For many, preparing your estates in case you meet your untimely death is an equally eerie and unsettling kind of recourse. They may find it absurd and unimportant but these reactions should not derail you from preparing your possessions just in case. If you are a foreigner living in Thailand but has prepared a will in your home country for your estates in the Kingdom, it is highly advisable that you prepare another one in Thailand for your properties in the country so that the passing of these to your significant others would go as smoothly as it can be. Smooth disposition of your properties and other assets can even be enhanced if you will enlist the services of a reputable law firm like Siam Legal in drafting your Thai Will.

But why should you hire a law firm to draft your Thai will?

It is because the Civil and Commercial Code of Thailand, specifically Section 1646 to 1710, details the qualifications that need to be satisfied first before your Will can be considered as legally enforceable under Thai law. Siam Legal will make sure that the requisites are well covered.

Section 1629 of the Civil and Commercial Code

The importance of executing a Thai Will has been emphasized in the previous section however the question on who would benefit your estates in case you pass away with no will is yet to be answered. Through Section 1629 of the CCC, the answer to such question can be clarified and it is that your property will be distributed in the following order:

1. Descendants
2. Parents
3. Brothers and sisters of full blood
4. Brothers and sisters of half blood
5. Grandfathers and grandmothers
6. Uncles and aunts

However, before the disposition of your properties to your relatives, half of these (called the Sin Somros) must be turned-over to your spouse if ever you have one at the time of your death. In case you do not have a spouse, a child or any other relative and no Thai Will, your estates will be turn-over to the state of Thailand.

Thai Will and the Company

If in case your land is owned on freehold by a company, such property will not be passed on to your heirs but it will be the shares of the company that is holding it. The least thing that your family needs in the event of your untimely passing is going through the courts just to settle the distribution of your estates as this would mean financial and emotional burden on them. To avoid this, it is imperative that you will prepare a will in Thailand, a separate one if you already executed another in your home country. Now, this Thai Will should be in accordance to the provisions of the law and to make sure that such will is, you have to seek the guidance of Siam Legal’s esteemed attorneys in drafting the document. They will make sure that all entries are applicable, binding and executable. Our firm is composed of foreign and Thai lawyers therefore communication barriers and translation services are not an issue.