Inheritance To Home Country...

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T.O.M.
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Inheritance To Home Country...

Post by T.O.M. »

Been thinking about writing a will...leaving the money in my savings account & trading account to my son back in Europe. Thai married....both accounts are in my name only. At the present the money in those accounts represents about 15% of our total assets...the rest is in properties and land. So my wife will get 85% of the assets....half is hers anyway....
So in my opinion a fair deal for both the son and the wife.
The question is, will the will be worth the paper it is written on...? Will my son be able to take the money out of Thailand? I know from experience, how difficult it is the transfer even small amounts out of Thailand. I can't prove, that the money was transferred into country.....many years ago and no paperwork to prove it. Most of the money sitting in those accounts are made here on the stock exchange (SET)...so there is a paper trail, but does it go 15 years back ? Probably not...!!
If I write a will with my son as the only beneficiary for those 2 accounts, give a copy of the will to the account-holding bank (K-bank in both cases), will that be legally binding for the bank NOT to pay out the funds to anyone else, even if the wife shows up with a marriage- and death-certificate..?
Fully aware of, that there are different ways to get money out of Thailand, but my point is, that I want it to happen AFTER my death.
Does a will make any difference....or does Big Brother win again?
oakdale160
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Re: Inheritance To Home Country...

Post by oakdale160 »

Do the banks have joint accounts? If so could you not add him to the acct or open anew one
T.O.M.
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Re: Inheritance To Home Country...

Post by T.O.M. »

^^^
Use the savings account for immigration purposes...they don't accept joint accounts
Trading accounts can't be joint
Not to mention the headache involved to add a person not living here to an existing account in a country, where people actually living here are having difficulties opening bank accounts....
The real question here is, why do you have jump through hoops, to make decisions about your own money...all white, legal and taxed...
What happens to the inheritance left by a not married expat with heir(s) abroad?
If a will is not accepted/respected, there is not much you can do.....except for a bit of planning....just a bit difficult, since you don't know, if you are leaving tomorrow or in 20 years.... :roll:
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Re: Inheritance To Home Country...

Post by Nereus »

If a will is not accepted/respected, there is not much you can do.....except for a bit of planning....just a bit difficult, since you don't know, if you are leaving tomorrow or in 20 years....
There is no problem with a Will in Thailand, BUT it needs to be drawn up preferably by a Lawyer that has experience with writing them. It also has to be written in the Thai language, as that is the only acceptable form in the Thai Courts. You can have an English copy no problem. You also need to appoint an executor, or administrator, and they need to be either Thai, or speak and read Thai. They should not be a beneficiary, but are acceptable if you prefer. It is a good idea to appoint two of them.

You may get advice that "oh, just write it yourself". This is utter BS, and will NOT be accepted by the courts. Ask me how I know! You should also have an English Will drawn up for property outside of Thailand.

I cannot recommend a lawyer as I am in Bangkok, but be very careful just who you use. There are English speaking Thai lawyers in Hua Hin, but it may be better to go to Bangkok and pay a bit more.

What I can recommend is that you do not wait any longer to do it! I have just been through it with an expat that passed away without a Will that also had property and family in the UK. His widow was given bad advice and it cost her dearly!
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Re: Inheritance To Home Country...

Post by moja »

My husband recently died and although we had a Will here leaving everything to me I have still had to go to Court and as yet I have not got the money and he died at the end of May. You first get a hearing at Court mine was two weeks ago and you have to state that you are the person named in the Will and they want to know if your parents are alive and if you have any children and I dare say in you case your wife would be named as well. Once the first hearing has been made you then wait to see if there are any other claims for what you are leaving and then 2/3 months later the money will be released. About 6 months after the death! You need to get letters from anyone who might have a claim to this money saying that they do not want it. Remember all this is with a Will!!! If you Son comes here on holiday open a joint account and just give your address for him as well then he will appear local.
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Re: Inheritance To Home Country...

Post by oakdale160 »

JUst makes you think you are better to give them the money now.
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Re: Inheritance To Home Country...

