Here's some advice on Wills from Pattaya Expat Club Sponsor Key Visa 

In my experience with dealing with a lot of the expat community in Pattaya the task of obtaining a last will & testament seems to be a subject they least wish to talk about or it is put at the bottom of the list of priorities.

Coming to Pattaya & enjoying the sunshine & wonderful lifestyle can make the best of us forget what things are important & it is so easy to put important tasks to the back of our mind & think I’ll do that job tomorrow. In my honest opinion protecting your assets in Thailand should be a very strong priority for you & your Thai partner.

Owning your own home or car or motorbike or money in a Thai bank needs protection for your beneficiaries be it your family in your home country or your Thai partner. Whether you are married or unmarried, for a small expense you can safeguard your hard work & possessions.

Here are some Frequently Asked Questions:

IF I DON’T HAVE A WILL WHAT HAPPENS TO MY ASSETS WHEN I DIE?

If you have not got a last will & testament in place it is a horrendous task for your Thai partner if not married or your next of kin to claim the right to your assets. I myself have had one friend who unfortunately died in Thailand without a last will & testament. His family one year later are still going through the Thai judicial system to claim his assets.

If you have a Thai partner & you are not married then your partner has no claim over your assets whatsoever which leaves them in a very vulnerable position. 

If you wish your overseas family to receive your assets, then they have the arduous task of coming to Thailand & starting the process by proving they are next of kin. Then they have to employ a Thai lawyer to undertake your case which can be a lengthy process - anything up to 18 months.

In the 18 months there will be numerous visits to the courthouse & they will incur large legal fees. In the instances I have seen, the legal fees have totaled 50% of the asset value!! This is not including the massive stress factor your beneficiaries have to endure.

In layman terms, your assets will be frozen and if there is no resolution through the courts then your assets will die which is a harrowing prospect.

DOES MY THAI PARTNER NEED A LAST WILL & TESTAMENT?

In my professional opinion the answer is yes. You may ask why? Taking into consideration the other side of the coin, if your Thai partner is the owner of your assets e.g. home, car, motorbike in their name or you are married and you are entitled to a 50/50 share, what would happen if your Thai partner should unfortunately die. 

I have witnessed the Thai partners next of kin claim the right to the assets of their deceased family member & the foreign partner who had paid for everything being left with nothing, including having their home & car taken away from them because they had no will & testament arranged which believe it or not is a common occurrence.

I can only imagine it is difficult to deal with loosing a loved one but to loose your Thailand assets at the same time would be unbearable.

To pre-empt a situation is the best policy and my advice is utilize a small piece of your time and arrange a last will & testament  for your own piece of mind you can then carry on with your quality of life knowing your assets are secure.

IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE I CAN ADD TO MY WILL?

One of the main problems I have seen is that when a foreigner dies in Thailand there can be a conflict between the family in there home country & there Thai partner this being due to the Thai partner wanting a Buddhist cremation ceremony & the family wishing the body to be sent to the home country which to say the least can be a very awkward situation for the foreigners embassy to deal with so in the last will & testament the foreigner can state after there demise which way they would wish to be laid to rest.

HOW DO I ARRANGE A LAST WILL & TESTAMENT

If you wish to arrange a last will & testament at key visa co we make the whole process a hassle free experience for the client we do understand that this type of consultation is difficult for the customer so we make it as easy for you as possible.

We start the process by consulting with the client & asking them to produce information on there assets & who the named beneficiaries will be.

The client then returns with the information & we prepare there last will & testament the format we use is both in Thai & English but we can have it translated for any nationality.

The whole process once we receive the clients information is done and registered in a maximum of three days from start to finish.

CAN I/WE CHANGE THE WILL AT ANY TIME?

The will can be altered at any time by the client if there is two parties involved in the will then both parties have to produce the signature on the paperwork & there original identification before the lawyer will proceed with any changes.

WHAT IF I HAVE A WILL IN MY OWN COUNTRY?

If you have a will in your own home country it will not be sufficient to protect your assets in Thailand my advice is to arrange a last will & testament in Thailand to protect your assets here.

We at key visa co feel very strongly about advising the expat community no matter how difficult the consultation to pre-empt a situation in Thailand is always the best option. 

If any readers would like more information regarding last will & testament enquiries or have had visa problems in the past I would be very interested to hear about them.  Enquiries please e-mail DARREN at KEY_VISA@hotmail.com. You can also have a free visa consultation at the Pattaya expats club which meets every Sunday 11.30 at the grand sole hotel, second road, Pattaya, where I am the Immigration & visa advisor.

Let us make your life easier & take away the stress factor come & talk to us and get some good free advice. keyvisa2@gmail.com