Husband & Wife---Defintions

[Dr Mike]

This issue comes up in the Hospital world but also in other areas of life.
Untila few years ago the words HUSBAND & WIFE implied that a couple had gone through some sort of ceremony either religous or civil and their union had been registered with the local authority and had a legal status.
Now, not only in Thai but in western countries too, the words are used very loosely. It is understandable, a man refers to his Thai lady who has lovingly partnered and cared for him for years, as his wife.

Unfortunatly he ommitted to divorce his legal wife back home and at some point she is insisting on making decisions about him or his affairs.
Some countries have a common-law provision. Is this a registered legal status or just a decision made in retrospect?? Would it be recognised in Thai??

Any thoughts??

[bcrglobal]

My understanding is that common-law marriage is NOT recognized in Thailand.

If you want to be sure, marry--legally and fully, not some local certificate, but the real deal. I'd also strongly urge people to make a will (Thai inheritance rules are probably not what you have in mind) and a living will. Just remember--when the sh!t really hits the fan, there is a good chance you will NOT be able to explain your wishes and preferences...and your embassy will push for things to be done in accordance with the law--your girlfriend/live-in/semi-official wife is NOT legally entitled to make any decisions for you, nor does she have any rights to your property, etc.

[littlebird]

As far as I am aware, common law marriages are not recognised under Thai law

[TypicallyTropical]

It's simple, if you did not legally divorce your first wife than she is your wife regardless of who you have been shacking with since you moved to Thailand.

[Super Joe]

I wrote this in a property thread...

Civil & Commercial Codes ('Law of the land'):
That's correct that Thai Law (Civil & Commercial Codes or CCC's) does not recognize common law marriages:
Section 1457 (Civil and Commercial Code): Marriage under this Code shall be effected only on registration being made.
Section 1458 (Civil and Commercial Code): A marriage can take place only if the man and woman agree to take each other as husband and wife, and such agreement must be declared publicly before the Registrar in order to have it recorded by the Registrar.


Land Codes & Acts (Outside the above CCC's):
But the Land Codes/Land office seem to apply different criteria as the following extracts show, and a lot depends on the interpretation made by the official on the day. The 'test' they seem to apply is the Thai's surname, if she's taken the foreigners then it's married, if still her maiden name on ID card then that's usually good enough for not married. Extracts from land codes, but not specifically related to condo purchase...
"during marriage or cohabitation as husband and wife with an alien"
"Thai woman with a common-law foreign husband"
"where a Thai national has an alien spouse, whether legitimate or illegitimate"

So you've got the 'law of the land' in the form of the 'Civil and Commercial Codes -- Books 1-6' (General, Obligations, Specific Contracts, Property, Family & Succession), and that's where the section's 1457 & 1458 above come from. The 'Family' & 'Succession' parts cover marriages, divorces, inheritance, wills etc, so my reading is they only recognize legally registered marriages, not common-haw relationships. You can find most of the sections relevant to us on lawyers websites and peice the sections together. It's all fairly easy legal language, not the usual mumbo-jumbo, these law codes are often abbreviated to the CCC's, so you may only see that.

But in the CCC's it says anything not covered under these codes will be applied to the most relevant 'other' provision, so for instance crapola like property ownership are not much covered in the property section of the CCC's, so then the 'Land Codes' apply (see above examples), and they DO recognize 'common law' relationships for certain aspects. So it'd be a bit dangerous to just think common-law doesn't apply accross the board.

Equally, something you may enact under the Land Code as common-law'ers, doesn't mean that status then applies to it's final conclusion, as soon as it crosses back to something covered in the CCC's, like divorce settlements, then the CCC's seem to take precedence. Easy eaxmple is this 'declaration' we do at the land office to say all the funds to buy the land were our Thai spouses private property so we have no claim over land, cos it's forbidden. Once you get to court in a divorce, the judge often discards that signed declaration and applies the laws under the CCC's 'Family' section, and awards 50/50.

I'd also strongly urge people to make a will (Thai inheritance rules are probably not what you have in mind) and a living will. -- your girlfriend/live-in/semi-official wife is NOT legally entitled to make any decisions for you, nor does she have any rights to your property, etc.

Couldn't agree more, WITHOUT a legal Thai will the legally married spouse (be it Thai-Thai or Farang-Thai) is NOT one of the 6 listed statutory heirs under the law (CCC's).

So you will be in line for a share of 'your' property with the 6 legal heirs which are:
1. Direct descendents 'children' – at the same % share as each surviving child
2. Parents
3. Brothers & Sisters of 'full' blood
4. Brothers & Sisters of 'half' blood
5. Grandparents
6. Uncles & Aunts
If none of them are alive the surviving spouse inherits 100%, if there's one Aunt, you share with her. If there's 6 kids you get 1/7th share. If you have no kids but your wife has a kid (minor) from a Thai lad, you might have to share your house with him, even if he's never seen 'his' child, as he can be adjudged the child's legal guardian. Also as bcrglobal mentions you wanna protect your kids if both husband & wife fall off the motorbike together, you don't want the MIL making decisions in the kids 'best interests' about when to dispose of their inheritance.
So legally married or not, a 10-12k Baht will is the way to go

SJ

[BaaBaa.]

On a casual basis Thais will refer to a longterm Girlfriend as a Wife.

I get it all the time, we've been together for 5 years but not married, she's still my wife to most Thais who know us.

[migrant]

On a casual basis Thais will refer to a longterm Girlfriend as a Wife.

I get it all the time, we've been together for 5 years but not married, she's still my wife to most Thais who know us.

My wife does this a lot, even here in the states. I have to ask are they really married, or just bf, gf. She'll say, doesn't matter, same thing.

Obviously she never paid alimony