the house.

Very true, but Thais can not plan or think of the future.

And they easily go into self destruction mode.

Face.

So who loses when you don't put extra money in her/your house?

 

I tried something similar with my wife when her lazy stupid egocentric un buddhist 26 years old son moved in with us.

We were married 9 years, 66 and 62 years old.

Of course she chose poverty and her son over a good life with trips to Europe every year with me.

A lose lose situation, but 1 of the losers does not understand that she loses.

 

 

[elgordo38]

4 hours ago, steven100 said:

hmmmmm  .....  wifey has prolific debt which I didn't know prior to our marriage ...

 

what could possibly go wrong  .....

Everything.  It is often said we do not know the other person we share life with entirely. 

Edited March 25, 2017 by elgordo38

[elgordo38]

56 minutes ago, hocuspocus said:

What my wife does not realise is that while I am helping pay their debt, is that work on the house I am building (for my wife) will stop until the debt payments stop. Believe me I was going to put a lot more into the house than they are getting from me. At the end of the day my wife will be the loser as by supporting her loser parents my wife will lose out as she risks the chance of not getting the house finished.My wife backs her family all the way and when I start telling her that they are losers (her mother is ok but father is a lazy a---) she gets annoyed and makes excuses for her parents.Lets face it most Thai people are easily fooled into believing what you tell them (ok not just Thai people).So I convince my wife that the only money I have spare every month is the debt payment money and it is up to her weather or not it goes to pay the debt or be spent on the house.

Time to put the hammer down like in run for it. 

[impulse]

3 hours ago, SOUTHERNSTAR said:

I think I am right to say that this situation will depend on when the debt was occurred and what assets was bought when. If the debt was occurred before marriage then the husband should not be accountable. 

 

Pretty easy for the spouse to borrow money today (during the marriage) to pay off the debt incurred before the marriage.  Then you're hooped anyway.

[hocuspocus]

42 minutes ago, oldhippy said:

Very true, but Thais can not plan or think of the future.

And they easily go into self destruction mode.

Face.

So who loses when you don't put extra money in her/your house?

 

I tried something similar with my wife when her lazy stupid egocentric un buddhist 26 years old son moved in with us.

We were married 9 years, 66 and 62 years old.

Of course she chose poverty and her son over a good life with trips to Europe every year with me.

A lose lose situation, but 1 of the losers does not understand that she loses.

 

 

Wow that was a big mistake moving in her 26 year old son, a recipe for disaster. If I stop putting money into the house she will be the biggest loser. Sorry I did not mention that we have a baby due in a couple of months and I have responsibility for the baby as well. I want to leave my wife and child looked after when I am gone but it makes it very difficult when my wife wants us to support her family as well. We do not know how long we have got but while I am supporting her family it will only be income that goes to her family and savings will stay in the UK as her family will stand no chance of getting their hands on my savings and it will mean less for my wife when I am gone. But as you say the Thai people live for now and do not think about the future as we do. As a mate of mine tells me family are number one for Thais and we are way down on the list of priorities. They will choose family always when it comes to the crunch.

 

[oldhippy]

Your wife will not be the biggest loser, as she will not even realize that she loses.

You (now) and the baby (later) are the ones that lose.

What a dilemma that is....

 

[worgeordie]

Maybe best not to get married,then you are only responsible for

your own debts ,mistakes. just live with her.but too late in this case,

regards worgeordie

[ongot]

 I have the same drama with my Thai wife and her family enough is enough I am returning to Australia they can figure out there own dilemma s I learned a lot about the Thai people over the last 7 years wife coming with me won't be returning any time soon 

[ubonjoe]

A off topic post has been removed.

[lungnorm]

Looks to me like having a Thai wife gives you full membership of the Suckers Club.

[impulse]

6 minutes ago, lungnorm said:

Looks to me like having a Thai wife gives you full membership of the Suckers Club.

 

Giving or receiving?

 

On a serious note (well, just a little more serious), take out the word "Thai" and change "wife" to "spouse" and I think you're on to something...

[bazza73]

Getting into debt seems to be a favourite pastime with Thais.

 

I cleared the  debt ( not large ) of my Thai GF. I give her a monthly allowance, and pay for utilities such as electricity and water. I've made it clear to her if her family goes into debt, it's their problem. If she goes into debt, it's game over. I've taught her to save one or two thousand baht per month out of the allowance. She could afford to buy a new scooter out of her savings now.

 

Thais are like children, you have to set boundaries.The smarter ones can learn without face getting in the way.

[impulse]

7 minutes ago, bazza73 said:

Thais are like children, you have to set boundaries.The smarter ones can learn without face getting in the way.

 

Your Thais must be different from mine.

 

I work with a couple of dozen amazing, responsible, competent and hard working Thais here in Bangkok.

[bazza73]

7 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

Your Thais must be different from mine.

 

I work with a couple of dozen amazing, responsible, competent and hard working Thais here in Bangkok.

Agree. Village Thais are different to Bangkok Thais because they probably haven't had the same opportunities.

That's not to say a lot of them don't work very hard, it's just that getting ahead on 150 baht for a day's work is not easy.