Preparing for my death.

[dlclark97]

Joint accounts.  You may want to check with your bank if you expect your wife to be able to receive funds from the account after your passing.  Even if a joint account it may be frozen upon your death preventing her having access until legal issues are settled.

[topt]

21 minutes ago, giddyup said:

Q. What does a lawyer take to administer probate? A. An arm and a leg. The fees Thai lawyers charge to both draw up a will (10,000) and then handle probate (I was quoted 30,000 baht) is nothing short of highway robbery. I trust my partner 100% so the money is in a joint account that she can draw on after I'm gone. I might add in the 10 years we've been together she's never touched it.

You don't value your arm and leg very highly then........

 

Seriously though, unless the level of assets is quite low, £1k or $1.3k for peace of mind does not seem overly unreasonable bearing in mind lawyers fees are generally high anywhere. That is as long as you can trust them.....    

[giddyup]

10 minutes ago, topt said:

You don't value your arm and leg very highly then........

 

Seriously though, unless the level of assets is quite low, £1k or $1.3k for peace of mind does not seem overly unreasonable bearing in mind lawyers fees are generally high anywhere. That is as long as you can trust them.....    

My question is, why are lawyers fees here on a par with those in the west, or higher, yet labour costs here are generally low? In fact it's cheaper for me to get a will drawn up in Australia than it is here. Personally I wouldn't trust a lawyer here as far as I could throw them, and I would use any other means open to me in seeing that my money went to whoever I wished without using their services, but that's me.

[FarFlungFalang]

Just set up an account for her in her name and leave the pin bankbook and card in the sealed letter that should get around the legal issues.

[Saltire]

I made a dual-language will with a company in Pattaya which covers ONLY my assets in Thailand (bank accounts) at a cost of 5000 Baht. They have a Thai lawyer and an Australian partner. The Australian is joint executor with my brother back in the UK, nothing can be done without joint agreement. Cost of probate at the court will of course incur a legal fee, in the region of 20 to 30k, which I find acceptable. Access to my Thai bank account should be complete in a week or two. I make sure her account has enough to tide her over when the worst happens.

 

My UK assets are covered by a completely separate will there, with my brother as executor with instructions to sell property etc. and arrange transfer to my wife when sold.

 

 

 

 

[Old Croc]

As someone in their 70's with medical issues, I'm aware I could pop off at any time. (Of course I am working to delay that day as long as possible.)

For wifey I've prepared a document (my death document) with step by step instructions on who to inform and how, including my friends and executors in home country. These instructions go in to detail on such things as how to apply for a widows pension from my superannuation fund in Australia, my financial advisor's contact numbers and where my money is held.  I've attached semi-completed application forms to help her with the paperwork.  My friends will assist with these matters.

This document is in a sealed envelope to be opened on my death, and is kept in a folder with my wills from both countries and other relevant documents. She will be able to access my Thai bank account very quickly.

[Grusa]

38 minutes ago, Saltire said:

I made a dual-language will with a company in Pattaya which covers ONLY my assets in Thailand (bank accounts) at a cost of 5000 Baht. They have a Thai lawyer and an Australian partner. The Australian is joint executor with my brother back in the UK, nothing can be done without joint agreement. Cost of probate at the court will of course incur a legal fee, in the region of 20 to 30k, which I find acceptable. Access to my Thai bank account should be complete in a week or two. I make sure her account has enough to tide her over when the worst happens.

 

My UK assets are covered by a completely separate will there, with my brother as executor with instructions to sell property etc. and arrange transfer to my wife when sold.

 

 

 

 

An aged friend decided to make a new will. Thai lawyer with farang "paralegal" associate. He was given  two copies, one in Thai and an English translation. The English version was in accordance with his stated wishes, and he was happy with it.

Nasty suspicious person that I am, I advised him to get an independent translation of the Thai version (the only one that is legally valid).

He did so. In the Thai version the lawyer had written himself in for 30% of the estate, plus the residue after fixed legacies paid. He stood to get about 400,000,000baht!

Never ever trust a lawyer, of any nationality.

[Captain 776]

I was the Executor on 2 extremely messy family deaths.

LESSON LEARNED:

I made a spreadsheet for my wife.

it lists each acct, with all details, contact numbers.

I changed her to beneficiary on all of them.

I have sufficient funds here to take care of her until she gets all benefits from each acct.

She knows to get at least 12 ORIGINAL DEATH certificates.

First thing each will ask for, send us ORIGINAL death Cert.

Plus there is a Thai certified Will

There is also a USA Will

We have a Thai marriage certificate.

And we have USA marriage cert.

 

Do your family a BIG FAVOR.......leave a Will, if u don’t you leave a mega mess behind which can be very expensive and time consuming.

