The Subject No One Wants to Talk About

[windwalker]

He did a good job and at a reasonable price.

[Undaunted]

He did a good job and at a reasonable price.

I beleve he charged for a will 5000 or 7000 I can't remember.

What I liked most as I used him for other things was his professionalism and above all his HONESTY.

[2lz2p]

GB

I don't have personal experience, but I do have some friends who have been through it. It's going to go through Thai probate, so I wouldn't rely on anything legal without doing it through a Thai attorney. I would also make sure, if you already have another will, that it includes a clause that makes it clear this will supersedes any others. You should make sure the will is both in Thai and in English - and that somebody knows where to find it, along with contact information for the attorney.

I had my will done by Thai888Law - Kelvin from Australia is Managing Director - it is his Thai wife that is the attorney. The will was written in English and Thai - basically one paragraph in English and then in Thai and so on. As to including a clause to revoke (supersede) previous wills -- yes and no. Some have a will in their home country to cover their assets there and make another one for Thailand to cover their assets here. If you include the statement (which most attorney's use as part of the "canned" language), to revoke all previous wills, it will revoke all previous wills - so if Thai will is done after your home country will was prepared, then you have just revoked that will - and vise versa. Kelvin with Thai888Law discussed these issues and said he would not include the clause since I wanted to keep my USA will valid.

At the Pattaya City Expats Club, we had a speaker from a farang run company in Bangkok (primary business being estate planning) that mentioned it was necessary to have the clause - I challenged him and he said he would take it to they Company's Thai lawyers (they did the wills prepared by their company) - he got back to me and said their lawyers agreed with my view and it was not necessary to include the revocation clause - that both wills would be valid in each country. Of course each will should deal only with the assets in the respective country.

Windwalker re Joint Account:

I don't believe it can be done, having a joint account with a farang and Thai (unless married)
Have you done this or just speculating?

I made a joint account with my Thai bf so that he would have access to funds while my Thai will was in probate (seems this can take 3 or more months). Bangkok Bank only required his ID and my Passport (and, of course, I had to fill out a taxpayer ID form to meet USA FACTA requirements). The main thing, is make sure that either you or your Thai partner can individually withdraw funds from the account - the bank asked us if we wanted that or have both of us to sign to withdraw - of course we made it individually - I keep the bank book and the bf knows where it is.

As to funeral expenses, I am currently looking into the "prepaid" plan of Monkhouse Funeral Directors in Bangkok (they are part of an Australian company that has been in existence for many years). They gave me a quote of 39,000 baht which includes claiming of the body, arrangements with the Wat for cremation and abbreviated Buddhist ceremony, and obtaining my Embassy's death abroad certificate. I have a couple of items I want to clarify with them before proceeding - I mentioned my plans to my bf and he thought it was a very good idea - no fuss needed on his part or my friends in making arrangements.

[Undaunted]

As to funeral expenses, I am currently looking into the "prepaid" plan of Monkhouse Funeral Directors in Bangkok (they are part of an Australian company that has been in existence for many years). They gave me a quote of 39,000 baht which includes claiming of the body, arrangements with the Wat for cremation and abbreviated Buddhist ceremony, and obtaining my Embassy's death abroad certificate. I have a couple of items I want to clarify with them before proceeding - I mentioned my plans to my bf and he thought it was a very good idea - no fuss needed on his part or my friends in making arrangements.

This is very interesting and inexpensive. Please be kind enough to post the particulars when you have them.

[mahjongguy]

It's not about where the Will was made. Mine says "applying to all assets in Thailand". Then I listed as much as I could, saying "including but not limited to...".

My other Will says "all US-based assets". Each Will has the clause that revokes previous Wills of the same type.

[christianpfc]

"5. Keep at least 60,000bht in cash to pay expenses (no frills)"
I assume this is a Farang price, there must be much cheaper ways. I would think a funeral can be done for 5000 Baht if you dispense of anything I deem unnecessary.

[Gaybutton]

there must be much cheaper ways.

Well sure. You could always donate yourself as a cadaver. Then it will be free . . .

"I'm going to donate my body to science fiction."
- Steven Wright

[Geezer]

You could always donate yourself as a cadaver. Then it will be free . . .

Nope, not necessarily. I checked it out some time ago. There is an age limit beyond which Thai med schools will not accept contributions. I forget what the limit is, but many of us are over qualified .

[windwalker]

Methinks that Christian's cadaver would be willingly accepted without further payment.