Getting divorced, HELP

[sandman67]

6 mil on her, or much less on a good lawyer .... which makes more sense to you mate?

Start asset stripping and selling on the quiet as well mate. Every baht shifted is one less she can get her 50% of.

Good luck mate, and do watch your back.

[Mr. Dumb]

Yes this entire situation is very difficult.
First of all I have contacted my own legal representative who is in Switzerland. Maybe if I had contacted him initially I would not have posted here. I emailed him the letter I received and he knows the legal firm in Bangkok, he called me back as soon as he received the letter. After talking for something like an hour he advised not to panic and take no actions at all.
What I have done is have my CCTV system linked to a friend’s house and a continuous recording is being made there, I also keep my gates locked at all times. I don’t really have concerns about safety regardless of the stories one hears, I don’t believe Hua Hin is any more dangerous than Los Angeles.

Lawyer has advised that he will respond to the letter in the coming days, there is no rush, it seems it is common practice to issue a letter of demand such as I got, the claimant hoping the second party will simply pay up, and there is no legal status to the letter. He advised to cut off financial support to my Darling, she has income from one business I set up for her, a massage shop just like most Thai women want, they have no imagination.

The problem with trying to liquidate assets is it takes considerable time to do this and as the lawyer pointed out the court will seek full disclosure of assets and if I sell any the court will want to know the value and where the cash is. The other problem is it is not so easy to take substantial money out of Thailand; the easiest way is to do an asset swap with someone overseas and again this takes time. I also do not have substantial cash, who would in these days of fiscal incompetence by governments.

Lawyer advised it does not matter who’s name the homes, cars, motorbikes etc are in as they are all considered joint assets.

Darlings family are all Village people, no not gay singers from San Fransisco, they live in a small village in Isan and speak no English so I can’t contact them. I doubt they are behind this as in the past I have offered to improve their lives by upgrading homes etc and it was always declined. Darling’s mobile phone has also been disconnected so I can’t contact her.

6m per year is a lot but is far less than 50% of the joint assets; however the lawyer believes the court, if it goes that far will not consider all of our assets as joint as it is very clear I have provided the money for all.

Final point is my lawyer says he is continually astounded by the lack of understanding of the Thai legal system by Farangs who always seem to think they will lose everything.

If nothing else I hope some of this will help others who may end up in the same situation
Thanks for all of your comments which are greatly appreciated

Mr. Dumb (maybe not quite so dumb after all)

[MrPlum]

I only have one anecdote to offer. I know a young b/g who married a 71 year old with money. After 7 years he died and she was set to inherit. However, the family took issue and made it plain to her that they would spend whatever it takes to tie up the assets in court for years if necessary. "Accept 1 million baht or wait years and lose it all in legal expenses".

She settled.

[frank1957]

Hi there Mr D, if you fancy a couple of cold ones after the 11th Jan let me know sounds like you need something to take your mind of all this crap

[Bamboo Grove]

Mr. D wrote:

Darlings family are all Village people, no not gay singers from San Fransisco

Good to see you haven't lost your sense of humour in the middle of all your worries. Wishing you all the best.

[richard]

OP quoted

Final point is my lawyer says he is continually astounded by the lack of understanding of the Thai legal system by Farangs who always seem to think they will lose everything.

Spot on.

I have a farang friend who is attached to a Thai lady barrister of some standing. We get on well and she has assured me that farangs do have rights and all it it needs is a good lawyer. GOOD being the operative word. ALL countries have good and not so good professional people. Finding the BEST is not easy

GOOD LUCK

[Nereus]

OP quoted

Final point is my lawyer says he is continually astounded by the lack of understanding of the Thai legal system by Farangs who always seem to think they will lose everything.

Spot on.
I have a farang friend who is attached to a Thai lady barrister of some standing. We get on well and she has assured me that farangs do have rights and all it it needs is a good lawyer. GOOD being the operative word. ALL countries have good and not so good professional people. Finding the BEST is not easy
GOOD LUCK

And what ALL of them fail to tell you is just how long ANY legal proceedings can take through the Thai court system. And why would they, when the longer it takes the longer they are able to charge a fee!

A case such as this could take up to 10 years or more. Each time there is an appeal by either party the case goes to the bottom of the list and may take 2 years before it is listed again, depending on which court it is. And as in the West, if you try and sell assets after a case has started, then it is viewed by the courts as trying to divest yourself just to reduce the total value involved, and will not be accepted.

[kendo]

I am thinking


Kendo.

[dtaai-maai]

^^Why?

[kendo]

Gut feeling post written with humor and seems to answer some of his own questions

I don’t really have concerns about safety regardless of the stories one hears, I don’t believe Hua Hin is any more dangerous than Los Angeles.

My answer to that is correct Hua Hin is a very safe city for most but when big money is concerned it can be dangerous remember what happened to Toby and more recent the guy that was termially ill and the greedy Mrs could not wait for the poor fella to fall asleep.

I don't want to come across as negative but in Thailand you should not be flippant about your personal safety.

Kendo.

[dtaai-maai]

Gut feeling post written with humor and seems to answer some of his own questions

An intelligent bloke with a sense of humour and perspective is a welcome addition to the forum.
We throw the "troll" accusation about far too freely.

[ken.p]

Mr. Dumb, very sorry to hear your devastating news.
A lot of good advice given here for you to consider.
Good luck.
To those of you who have come up with an amount of 6 million,
If I have understood the op correctly, it more in the region of 24 million.
his ex is asking for.
Ken.

[kendo]

I don't wish to be rude to anyone, i have a gut feeling just my opinion DM.

Kendo.

[barrys]

Hi Mr. Dumb, really sorry to hear about your woes, but you do seem to have got some good advice from your lawyer. It's still very early days in the settlement procedure and lengthening that by every means possible can only be in your favour.

If you're looking for someone to chat to who has some experience of this sort of situation, I'd be more than willing to meet you - or why don't you come to the HHAD 10-year get-together at the Fishing Lodge tomorrow and I'm sure you'll find a few people there whose brains you can pick.

[Bristolian]

Mr. D.
Some excellent advice from the forum

1. Don’t react quickly, consider carefully your position. (in process)
2. Seek legal advice (done)
3. Protect yourself physically, I believe the threat is small but credible (in process)
4. Don’t underestimate the foreigners legal rights under Thai law (to be considered)

From a personal perspective, if I were you, I would want to know the driving factors behind the actions of your “Darling” but keep that as a curiosity and not a driving factor, interesting to know but of no real relevance in the long term.

I truly hope that you reach a settlement that works for you. As has already been said by many, this is an opening salvo or saber rattling, by your “Darling” and almost certainly there is a lesser compromise that she will accept in return for a quick settlement.

Although as has been already said, the process can be held up the Thai judicial system for a decade or more, I would suggest that you clean up the dispute much earlier if possible. No one would want this dominating their lives for that long.