Post by HHTel »

Surely a Holographic will cannot be refused by the court if written correctly. It's written in the Civil and Commercial Code
A person under Thai law may also make a holographic testament, i.e. a testament written wholly by the testator himself, including the date of writing and signature of the testator (section 1657 Civil and Commercial Code).
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Re: Inheritance To Home Country...

Post by HHTel »

The relevant section:
Section 1657. Holographic Wills
A will may be made by a holographic document, that is to say the testator must write with his own hand the whole text of the document, the date and his signature.

No erasure, addition or other alteration in such will is valid unless made by the testator’s own hand and signed by him.

The provision of Section 9 of this Code shall not apply to a will made under this section.
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Nereus
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Re: Inheritance To Home Country...

Post by Nereus »

HHTel wrote: Mon Aug 27, 2018 11:21 am Surely a Holographic will cannot be refused by the court if written correctly. It's written in the Civil and Commercial Code
A person under Thai law may also make a holographic testament, i.e. a testament written wholly by the testator himself, including the date of writing and signature of the testator (section 1657 Civil and Commercial Code).
Yes, correct. BUT the trap is in the detail: if written correctly. Can you write a Will in Thai and have ALL the correct Thai nuances in order? It only needs one small mistake to invalidate it. OR, one as**** to object to it, followed by 10 years of back and forth in the Courts.
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Re: Inheritance To Home Country...

Post by dundrillin »

oakdale160 wrote: Mon Aug 27, 2018 10:01 am JUst makes you think you are better to give them the money now.
Or invest in non-traceable assets such as gold.
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Re: Inheritance To Home Country...

Post by T.O.M. »

^^^
The whole point here is, that you should not be forced to find ways to circumvent the system....since we are talking about legal, all white and taxed money.
And since I need my savings account for immigration purposes...not sure the officers would appreciate me showing up with a kilo of gold instead of the bank letter... :shock:
As for the trading account...my investments there returns 10-15% yearly.....and I want that to continue as long as I can hit the keyboard.
So I will take Nereus advice, and find a good lawyer and have a will written in Thai and appoint two executors.
One question still remains...will my son...with all the correct paperwork...be able to take the money out of Thailand?
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Re: Inheritance To Home Country...

Post by dundrillin »

Presumably you do not have an inheritance tax problem then if so you are absolutely correct.
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Nereus
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Re: Inheritance To Home Country...

Post by Nereus »

One question still remains...will my son...with all the correct paperwork...be able to take the money out of Thailand?
It should not be a problem as he is a legal heir, even in Thailand. But as before, it needs to be made clear in your Will.

The distribution of assets from a deceased estate in Thailand are laid down very clearly in the law, and you may find some of them surprising compared to your home country. Another reason to find a lawyer that knows what they are doing, and in my experience that is unlikely to be some young person not long out of school.
The whole point here is, that you should not be forced to find ways to circumvent the system....since we are talking about legal, all white and taxed money.
It is more a matter of finding out how the system works, rather than trying to circumvent it. Again from my experience, the Courts will follow the law if it is presented correctly, even if it does take some time as posted by moja.
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StevePIraq
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Re: Inheritance To Home Country...

Post by StevePIraq »

I would recommend you get a Thai lawyer to draft your Thai Will, note it cannot cover overseas assets. Send me a PM if you want a lawyer who will not rip you off.

I would also recommend you read up about the process. Just as in most countries there is Probate in Thailand and this takes time and a Thai representative to resolve.

https://gam-legalalliance.com/legal-ser ... -thailand/

http://www.bia.co.th/thailand-legal-gui ... d-probate/

Personally I am reducing everything I have in Ting Tong Land so that come the day it will not be a great loss to my heir if they don't get it all.
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Re: Inheritance To Home Country...

Post by moater »

T.O.M. wrote: Mon Aug 27, 2018 4:52 pm As for the trading account...my investments there returns 10-15% yearly....
That sounds like a pretty high risk investment, for that kind of return. What do you invest in?
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