Prenuptial and Wills in Bangkok

Different wills and prenuptial agreement in Thailand tend to be based on the demographics of the area. Certain cities such as those in Hua Hin, Bangkok as well as Phuket tend to have a last will and prenuptial agreement. Those who live in Isaan tend to have more of their life locally. They tend to have a last will to cover their Thai assets as well as the prenuptial being many based on local property. Likewise see also the aricfles on the international prenuptial agreement as well as prenups in Thailand as an overview.

Prenuptial and Wills in Bangkok

Prenuptial and Wills in Bangkok

Hua Hin: Retirement Haven

Hua Hin is where you will find many expat couples. Those expats who have retired together as well as the them tending to be the upper middle class expats. Thai people also normally have a second home in Hua Hin and the location is well known with the wealthy Thai’s in the country.

Firstly there is the type written will in Hua Hin as well as what they tend to cover. These cover their condominiums, vehicles, or savings accounts in Thailand. Those who live in Hua Hin tend to have long term visas such as the LTR visa or the 10 year Thai visa in the country. Secondly some also want a bilingual will where English might be the language of execution. The drafting of a will in Hua Hin as said tend to involve local property with many expat couple. These tend to retire in Thailand as a couple.

Bangkok: Urban Sophistication

Bangkok being the Capital city of Thailand draws a broad expat community. This further reflect what type of wills you will find in Bangkok compared to Hua Hin. In Bangkok much like a will in Pattaya you will see that in Bangkok expats will look at their bank accounts, stocks, businesses, and properties. The expat community in Bangkok will also include clauses about their shares, partnerships, or companies or partnership.

The expat community also will want to have their last will and testament who are tech-savvy, many include provisions for digital assets. There are many expats in Bangkok with Bitcoin as well as Ethereum in their last will and testament. Lastly there are also many expats require wills that integrate Thai assets with those in other countries. These tend to be their home country. So seek assistance with drafting a will in Bangkok.

Phuket: Luxury and Lifestyle

Phuket is property driven because of the return on investment. You can see the article that we wrote a few years back on buying property in Phuket. There are also a high amount of tourism in Phuket and the last will and testaments in Phuket tend to reflect multi cultural marriages as well as a very property centric will. If you are looking at a dual language last will then Phuket might be another place for this as to ensure that the will is understood both local and abroad. You can see the article that we wrote a while back on translating legal documents in Thailand as well as Thai to English translations. This would be your will in Phuket.

Business interests are also big in Phuket with the hospitality businesses being prevalent in Phuket Many last will will also contain provisions for these types of interests both property and business investments both locally as well as abroad. Likewise see also the making a will in Thailand article.

Isaan: Traditional and Family-Oriented

There are much fewer expats in the region. Amongst the locals there are handwritten last wills mainly to cover their agricultural land. Those expats who live there are mainly those who had immersed themselves into the local culture. They don’t really have much back home and more likely than not sold everything back in their home country. Those wills tend to be straightforward and deals mainly with the joint property that they own now in Thailand. The standard typewritten wills without any complicated clauses would be the most common. See the difference between Bangkok and drafting a will in Isaan.

Transient Populations in Thailand Impact Prenups and Wills

You will see on the article that we wrote about prenuptial and will in Pattaya, that the city has a very transient population. Mainly because of this the legal offerings are much wider. In light of this lets split the populations into the three main categories:

Firstly there are the short-term residents. Your digital nomads and temporary workers tend to have all their assets outside of the country. The prenuptials and will for these are mainly to cover their assets abroad. Secondly there are the long term residents. Some of them will have the Thai permanent residency or either an LTR visa. Their wills as well as prenuptial agreements in Pattaya will be more complex as their will also be local assets and business interests.

Thirdly their are the tourists which normally don’t complete a last will and testament or prenuptial in Thailand. Those who do draft a prenuptial are those who will go back home with their Thai spouse. This you will find at marriage registration for those who are leaving with a Thai spouse a K3 visa or a CR1 visa back to the US. Likewise those who will apply for a UK spouse visa.

 

Mixed-Nationality Marriages

The prenuptial agreements in Thailand becomes very important where there is property involved. As you know that generally foreigners cannot own land in Thailand. Most foreigners either register a usufruct or register a superficies. The later makes the will more complicated. Likewise these foreigners tend to want to ensure that property division as well as inheritance rights (See inheritance taxes) are completed as there is also financial support in case of divorce. Note that these will will need to salsify both Thai and international inheritance laws. See also the article on the Thai divorce lawyer on here.

Changing Financial Circumstances

With the transient expat population in Thailand, financial circumstances always change. Most expats tend to update their last will as the assets or holdings in a company might have changed. So the updating of a last will tend to be every two years. As explained above the demographics in Thailand differ by region. So here is the averages.

Most of the expats in Thailand tend to come from USA, UK, and Australia and the average age is in the range of 65-70 years old. Your working processionals tend to be in the Bangkok, Chiang Mai, and Phuket area with an age range of 30 – 50 year old’s.

Digital nomads are in the 25-35 year age group and are mainly in the Chiang Mai and Bangkok area. Expats with families in the 35-50 year old range are mainly in the Bangkok and Phuket area. Those in Isaan tend to be expats who are older retirees or those married to Thai nationals.

Cross-Border Legal Considerations

With expats you will need to ensure that the prenuptial to correctly drafted. Not only for Thailand but also for your home country. This becomes very complicated with Americans as each state might have its own twist and turns with their divorce laws. Likewise as explained before you will need to get your Thai fiancee a lawyer to explain that she understood what she signed. This goes with your prenuptial agreement to show that it was explained to her by a different lawyer. The defence back home is usually that they did not understand what they had signed.

Much like your last will and testament. It will need to comply with multijurisdictional interpretation of wills. This can be difficult as each country might have a different approach in their laws to this. We have a range of articles on this from Drafting a Will as well as Validity of a Will all the way around to the Inheritance Tax Act. You can read those for more insight. Likewise you can speak to us online or at our offices.

Language Barriers and Translation Issues

With a transient expat population they might not speak Thai. This means that the prenuptial has to be in English however your Thai fiancee will need to know what she is signing. Some want a bilingual prenuptial agreement or a draft of it. As explained her lawyer will need to explain this to her in Thai. This is mainly for those returning to the US or UK or Australia. You will need to have the prenup signed before you register your marriage. This could be with the Australian spouse visa or the UK spouse visa. Likewise the CR1 visa and K3 visa. See also the articles on the Thailand family lawyer in addition there is the articles on Islamic marriage in Asia.

When it comes to the last will and testament then the misinterpretations or poorly translated documents can lead to disputes. Ensure that this is correctly done. See the article that we have written on the translation of US visa documents as well as translation of legal documents. This will give you are overview of the importance of translations and how best to achieve this.

You will note the transient nature of Thailand’s population. Each city is difference however this significantly influences the types as well as the structures of prenuptial agreements and wills across the country will differ. Likewise the cities of Hua Hin, Bangkok, Phuket, and the Isaan region. You will note that each reflect a very unique demographic and cultural characteristics that shape the legal needs. Lastly note that most expats are always considering the services of a notary public. Se pour article on that on here as well.