[Captain 776]

16 hours ago, Nanglon said:

Depends where you plan on croaking ..... hospital / a&e in UK may issue death certificate to all and sundry before your mate gets to hear of it thus requiring probate / lawyers / executors to access your accounts for anything other than funeral costs? But I am planning similar with ATM; have internet banking on phone, so all could be controlled by executor using payees already set up + TransferWise.

Not sure what will happen to accounts here if you are reported as being deceased?

 

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/family/death-and-wills/what-to-do-after-a-death/

Bangkok Bank will NOT distribute anything after your death without order from court, no matter what bank you use, ask Manager next time you are there........that’s what I did.

[FarFlungFalang]

11 minutes ago, Grusa said:

An aged friend decided to make a new will. Thai lawyer with farang "paralegal" associate. He was given  two copies, one in Thai and an English translation. The English version was in accordance with his stated wishes, and he was happy with it.

Nasty suspicious person that I am, I advised him to get an independent translation of the Thai version (the only one that is legally valid).

He did so. In the Thai version the lawyer had written himself in for 30% of the estate, plus the residue after fixed legacies paid. He stood to get about 400,000,000baht!

Never ever trust a lawyer, of any nationality.

Wow Four hundred million Baht and I though I was rich with four million Baht.

[Mick501]

It seems that to have the money passed to her to be completely above board, and to put your mind at complete ease, the only way to do it after death would be to have a will and have it probated.

 

as you say, the probate part might be expensive and you'd be lucky if the lawyer didn't see opportunity in it.   You should be able to get a will made up for 5000b, or alternatively, one of the earlier posters offered to send you a kit.

 

all you can do is put her in the best position to justify her actions after you pass, in the event someone asks or disputes the claim.  Maybe have a witnessed by friends, and double up by sending them emails with the same information.   Even better, do it by video, with witnesses, so there can be no suggestion of coercion.

 

you will never be able to get certainty without the probate process or transferring money beforehand.  Just make sure that if she is asked she has complete justification and can't be accused of acting against your wishes.

 

dont check out too soon buddy, we'd miss your sharp mind.

 

 

[spidermike007]

I have a joint bank account with my wife. And on my solo account, she has my pin code, and access to my ATM card. The house is in her name. So is the car. The only issue for her will be my motorbike. She is also the beneficiary on my life insurance. Probably going to do a will anyway, just to simplify things. Frankly, I am more concerned about her demise. She is much younger, but who knows? Life is bizarre. The will would help with that, to some extent. 

[rickb]

There are several items that I don't think have been discussed yet in the above responses.  One is the issue of obtaining official death certificates from your embassy.  If you have any pensions or accounts in your home country, I believe you will need copies of an official death certificate from your embassy issued in your native language to be sent to the organizations back home.  I am a US citizen and have discussed with my Thai wife what she must do in order to obtain official death certificates issued by the US Embassy in English.  Once obtained, she will then send them to the companies in the US with which I have pensions.  In my case, these pensions are "joint and survivor" so that my wife will still receive monthly deposits after my death.  So she needs to notify them of my death and that requires a death certificate.  I should mention that the process is not complicated.  But, my wife admitted that knowing specifically what to do after my death in order to obtain the death certificates makes her much more comfortable.  Needless to say, I also made sure she knows who to contact after my death in order to keep the pension money flowing.  

 

Also, any US citizen receiving US Social Security needs to have someone responsible to inform the Social Security Administration of your death so that the monthly benefit deposits will cease and any money issued after your death that is not warranted is returned to the SSA.

 

One last issue that should be considered is who will prepare your final year of tax forms after your death.  This I know applies to US citizens and I'm not sure how it applies to non-US citizens.  I have specifically selected my son in the US to prepare my last year of tax forms for my wife to sign and submit.  For a US citizen, my wife is entitled to still file "married filing jointly" for the tax forms for the year in which I die.  

 

 

[cyril sneer]

23 hours ago, SteveK said:

I suffer from a long term illness which shortens my life span considerably

every Thai lady's dream ????

[Moonlover]

46 minutes ago, Grusa said:

An aged friend decided to make a new will. Thai lawyer with farang "paralegal" associate. He was given  two copies, one in Thai and an English translation. The English version was in accordance with his stated wishes, and he was happy with it.

Nasty suspicious person that I am, I advised him to get an independent translation of the Thai version (the only one that is legally valid).

He did so. In the Thai version the lawyer had written himself in for 30% of the estate, plus the residue after fixed legacies paid. He stood to get about 400,000,000baht!

Never ever trust a lawyer, of any nationality.

The linguistic similarity between LAWYER and LIAR is, I'm sure no coincidence. It is IMO the only profession that is trained and qualified to lie!

