What happens if my Thai wife dies?
At ThaiWills.com, we like to help you make the right decisions. We are here to give you the right amount of education, so that you can make informed decisions and get the most from your time with a lawyer.
With that in mind, below we are trying to provide you with the legal information as to what would happen, if your Thai Wife Dies, without a Will in place.
Generally with respect to the inheritance of the property of the deceased wife can be done in two ways, one is if she expressly mentions husband’s name in her will, then as per will the husband is entitled to get the estate of the wife; secondly, if the wife has left no will the Thai laws of inheritance and succession will apply.
If the Thai wife Dies and left with no will:
The Inheritance and succession laws of Thailand has always recognized the surviving spouse as the legal heir[1]. The Thai laws clearly state that if there are no legal heirs surviving, then the living spouse is entitled to the whole inheritance[2]. In the case that several spouses of the deceased are alive then all such living spouses, of the deceased, have to share the assets and property of the deceased equally[3].
If the deceased wife has an insurance policy, where the surviving husband is the beneficiary or nominee to such a policy. Then the surviving husband has the right to claim the insurance amount and the insurance company is bound to pay the surviving husband the insurance claim[4]. If both the husband and wife have invested in any of the contracts where an annuity is paid by both, then in the case of death of any of the spouses, the company has to pay the compensation to the surviving spouse[5].
Must Be Legally Married
In the unfortunate situation of the Thai Wife Dies. For the husband to get the property and assets of deceased wife, two conditions have to be mandatorily satisfied. One is they both have to be legally married and second is there is no legal heir left from wife’s side.
Generally, if any property or asset that is owned by the wife before marriage belongs to her any property or the assets that is owned by the wife after marriage will belong to both husband and wife. So even in the absence of an express will, the Thai husband is entitled to a half share of the joint property which was bought after marriage. But in case of any land that is owned by the wife and if there is now will the husband will have the right to claim such property and the husband need to sell such land within one year because the ownership will not transfer to husband after wife’s death, otherwise, the government will dispose off the property and deduct all the processing fees and taxes and the rest is left to husband.
Distribution of the estate of deceased wife:
If the wife left a husband and a child then the property of the wife will be equally shared between child and husband. In the second case if the deceased wife is left with parents and husband then both of them share the estate of the deceased equally. In the third case, if the deceased wife left with husband and statutory legal heirs then the husband is entitled to two-third of estate of the deceased wife and statutory legal heirs will be entitled to one-third estate of the deceased.
Conclusion:
So it is very important for a husband to convince the wife to write the last will in his favor, so that only the husband of the deceased can enjoy the estate of the deceased after her death.
[1] Civil and Commercial Code, §.1629, (Thailand)
[2] Id. §.1636
[3] Id.
[4] Id. §.1637
[5] Id. §.1638
