Have you made a Will?

 Intestacy in Thailand

 What happens if the deceased has no Will?

 By Joe Lynch, Accredited Australian Family Law Specialist  

Lanna Lawyers, Chiang Mai, Thailand

Email: lynchlaw.net.au@gmail.com

Under Section 1629 of the Thai Civil and Commercial Code there are said to be only six classes of statutory heirs (in fact there are 7) and subject to the provisions of Section 1630(2) each class is entitled to inherit in the following order:

1) Descendants;

2) Parents;

3) Brothers and sisters of full blood;

4) Brothers and sisters of half-blood;

5) Grandparents;

6) Uncles and aunts.

A surviving spouse is also a statutory heir, subject to the special provisions of Section 1635.

Where a person dies intestate Thailand, that is without having made a Will, then those entitled to the estate are as follows:

1.      The surviving spouse inherits the whole estate in the absence of any other statutory heir ( Section 1635(4)Section  Thai Civil and Commercial Code “TCCC”)

2. If the deceased is survived by a spouse, the spouse is entitled to 50% of the common or marital property of the deceased  and the remaining estate passes as set out below (Sections 1625,1629 and 1635 TCCC)
3. If the deceased is survived by a spouse and children, the surviving spouse and children are entitled for the remaining estate which shall be equally distributed amongst them. (Sections 1629 and 1635(1) TCCC)
4. If the deceased  is survived by a spouse and a parent or parents but no children, the surviving spouse is entitled to 50% the remaining estate property and the deceased’s parent or parents to the other 50% of the remaining estate; (Sections 1629 and 1635(2) TCCC)
5. If the deceased  is survived by a spouse and brothers and sisters of full blood, but with no surviving children or  parents, then the surviving spouse is entitled to 50% of the remaining estate and his siblings of the full blood are entitled to the other remaining 50% (Sections 1629 and 1635(2) TCCC);

6.      If the deceased is survived by a spouse and otherwise only by heirs in classes 4, 5, 6 specified in the TCCC brothers and sisters of half-blood, grandparents, uncles and aunts, then the spouse will inherit 2/3s of the remaining estate and the heirs the highest class will be entitled to the other 1/3 of the remaining estate which will be divided in equal shares amongst them (Sections 1629 and 1635(3) TCCC);

7. The surviving spouse inherits the whole estate in the absence of any other statutory heir (Section 1635(4)TCCC)
8. If the deceased has no surviving spouse, then the statutory heirs in the highest class are entitled to the whole of the estate and if more than one in equal shares (Section 1620 and 1620 TCCC).

9.      Under the Thai law where a deceased dies intestate leaving no statutory heirs, including a spouse,  as specified above, the estate of the passes to the State, subject to the rights of the deceased’s creditors.

Entitlement on intestacy is a complex area of the law in Thailand. There are exceptions where some legatees or statutory heirs may be excluded from entitlement. The above is a good guide but ins in no way a substitution for expert professional legal advice.

IF you have not made a Will think about it now!!!