Dear readers,
I don't want to reign over my death but still leave everything tidy. My girlfriend can't handle money give her 30.000 baht just to buy food for herself and my daughter (everything else is/will be paid automatically) and in week 3 she will already run out of money. Same story with 50.000 baht.
If I'm not here anymore, I'm afraid it's going to be a year of partying and then biting on a stick. She chooses that herself so I can't really feel sorry for that, but my daughter doesn't choose that, she is now 11 years old. Now I thought, I put 100.000 € to 150.000 € in a bank account where a fixed amount is automatically transferred to her account every month. Then she can't really finish everything in 1 go and my daughter has a reasonable certainty that there will be food in the house, at least until she is 18.
So I went to the bank to open an account there. Opening an account requires the permission of immigration. I already have 3 accounts so I can't get permission for a 4th one.
I don't want an account in her name because then she can still access the money, with the result that there will be no food for my daughter. I don't want a foreign account because then it's not certain what she gets transferred every month + I don't feel like filling a bank's cash with their high rates.
Opening an account in my daughter's name is not possible because I am not officially the father and she has a different last name than me. With the fact that she is 11 years old and therefore cannot open an account herself. Letting a friend open an account in the daughter's name is not an option because she is then a guardian and can therefore access the money again.
Again it only concerns money for buying food everything else is paid (automatically).
Who has a solution?
Regards,
Harm
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There are life insurance policies that pay out in monthly installments, you may be able to do something with that. For example, the insurer TAV has an 'alimony insurance'. Don't be confused by the name of the product, because if I read your question like this, it does exactly what you are looking for: it is one of the few insurance policies that offer a predetermined term after your death. fixed amount per month.
You can arrange it so that the policy pays out until your daughter turns 18, for example. If you do not die before that time, the insurance will expire, but you will only lose the premium. You can also opt for a much longer term.
Another option, or solution in addition, is to record the way in which you want the money to be distributed in your will. If I remember correctly, you can have your estate managed through some kind of fund and have a monthly payment made from it. Costs something to put on paper and the tax authorities will also come and claim the inheritance tax with eager eyes, but you can record exactly how you want to arrange it with your girlfriend and daughter. Talk to a good notary who specializes in estate planning.
These solutions can also go into the trash, nothing can be done against money-spending Thais. There is a cash shop, pawnshop or other business on every street corner where you can get money in the bank upon presentation of the papers or showing the monthly incoming payments; she can, after showing the policy or other agreement after the death of the questioner, obtain the money, cashed and a fraction of it again. And then she has a large sum of money at once and the monthly benefits have been pledged, often officially because the payer is notified of the pledge. The same only in the name of the daughter does not help either, because as long as the daughter is not an adult, the mother decides and if she is an adult, she tends to the wishes of the mother and you also lose the money to the mother.
Perhaps another possibility is to arrange something informally through a family member who takes on the task of transferring a monthly amount, recording it through a Dutch notary and leaving the money in the Netherlands and then having it disposed of by the family member through a will . This prevents something in the name of the mother or daughter with which they can appeal to a lender. Although if something appears on the bank a number of times, the mother can take it to a cash shop or else and show this and this is again the basis for obtaining a large amount at once, whereby the mother is obliged to transfer the monthly amounts to the lenders.
In short, there is nothing to arrange.
Don't play away games. Invest the money in the Netherlands in your own name. Put your daughter in your will. Open an account in NL.
You put the returns on it.
You can take that money there and give it to her as long as you live. (Can also authorize her on your behalf, then she will do it herself)
After your death she can transfer it via internet banking (or via cheaper ways, but you get the principle)
Through a lawyer you can also postpone her control (regarding sale) until an age later than 18.
If she is not your natural daughter or if she is adopted, you will have to deal with a high inheritance tax.
The point is… play in front of your home crowd.
Harm, I assume you live in Thailand because you are talking about 30.000 THB per month. You also do not say whether you went to Thailand from NL or from BE. Remember that if you are NL-er AND have moved from NL to TH, NL will levy inheritance tax for ten years after emigration. I don't know if BE also has such a rule. TH also has inheritance tax, but there is a high exemption of, I think, 50 million THB.
