TFL has been practicing family law since 1985, which makes it over 30 years that we have been engaged in this area of the law in Thailand.

Yes, all of our lawyers are certified by the Lawyers Council of Thailand, which is the governing body for all Thai lawyers, solicitors, barristers, and attorneys. TFL is also on the list of approved family law firms by the British Embassy in Thailand. This shows that we are specialised in the area of family law.

Thailand Family Law Partners (TFL) has over 30 years of experience assisting people in Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket, Koh Samui, and the rest of Thailand with all family law matters. This includes marriage & divorce, inheritance & probate, death in Thailand, child custody and abduction, and other related legal services. Marriage & Divorce - TFL's legal services include assisting with registering your marriage in Thailand, drafting a prenuptial agreement, registering a divorce in Thailand, and bringing civil or criminal litigation against your spouse or partner. Inheritance & Probate - TFL's legal services include drafting and registering a last will and testament, as well as all matters related to probate and inheritance court proceedings after someone dies in Thailand. Death in Thailand - TFL is a certified funeral director that can manage all aspects of death of a foreigner in Thailand. This includes picking up and transporting the body, managing all aspects of the autopsy process completed at the forensic hospital, managing a cremation ceremony / funeral, arranging burial in Thailand, repatriation of the body or ashes, arranging for the official death certificate to be made and used for probate, and assisting with the assets of the deceased. Children - TFL is your trusted partner in Thailand for the most important thing in your life - your children. We have decades of experience fighting for the right of child custody, including in cases where the parents are married as well as unmarried, and in those situations where there is mutual agreement as well as suing through the family courts in Thailand. We also assist with issues of child abduction and matters of the Hague Convention, successfully reuniting many parents with their children.

If you are the wife of your husband who has recently died in Thailand, you are entitled to the first 50% of the value of the estate as well as other % of the estate, depending on who the other potential heirs are.

Firstly, you will want to get in touch with our law firm to assist with managing the body. Next, we will be assigned as funeral director in order to start this process for you here in Pattaya.

Do you have the bank name and bank account number? If so, the process is fairly straightforward for our lawyers to assist in having the bank issue you a cheque or do a wire transfer to you. However, you first must have the legal right to do so, which is usually done through the probate or inheritance process in the Koh Samui Provincial Court, or other court in Thailand as the details will reveal.

We may be able to perform a check on the bank account in order to see the balance, so that you can see if it is worth pursuing. Keep in mind, we will need to confirm you are the rightful heir to your father's estate including his bank account.

This will depend on many factors, but usually we are able to allow you to appear via video link from outside Thailand. However, please contact our lawyers first to get an update on the current rules of the specific Thai court we will need to petition.

Yes, you can, as long as no one else has already done so. Please contact TFL to engage us to do a check with the relevant court so we can find out if someone else has tried to become executor of your late father's estate in Thailand.

If you are referring to finding if your late family member had any property in Thailand such as a condo, then yes - we can do this. Contact our lawyers for more details.

Yes, if you have inherited property in Thailand such as a condo in Pattaya or elsewhere in Thailand, we can help you conduct the sale, even if you are not in Thailand.

Yes, but there is a process to follow. Many foreigners will place property in Thailand into the name of a Thai company limited. Our lawyers will need to work through this legal process in order for you to be able to sell the property held by the company.

Our law firm has been providing professional legal support in Thailand for people from all around the world for over 30 years. We are a trusted law firm in Thailand, having been approved by the UK Embassy in Thailand for their list of family law firms in Thailand. We are your trusted partner in Thailand to make sure you receive what is rightfully yours.

There is no limit on how many pages your last will and testament should be, since it will depend on how many contingencies you include. Our lawyers have drafted and registered wills that were as short as 2 pages or as long as 20 pages, so it really depends on your individual situation.

Legally, no. Your assets will need to go through probate in order for the legal process to take place. Many people make arrangements for some assets to be given to family during their life times, but according to the relevant sources of Thai law, all assets must go through probate.

This will depend on your individual situation. It is not a requirement for a will to be valid, but the idea is to make your will impossible to dispute. Registration of a Thai will can help with this.

If you are talking about the ceremony, it can be done anywhere that can accommodate a wedding. However, if you mean registering your marriage and making it legal, it must be done at a district office in Thailand.

You should contact us for requirements on what you will need to provide to the district office, and we can assist with this.

The actual ceremony and registration of the marriage can be done in 1 day. However, it takes many days to prepare the necessary documents (unless you have them already), so contact TFL for more details.

Yes, foreigners and Thais can get married in Thailand and register their marriage in Thailand.

The answer to this is "probably yes." We will need to check the individual requirements of both foreigners who want to get married in Thailand.

There are several steps. You need to check the requirements at the district office you will use, get documents from your embassy, get documents translated and certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and other things. More details can be found on our website page about getting married in Thailand: https://thailandfamilylaw.com/getting-married-in-thailand/

If you register your marriage, then property can be considered joint property, which would potentially be split if you and your partner get a divorce. You can read more on our page on divorce.

No. Even if living with another person in Thailand for several years, you are not considered to be married according to the law. Some people may refer to their partner as their spouse, but for family law considerations, you are not married.

This is a personal decision for you to make. However, keep in mind that the only way for foreigners to own the land that the house sits on (and it is difficult to move a house!) is through a company. Most companies in Thailand require Thai shareholders, with exceptions for Amity Treaty companies for Americans and certain BOI companies. We can help you protect your house and land by putting it into the name of a company.

Yes, you can get a divorce in Thailand if you registered your marriage in Thailand. If you did not register your marriage in Thailand, you still may be able to file for divorce through a lawsuit against your spouse. This is used when you are living in Thailand.