[thaibeachlovers]

23 hours ago, SteveK said:

just a bank balance. Would it be easier to just leave her my atm pin rather than have the hassle of lawyers, fees and paperwork?

When you die your bank account is frozen.

 

Make a will and specify the bank account number. I also informed the bank myself that my wife could take my money, just in case. Making a will isn't either a hassle or expensive.

I gave my wife enough money to tide her over till the legalities were finalised, but she spent it, despite my strict instructions not to, so what I'd do now is put enough cash in a safe and don't give her a key. If I died, she could get the safe cut open.

Your possessions will be no problem- she or the family will just take them.

 

Unless you wish to be burned, you need to make arrangements for burial, if it's even possible in LOS.

[thaibeachlovers]

23 hours ago, mauGR1 said:

Sorry to hear that, and i'm not really an expert, but what about a joint bank account with your wife ?

If it's got his name on it it's frozen.

[thaibeachlovers]

23 hours ago, SteveK said:

That's a good idea. I will write a sealed letter to be opened upon my death with my ATM pin. No need for lawyers fees, I gather her friend that I mentioned ended up losing over 200k through them. I don't want any of my money going to lawyers if possible.

She won't be able to use the pin as your account will be frozen. Probably to stop people killing someone to get the money.

A good lawyer isn't expensive and doesn't cause hassles.

[thaibeachlovers]

19 hours ago, Orton Rd said:

I just made the Mrs joint signature on my account here not a joint account, she can go in and get all the cash out if I croak, no need to tell them. I do have an ATM card as back up but I never trust those things, can get stuck etc. House and car is in her name anyway so that just leave the bulk of the cash in the UK which my mate will help her sort out.

AS I understand it when a farang dies ( or perhaps anyone dies ) once the authorities are notified they tell the banks to freeze the accounts. I guess they have an arrangement with all the banks as they wouldn't know which bank the person has an account with.

Tell me if I'm wrong.

So, only way to get the money would be to go to the bank before notifying the authorities, and that would surely lead to many questions.

[thaibeachlovers]

14 hours ago, SteveK said:

The main aim of this thread is to avoid outrageous lawyers fees. Yes, I know that leaving my ATM card and PIN is not the correct way of doing things, but would this really be considered as theft as one poster has mentioned?

Yes.

[thaibeachlovers]

2 hours ago, scorecard said:

I asked 2 hospitals in Chiang Mai if I could donate organs. I'm 75 in 10 days time. Both responded that my body is too old to use as transplants but I don't know if this is by any national policy etc.

Hospitals don't want your body unless you basically died in hospital. Even medical schools don't want it to practice dissection on as your body decays from the minute you die.

You also need to make it legal before you die.

[thaibeachlovers]

15 hours ago, steven100 said:

This topic is too sad for me …. 

Everyone dies. It's not sad, just a fact of life.

Not preparing makes it difficult for those left behind.

[thaibeachlovers]

18 hours ago, DaRoadrunner said:

You do not trust ATM cards but you DO trust a Thai wife.... You may 'expire' before your ATM card expires! And not of natural causes!

 

The alternative is a Will, but the Thai lawyer is going to siphon off as much as he can.

A good lawyer won't.

[thaibeachlovers]

1 hour ago, FarFlungFalang said:

Just set up an account for her in her name and leave the pin bankbook and card in the sealed letter that should get around the legal issues.

Can it be set up in her name without using her ID card? If she knows about the account she can say she lost the card/ book and get at it that way.

Anyway, this thread is about leaving the money in HIS account to her after death.

[Saltire]

1 hour ago, Grusa said:

An aged friend decided to make a new will. Thai lawyer with farang "paralegal" associate. He was given  two copies, one in Thai and an English translation. The English version was in accordance with his stated wishes, and he was happy with it.

Nasty suspicious person that I am, I advised him to get an independent translation of the Thai version (the only one that is legally valid).

He did so. In the Thai version the lawyer had written himself in for 30% of the estate, plus the residue after fixed legacies paid. He stood to get about 400,000,000baht!

Never ever trust a lawyer, of any nationality.

Mmm now where can I get my Thai copy proof read? I am generaly both a cautious and trusting person but I believe this happens.

[muffy]

will

[mauGR1]

24 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

If it's got his name on it it's frozen.

I'm afraid that you are right, although the bank account might be not immediately frozen.

[thaibeachlovers]

9 minutes ago, mauGR1 said:

I'm afraid that you are right, although the bank account might be not immediately frozen.

As I said, to get the money have to go to bank before notifying authorities of a dead person, which would look very suspicious.

[The Theory]

Doesn’t need an ATM, 

just needs phone and bank/banks app passcodes for having access to all accounts. Unless there is any fund in a time account. That would be a problem. 

[angloirishaussie]

i have no advice mate but I wish you all the very best