Reader question: Inheritance upon death, properly arranged or not?

When I die, my Thai wife, with whom I have been married for many years (married in NL, registered in TH) will receive our savings from both NL and TH bank accounts. Excluding the 800 ThB associated with the visa extensions, which is separate and will also receive them. Plus a hefty survivor's benefit from my pension fund, (and some AOW from the SVB, I think, one day!) Of course, our house in TH is hers, plus all other movable property, including 1 SUV and 1 small Honda. In addition, she owns various rai land. Not only now, also later she will be warm, and not just because of the weather.

I also know several pensioners who take their wives on board. The saddest case was of a 67-year-old who, upon inquiry by his 30-year-younger TH wife (married in NL), reported having arranged all sorts of things for her. He told her that after his death she would receive a full state pension from the NL government. Plus his company pension. As proof of this, he had shown her the website of the SVB and papers from his pension manager. She did not trust it and showed my wife the papers. It turned out to be several A4 pages from a brochure, with weighty letterheads and full of calculations based on forecasts at various percentages, etc.

My wife and I fully informed her, and I confronted him about his behavior.
They later left for TH. Things went smoothly there, and she left. At his request, they did not get divorced, so that he could continue to live in her home and continue to receive his full state pension, including the full partner allowance. For the TH and NL administrative outside world, he pretends to be living together. I've been doing that for about 7 years now.

What strikes me, when you talk to pensioners like this and only receive brief information (people are not keen to talk about this kind of private matter), is that if the relationship started at a later age and you are therefore older yourself , people have settled less on inheritance. This has to do with the fact that it is no longer possible to transfer part of the pension to the current partner in the form of a survivor's benefit. There is also nothing to arrange with the AOW. (And a good thing too!) Savings are few, people were obliged to pay alimony and they don't want to support someone else as well. Sometimes there is only 400 thousand ThB in the bank because of the "marriage" visa, and this is considered enough.
Strangely enough, people often stick to the 'conviction' that the TH wife will receive a NL benefit after his death, eg from the SVB from the ANW. With which one also fools oneself.

None of that matters, as long as it is communicated openly and honestly, and people make the effort to inquire with the NL authorities about what applies to their situation. Fear of zero on the bill is then usually the case.

However: doing nothing, providing wrong information, and leaving the other person in the delusion is of course morally reprehensible. You deliberately mislead someone. Indeed, sometimes it does happen that someone chooses only for his own convenience, and in TH takes a wife to indulge that convenience. This may be the case from which the questioner takes his example: to make the other believe that she can continue to support herself.

Finally: if a Thai woman misses the net after the death of her Dutch husband because she thought there was something to be gained, and this is how the questioner formulates his issue, then for me it is a matter of covering the nose because the bottom was required from the can. I once heard an acquaintance advise her friend to go into business with an older farang, because she wouldn't live that long after all. That also happens. And for those who are in good faith and of good will: life insurance can be purchased at a low cost at every Thai bank. You already have it for 5 thousand baht / month. Gives some security.

I myself am dealing with the administrative consequences of the death of the good friend. He was Dutch, his wife was Thai. They got married in the Netherlands, the marriage is legalized in Thailand. It was his first marriage, so not a divorced man.

But like many, he had nothing in writing, ie he made no will (Last will and Testament). Means that the Dutch bank accounts are blocked and can only be unblocked with a notary certificate of Dutch inheritance law. And so there are still some hurdles to overcome.

If you make a will, the right of inheritance is fixed, and so are the heirs. If you do not have a will, the next of kin must prove that they have the right of inheritance. And that creates a lot of administrative hassle.

You are dealing with Dutch inheritance law and Thai inheritance law. Of course, it gets even more complicated if there are children from a previous marriage. Those are also heirs.

So make a will. Via a well-known lawyer or, if you are in the Netherlands, at a civil-law notary. After your death you provide a lot of peace and little administrative hassle. If you make a will, have the will translated into English and legalized. Then it will also be recognized outside Thailand.

I am married to a Thai and we have a son together.
Because I live abroad, my state pension is reduced, I paid a voluntary premium for this. I also pay a premium for when I am no longer here that my wife and my son receive benefits from the AWW.
I recently had a (surviving) will drawn up so that my wife can dispose of my entire estate. My children from a previous marriage are well off in my opinion and do not need my estate.

I hope to enjoy it for a long time with my family

I think it is only normal that you treat your wife fairly no matter what country she comes from.