*SHOULD I WRITE A WILL?

Question

I am a foreigner who had been running my own business in Thailand. I have several health problems therefore, I am thinking about who should succeed my assets if I pass away. Should I write a Will in Thailand? How can I go about doing this?

Answer

Unless you want your assets to be succeeded by heirs down your bloodline, you should write and execute a Will. If you died without executing a Will, then your heir(s) will succeed your assets. As according to your bloodline, the hierarchy of heirs for succeeding your assets under Thai law are:

(i) Decedents or your children

(ii) Parents

(iii) Brothers and sisters of full blood

(iv) Brothers and sisters of half blood

(v) Grandfathers and grandmothers

(vi) Uncles and aunts

Executing a Will will enable your assets to devolve on the people you want. The easiest and the most convenient way for executing a legally valid Will in Thailand would be to draft out the Will in writing and you sign the Will before two witnesses who are present at the same time. The two witnesses shall then sign their names to certify your signature. These witnesses should also attach signed certified true copies of their passport (non Thai) or ID Card to the Will. The contents of the Will should contain at least the following:

(a)   Date of making the Will;

(b)  Your name, residing address, nationality and passport number (non-Thai) or Thai   ID Card number;

(c)   List of your asset(s) in Thailand only, their locations, its identifying details e.g. Title Deed number, company’s name and its share number etc.;

(d)   The persons whom the respective assets will devolve upon; and

(e)  Appoint an administrator of your estate i.e. the person who will open up your Will after you passed away and manage the distribution of your assets as according to your intentions expressed in the Will. State the name, passport number (non-Thai) or Thai ID Card number, nationality and residing address of the administrator.

You should have a first choice and a second choice administrator, just in case the first choice administrator cannot fulfill his/her duties, the second choice administrator will assume the duties.

The administrator of your estate, as appointed by the Will, have the power and duty to arrange for your funeral, unless another person has been specifically appointed by you for this purpose.

Written by David Tan. David is a Lecturer of Business Law at Asian University and author of the book "A Primer of Thai Business Law (Second Edition)", available online at www.chulabook.com . In Bangkok, the book is available at all Kinokuniya and Asiabooks bookstores. Any questions on drafting a Will or estate management should be e-mailed to Business Legal Advisory Services at: blas.inter@yahoo.com