Your partner has, I read, a hole in her hand. Then you should rule over your grave and talk to an experienced Thai lawyer/notary about a construction that your estate will be administered by a 'trust' and that your partner will be paid X THB monthly: that is an amount for the fixed expenses plus living expenses plus school. Difficult to calculate that because you don't know now which education will be needed later and which healthcare costs will arise.
Who will lead that trust? There is a saying: if you want to build up a small capital in Thailand, give a large capital to a Thai under management and you will automatically have a small capital left…. No, that's not nice what I write but yes, you sometimes hear something..... So consider the option of a trust outside TH, for example in your home country. If you want to choose these options, you must record this in your will.
You can open a bank account now and make a deposit, but that will expire upon your death. So arrange a will and seek good advice first.
Recording an (annuity) policy on the life of your daughter and/or your partner in your will is also an option. You can check with the NL insurance agents in TH whether that is possible in Thailand; their name has come up here many times.
Dear Frank,
regarding that insurance that is correct.
Regarding registering in a will I have doubts, so I'm not saying it's not right as I have to rely on my own experience. When I had my will drawn up myself, I asked the lawyer whether it was possible to create a kind of 'fund' that would pay out a monthly amount determined by me. The answer was resolute: NO, not possible in Thailand and the banks do not offer such accounts. I then consulted a second lawyer and the answer was the same.
Whatever legal and financial construction you are going to use, if you are no longer there, your next of kin can always find a way to dispose of all your bequeathed money in one go. (Excluding complex constructions that cost a lot of money). The best solution now is to invest time and effort to learn how to handle money. Even though this may seem like an impossible task now, it is certainly achievable. This starts with a daily or weekly budget (as childish as this may seem) and if some discipline has been learned, it can be expanded with a monthly budget (distribution of annual expenses over the 12 months). And because a 100% budget discipline never really becomes reality, you can always combine this with simple tools: for example, a checking account that is topped up from a savings account via an automatic transfer.
Key to learning budget discipline is experiencing the consequences if you don't stay within budget. A second success factor is visibility: if you pay cash from your wallet or piggy bank, you can see what you spend and what remains. You will automatically see a future shortage arise.
Reserving 'pots' of money at the beginning of the month for fixed expenses is a system that works well. This used to be applied in the Netherlands with real piggy banks, and now still via budget tools for home banking. The problem is not in understanding and applying the system, but in learning discipline. And that starts with making the reservations together every month. With physical money in a wooden box with 12, 24 or 36 compartments. A box for every day. If more is spent for a day, and the boxes for the next few days are empty, at least this will be visible and you should discuss how to solve it together. The solution is not to add money, if money is always replenished, spending more than the budget has no consequences and nothing is learned.
There are many more ways and tools. And really, at first it seems hopeless, but after a few (or many) months it suddenly becomes visible that it works. Teach your wife how to handle money, build it up step by step. With confidence in her you can leave everything with a better feeling than legal constructions.
(If you want me to help you: [email protected])
Why immigration clearance? I have more than 4 accounts at the BBL Bangkok bank. Have you ever thought about a fixed account? And with a little cooperation, we manage to open a long-term fixed account in the name of the daughter. And especially do not apply for an ATM card in all cases, then access to the account is limited to the counter.
I think you can deposit money into a life insurance policy in your name, where you can include a beneficiary who will receive a monthly benefit if you die prematurely.
I purchased such a product.
It's called a life annuity benefit.
The annual deposit is also tax deductible up to an amount.
I would inquire with, for example, the abn amro.
Just some moral support
That your Thai girlfriend can't handle money is a known problem to me
I have experienced it in Isaan for years.
If you give 10.000 baht, it will be over after a few days of partying.
Often with a lot of booze.
It seems to be a way of life for some.
We even lost a nice house because of loans from loan sharks.
Dear Frank,
In addition to my Bangkok Bank, I was able to open 4 more accounts in Pattaya at other banks.
Without having much money in the bank. I have a 14-year-old daughter with a Thai mother. Not an adopted daughter, but my very own daughter.
Also have non O visa, retirement.
Why do you need permission from Immigration?
Good luck in advance!