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Hughes Krupica: Planning for death

  Boat Lagoon

A side from the emotional grief that death can cause, the other form of grief in Thailand can often be related to unpreparedness for death by the deceased prior to passing, and also by the deceased’s family, executor and beneficiaries. There are many general summaries available online regarding "drafting a will in Thailand", but what can be overlooked by many are the specific practical effects of death and also the dangers in poor documentation and instructions relating to death.

Unfortunately, I have also personally experienced very suspicious circumstances relating to death and all those that deal with persons that say they were the ‘beneficiaries’ of an estate must be dealt with using extreme caution and with care and prudent enquiry as to their real rights, under qualified advice.

It therefore pays to plan for your own death, and for others to plan for your death and how to deal with your estate. The event is, of course, inevitable.

Who is entitled to what?
Death is only straightforward if you have nothing to leave others and you live in one place and do not have many assets. Otherwise, it can often be complicated.

In Phuket, there are many wealthy Thais and foreigners, with assets strewn across the globe. The most common issue I have seen is that of a ‘potential fraud’ being committed on third parties. If a person has a will overseas, but that will does not mention ‘worldwide assets’ and there is asserted to be ‘no will in Thailand’, then there can be issues in proving that there is no conflict between jurisdictions in relation to estates. Section 1620 of the Civil and Commercial Code (CCC) states that:

“Where a person dies without having made a will, or if having made a will, his will has no effect, the whole of his estate shall be distributed among his statutory heirs according to law.”

The order of statutory heirs under s.1629 CCC is (a) descendants, (b) parents (c) brothers and sisters of full blood, (d) brothers and sisters of half blood, (e) grandfathers and grandmothers, (f) uncles and aunts. It should be noted that a surviving spouse is also a statutory heir under s.1635 CCC. The portions of the estate to which the surviving spouse is entitled is, however, related to how many and what type of other statutory heirs exist.

If there was a will, then matters can be more straightforward, but it should be noted that there should be no assumption that a will is correctly executed by unqualified persons. If a will contains ‘conditions’ to be fulfilled prior to death, or subsequent to death, the fulfillment of the condition must be analysed very carefully.

Fraud on an Estate
Having witnessed first hand, like many readers I expect, death and the effects on family, friends and related parties, I often see numerous ‘mistakes’ relating to estates which unfortunately could easily be viewed as, or at some point become, a ‘fraud’ on the deceased’s estate.

Many persons set up offshore companies to own their interests as a foreign entity in Thailand. This is legal provided the correct taxes are paid for acquiring assets.

If a person dies without having written a will relating to their offshore interests that own interest in Thailand, it is not necessarily the case that their interests immediately transfer to say their registered spouse, or unmarried ‘common law’ spouse, or children. In fact, an offshore jurisdiction will also have its own set of different rules to Thailand regarding inheritance, wills and estates.

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GPS coordinate: 7.962140, 98.385884

 Contact info:

Hughes Krupica Consulting

PHUKET (HEAD OFFICE)
Hughes Krupica Consulting Co. Ltd
23/123-5 Moo 2 Kohkaew Plaza
The Phuket Boat Lagoon
T. Kohkaew Amphoe Muang
Phuket 83000 Thailand
Tel: (0) 76 608 468

BANGKOK (SERVICED OFFICE)
Hughes Krupica Consulting (Bangkok) Co. Ltd
29/41 Soi Ladprao 22
Ladprao Road
Chankasem, Chatuchak
Bangkok 10900 Thailand
Tel: (0) 20 771 518

enquiries@hugheskrupica.com
www.hugheskrupica.com

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