Yes, this may be possible. If you are both living in Thailand or if you have children or property in Thailand, it is possible but only through a contested divorce, also known as suing for divorce.

The uncontested divorce is done at the district office in Thailand.

Yes, this is grounds for suing for divorce according to the relevant source of Thai law - the Civil and Commercial Code.

We can help you prove that this property was purchased with your money. If fraud occurred, then we can sue your partner for criminal fraud or civil fraud. If you just want to sue for divorce, we must make sure that this property is considered as joint property in the divorce.

We always advise having a lawyer when getting a divorce in Thailand, due to the complications that can come up in the divorce documents. Unless you are completely fluent in written and spoken Thai language and have extension legal knowledge, it is better to engage a lawyer for the divorce.

Many people make this mistake. They think they just because the divorce is uncontested that they do not need a family lawyer in Thailand. When you get an uncontested divorce, you sign binding agreements for financial support, split of assets, child custody, as well as the ability of your ex-wife or ex-husband to sue you in the future. Get a lawyer or risk losing a large amount of time and money in the future.

Yes, these are the same things.

The relevant source of law for prenuptial agreements in Thailand is the Civil and Commercial Code of Thailand.

Yes, if you want to be able to use the prenuptial agreement in the future, you will need a lawyer to prepare this for you. We can also provide competent legal representation for your partner.

You and your partner should be present, accompanied by each person's lawyer as well as 2 witnesses.

We can help explain to her that you have family reasons for signing a prenup. We know the best way to discuss this topic with your partner so that no one loses face in this discussion.

Yes, TFL can assist you to create a last will and testament that will guarantee your partner receives your inheritance if you die in Thailand.

Yes. Keep in mind Thailand's adoption laws are more complicated than in other countries, so it will be a multi-step process. However, TFL has experience helping same-sex couples adopt children.

Yes and No. TFL can support the legal process for your partner to have the same authority and rights as a parent. If you are in a same-sex relationship as woman and woman, you may want to have a child through natural childbirth and insemination. Your partner can then become the legal guardian for your child, and TFL can support this process.

This depends on the type of property and who has access to it. For a condo, for example, it is not possible for someone to steal this without committing a crime themselves, such as forgery. This is unlikely to happen. However, there may be people using the condo if no one is checking, so it is best to try to get this sorted through probate as soon as possible. Money in bank accounts are also considered to be safe, as long as there is no debit or ATM card around. If the money is in a bank account, such as a savings account or current account, this will need to be sorted through probate as well.

In Thailand most of the funerals (over 95%) are cremations. This is because the infrastructure is in place for this, in line with the Buddhist and Thai traditions. Some people will opt for burial in Thailand, and this is mostly done by some foreigners as well as Christians of Thai and foreign origin.

Yes, TFL has over 30 years serving as legal funeral director for foreigners and Thais who die in Thailand and can take care of everything for you.

TFL provides affordable but high-quality services as funeral director. Compared to other providers, our prices are typically 20-30% less. We can offer more affordable prices because we have the nationwide network of people working at hospitals, police stations, temples, and government offices that allow us to have lower costs than our competitors.

The first step is to assign TFL as funeral director so that we can prepare the necessary documents. Once we do this, we can apply for the various supporting documents needed, such as police report, autopsy report, initial death certificate, identification documents, and then finally the official death certificate.

We are sorry for your loss. The next step is to contact us to arrange for transport of the body, as well as to have the police come and inspect, as per the law. Do not attempt to move the body yourself, because this could be illegal. It is best to have a law firm like TFL manage this process to ensure it is done correctly.

If TFL handled the funeral process, it is easy for us to move forward with the inheritance process, through probate at the court. We have much more details about probate in Thailand on this website. Please take a look or contact TFL for more details.

Yes, we can lodge petitions at the relevant family court in Thailand for the court to issue a court order detailing child custody arrangements in Thailand, even if you have not registered your marriage in Thailand.

You have custody if you are a biological parent of the children and are the mother or married to the mother. So, if you had a child with a Thai citizen but were not married at the time, you may not have rights to custody, since the mother would most likely have custody. However, if you were married at the time of your child's birth, then you are provided parental rights / custody.

Since you said "girlfriend" and not "wife" then we assume the mother will have full custody rights of your child. However, there are ways to fix this, including petitioning for parental rights / custody in Thailand.

You can have a law firm (like us) support this and get you parental rights for your child in Thailand. TFL has decades of experience getting parental rights for foreigners in Thailand who are not married.

You must provide a place to stay for your child and provide a normal level of care for the child, typically until the age of 20. You must provide opportunities for education for the child. If someone tries to take your child, you can file a police report and demand they bring your child back.

This question can get complicated, and will require a review of the details of the situation. For example, is the other parent aware of this? Do they consent? Will they have a lawyer try to stop this? Where was the child habitually resident before? Please contact us for assistance.

You might have a requirement to pay child support. This will depend on your income, your financial situation, whether or not you are married to the other parent, and many other details. Contact TFL for more details.

We will see if you have parental rights now or not. Then, we will file for parental rights on your behalf. Once we have this made official, you have the right to see your child, whether or not your Thai wife likes it.

If your child has been taken, we can assist in locating your child and bringing your child back to you, in line with the relevant family laws in Thailand.

This happens quite often in Thailand. We can assist with making your wife the legal guardian of her niece, followed up by making you the other legal guardian for your niece.

Yes, this is possible. We will need to determine several details about the potential adoption, but there are thousands of Myanmar children who are refugees that may be eligible for adoption.

The DSDW in Thailand is the Department of Social Development and Welfare. This government agency is responsible for adoptions in Thailand. We will need to work closely with the DSDW for any potential adoption in Thailand. We have over 30 years of experience working with the relevant government agencies related to adoption.