Reader question: I will probably inherit a house in Thailand, what should I arrange for that?
Dear editors,
First of all, please anonymize me because this has a rather emotional and sad side.
My name is X. I have been living in Prachnabkhirikhan for several years in a house belonging to a Canadian family, with whom I have a very good relationship and with whom I have a relationship of trust, in particular with the couple's wife, I call her Y.
Recently I received an email from her with the sad message that she has inoperable lung problems, I think cancer. It is true that a second opinion is requested. But as read in the now countless emails, this girlfriend is in very bad shape. Now the family, which is very well off, has a daughter, where Y indicated that if she dies EVERYTHING in Canada will be inherited by this daughter.
Y has also indicated that she wants EVERYTHING in Thailand, a large house, built about 5 years ago and bought at the time bare for 8.500.000 to be accepted by me as an inheritance.
Of course I want Y to enjoy her children, grandchildren and Thailand for many years to come, BUT and follows my actual request for help. Should it come to the point that Y will indeed die, what must be arranged BEFORE her death by lawyers, translation agencies, notaries, do I eventually want to become the owner of this property?
There are countless people who come up with stories with the best intentions, but that is of no use to me. Perhaps you or one of the readers can give me advice or have you experienced a similar situation? I am quite Dutch but I emigrated to Thailand.
I hope this call will help you on your way.
Thanks X
Dear,
I have consulted all my sources, inquired with Thai acquaintances, I am quite often involved with this matter and also have quite a lot of documentation on it; in short, as a westerner it is practically impossible to inherit a house, the house might still be possible, but the land it is on certainly not, in principle she can disinherit her family in a will and designate you as beneficiary, but then Do you still have the problem that as a Westerner you can hardly or not own anything.
The heirs, if they challenge the will, will always be put in the right.
I really advise you to hire a good lawyer, bilingual of course and also have this lawyer and his work checked by a third party who is well aware of Thai law regarding inheritance law and ownership of Thai movable and immovable property .
Do not blindly trust all the advice that will be given here on Thailandblog, most of them are well-intentioned, but you should really leave this to professionals.
I am reading your piece again and 1 question that is important comes to my mind, is this about family with Thai nationality or Canadian, if Canadian it becomes a completely different story and it is, for me, not really clear from your story
Good luck to your girlfriend and lots of wisdom for you
With greeting,
Lex K.
Tomorrow X,
As a foreigner you cannot buy land.
So the first thing you should do is ask which lawyer she founded a company with.
At least I assume there is a company and then the person or persons who own 51% of it.
LOUISE
Dear X, the previous commenter is certainly right: acquiring land and goods from farang to farang does not happen naturally through inheritance. The help of a lawyer is necessary. But you can do a lot of preparatory work yourself. You don't have to hand over everything.
To give you some idea of what is coming your way: assume the principle that Canadian people cannot own land in TH. This means that you should ask them how they built the house on TH land. If the couple both do not have TH nationality, then it is most likely that they have a land lease contract with a Thai person: being the owner of that land, or other TH legal entity. In any case: at the time they were land buyers resp. –tenants, so there is also a seller or landlord.
Please start by requesting copies from your girlfriend of all paperwork that had to do with the construction of the building at the time: purchase contracts resp. rental agreements or ownership papers. For example, if they do not have a TH municipal chanot on the land, then they are not owners.
Ask for a legal, i.e. legalized statement from the couple that they are gifting you the house. Please note: husband must make it clear that he fully agrees. Children must also declare that they completely renounce land and property. Thai Law is quite strict in family matters. Please note: Thai law is not going to solve Canadian family issues. In other words: get it clear to yourself (and later to other interested parties) that you are the only and true heir to TH land and property, free from any claim, from anyone or anything. Ditto for any Thai side.
Once you have arranged all that, look for a solid and reliable TH lawyer and ask him to negotiate with the landowner. If it doesn't agree, you have a problem. Contracts with farang do not necessarily have to be time!bound in TH, but often personal!bound. Which can mean that a land lease that is terminated by one of the parties, certainly due to an absolute thing such as death, is not simply transferred to the person who inherits the property on that land.
If your girlfriend does have TH nationality, and she owns both the land and the building, the lawyer will apply to the TH court with the request to make it possible for you, for example, to have access to the land for a period of 30 years. and house. Also now the Court will want the Canadian family to agree. Again: no Canadian claims on TH territory. They make short work of that.
If the Court rejects your claim, for example because there is also a Thai family, then the party will not take place. But I assume the lawyer informs you about this.
Assume that you have to invest time and effort in finding out about the possibility of acquiring land and house through inheritance. But yes, 8 and a half million baht is an amount that you can do something for. Although I wonder if it was necessary to mention that amount in your question. It is about the principle, and without naming the value, it is absolutely clear. Keep us posted on the TH legal progress, please, for the benefit of many! Good luck, Soi.
I know a story like that from my area.
About 4 years ago also happens with an inheritance.
Henk was his name and he was a good acquaintance of mine.
Also had a real estate inheritance due to his own two Dutch children.
But they both got nothing.
I could write the whole story , but I am afraid that I will not be taken seriously here again .
And therefore not positively moderated .
That's why I'm keeping this story to myself.
Can I spend my time better?
Jan Beute.
Lex K. is partly right, in Thai inheritance law one can disinherit, including the children
If the lady in question has Thai nationality, you can acquire the land, but you did have it sold within 365, but it will not be sold by law
If your Thai wife dies and the land area to be inherited does not exceed 1Rai, you can inherit the land and obtain full 100% title to it.
Not only do you need a competent lawyer, but the testator must also appoint a 100% reliable "Exutor of the estate", who will be confirmed in his position by the Civil Court through a hearing. place of the testator, and has full authority over the deceased's assets. For example, the real estate is transferred to his name. So his name will appear on the title deed, and it is he who must make the transfer. The executor of the estate can simply go to the deceased's bank and close the account
I myself have been appointed “executor of the estate”, so I know what I am talking about
In short, you need a very good honest and competent lawyer, who is willing to commit himself 200% for you, and a very reliable "executor of the estate" who is willing to do this for you free of charge, because he has the right to request expenses and fees.
The lawyer and procedure costs will cost approximately 350 000 Thai Baht. And the entire procedure takes at least 6 months.
Because a whole series of procedures must be followed, and each of those procedures can disrupt the six statutory heirs.