Making a Will

[Ratsima]

I asked my wife about charges. A simple will (all assets in Thailand) is about 3k baht.

[Big Boy]

[Ratsima]

Why the frown?

[Big Boy]

I paid double that.

Then again, we all get ripped off in Thailand. It's agreeing a price that we're happy with, and I was very happy with the price. After all, she had to make a couple of trips from Prachuap as well for her money.

[Ratsima]

Well, remember that my wife's office is in Korat, where even the Farang are impoverished.

Plus, the income from her practice is not essential for our survival. She jokes that she's happy with a gross of 8K per month. In fact, she reached that already for this month and is pushing for an early vacation!

[Pagey]

I visited a solicitors office this week with the intention of making a will for my assets here which include 3 properties and a bank account although I am trying to sell 2 properties so it will be mainly cash hopefully although the 2 properties currently bring in a good rental income, more than the banks interest rates. The solicitor quoted 20,000 which he quickly discounted to 14,000 ! He said because of the complexity of dealing with the properties and visiting one of the two possible beneficiaries. Seems a bit steep after reading the rest of this thread. I went to this solicitor as he was recommended by a business man I know who has a business near the solicitors office. I think I need to get alternative quotes to compare.

[bapak]

I visited a solicitors office this week with the intention of making a will for my assets here which include 3 properties and a bank account although I am trying to sell 2 properties so it will be mainly cash hopefully although the 2 properties currently bring in a good rental income, more than the banks interest rates. The solicitor quoted 20,000 which he quickly discounted to 14,000 ! He said because of the complexity of dealing with the properties and visiting one of the two possible beneficiaries. Seems a bit steep after reading the rest of this thread. I went to this solicitor as he was recommended by a business man I know who has a business near the solicitors office. I think I need to get alternative quotes to compare.

See PM

[layman]

As a UK citizen, resident here in Thailand, I want to make a Will which will be effective both here and there. Any ideas about how to go about it? Does it require two separate documents to cover assets in both places?

[hhfarang]

I've been told that the Thai probate courts will only accept a Thai will. We had ours drawn up by a law firm in Bangkok that specializes in wills, company formation, etc., and not litigation so they should know what to do legally. The price for this service is a flat 10k baht per will. They go to probate court with you for a flat 100k baht when the time comes. We have separate wills for our assets in the U.S.

There is an online site that claims to be able to draw up wills for expats for all assets at a very reasonable price. It's based in the U.K. but I'm not sure their wills would really be legal in Thai probate court.

http://www.expatlegalwills.com/Default.aspx

[layman]

Thanks for that link, it looks promising.

[Nereus]

There is a thread about this, with a link to another thread inside it:

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=24845&hilit=thai+will

[Pagey]

I've finally made my will for my assets in Thailand, now I need one for my assets in the UK. I have looked at the website HHF provided but wondered if anyone has completed a will for their UK assets using a solicitor without going back to the UK. I left the UK in 2002 and have no plans to visit in the near future. Any experiences/recommendations ?

[margaretcarnes]

I paid double that.

Then again, we all get ripped off in Thailand. It's agreeing a price that we're happy with, and I was very happy with the price. After all, she had to make a couple of trips from Prachuap as well for her money.

OK BB - call me sceptical or whatever other names you want, but Mrs BB had no idea what to do and suddenly has an appointment with a lawyer. Did you know the lawyer?
Perhaps it really doesn't matter - the property is in your wifes' name anyway. You would want her to have it - fair enough. As you say you have minimal assets yourself. So as long as you pre-decease her there is nothing to worry about. In fact probably no reason to make a will at all.

Except for 2 things. First - as HHF says - what happens if your wife dies first? OK if you would want go back to the UK anyway and leave the property to her family fair enough. Again - no reason to make a will. Likewise if you simply moved to a rental and gave up on the property.

But what about your UK occupational pension in the event that you go first? Obviously your state pension would stop (at least it would when the DWP was notified of your death - otherwise it would continue to land in your bank and Mrs BB could access it for however long - wink wink.) The occupational pension is what you need to address IMO, and how you go about it is up to you and the terms of the pension scheme. All that may be needed is a death certificate to enable Mrs BB to receive whatever widows provision there is - or - as with the state pension - she just needs your ATM PIN.

[Big Boy]

The lady used was on strong recommendation from a very good friend who we knew from the UK.

The will was worded that the property will go to my son, on the condition I will be a rent-free tenant until I die - of course the words are a lot better than that.

My UK occupational pension should be fine - that was sorted while I was in the UK. Nothing has changed, so that should automatically transfer to wife when they are told. However, the fact you are asking has made me curious - is there something that I have missed.

I have been assisting Sarge's widow since his death last year, and there doesn't seem to be any traps in the process, in fact unlike me and Sarge, being a Thai citizen living in Thailand there is no need for the widow to pay tax.

Regarding my OAP State Pension, that is still 9 years away, and has never featured in our plans. It will be no more than a welcome bonus if we ever draw it.

[ExpatWills]