Dead and Gone

[Guest francois]

As a result of an earlier post I have been reminded by others to have a Will or have provisions for my Thai bf in case of my death. Even though I have provisions (dispositions) for my bf I am not presumptous to think they are adequat. A Thai Will is good if one has assets in Thailand like a condo or house. Money in a Thai bank account gains little or no interest as I understand so not a good investment.

 

But what if one lives in another country? For sure, if one has wealth and a effective attorney then anything is possible but that is not my situation. A Will in your home country is a logical idea but it is only as good as the Executor. Plus, one may have others to consider like elderly parents, a child, a copain all who want a "piece of the action". A Thai bf on the other side of the world is easily lost and forgotten by chance or by choice. When the funeral ends the dispute begins!

 

There are insurance policies, bank accounts, certificats of deposit, etc, but most of these financial instruments require federal ID numbers, for the beneficiiare, from your home country. This is a result of the events of 9/11 which make it more difficult to transfer monies internationally. It is possible to sometimes name a beneficiare without ID but they cannot claim the money until they prove themselves to the bank and the governement. Not an easy function for a unsophisticated Thai from Issan.

 

For me I am fortunate to have a twin who will do as I want done. As long as he lives I can rest assured my instructions will be fulfilled. He is a co-owner of a certificat of deposit which he can cash and wire transfer the money to the Thai bf's account in Thailand.

 

Sorry for being so verbose. Please tell me your thoughts and ideas, I dying to hear from you.

 

Francois

 

[Gaybutton]

For something as important and complex as this, the last thing I would even think of doing is listening to the advice of the "message board attorneys." I would recommend consulting an attorney both in your home country and in Thailand and let them be the ones who tell you how best to handle it.

[Guest francois]

True indeed GB, however I would be interested in hearing what others have done in similar situations. It is complex but maybe there are some good ideas I have not considered?

[Guest Boxer]

True indeed GB, however I would be interested in hearing what others have done in similar situations. It is complex but maybe there are some good ideas I have not considered?

 

Always a GOOD Will at home to cover anything in home country as seperate from a THAI WILL here to cover anything in Thailand and your wishes here. One Will will not cover Thai assets, Bank accounts etc.. Lawyers here, get a recommendation first.

AND dont forget to update your Will's as wishes change as you get older and assets get less.

[Guest Aunty]

Of course it's very important to seek competent legal advice from attorneys in both your home country and Thailand in order to bring about your final wishes for your Thai boyfriend.

 

What I would suggest though as part of your estate planning and discussions with the lawyers is to investigate the possibility of life insurance that lists your Thai boyfriend as the beneficiary when you die. Quite obviously this should be Thai insurance taken out with a reputable Thai life insurance company the next time you are there. You can easily pay the annual/ biannual/ monthly premium in Baht and if anything goes sour in the relationship before you die, you can either cancel the policy or substitute someone else as the final beneficiary. I imagine a fairy modest policy by our standards; say 1,000,000 Baht would be a good starting figure, although of course this will depend upon your age and current health.

 

[TotallyOz]

I think the key is with your family. If they know and respect your wishes, tell them in detail what you want and let them carry it out. I am lucky enough to have family that knows my boyfriend in Brazil is to be taken care of. I have told them the amount I want sent to him each year. I know they will follow through with my requests. If I had any doubts, I would make other arrangements.

 

I had one Thai boyfriend a few years back that was also to be taken care of. We ended that over 1 year ago but he was also to be taken care of.

 

I make sure my family has a copy of the ID card, phone number, friend

[Guest Pearl69er]

A friend of mine has just legally "married " his Thai friend in England for this very reason-having a number of disaproving relatives who are already eyeing off his assets.

 

I would say you need a very strong will in your home country as well. And do as I did -name those relatives you want excluded despite what your solicitor tells you, and give reasons.

 

Never underestimate a relative to be there when there is a will if you are a single man

[Guest wowpow]

Where there is a will there is an arguement

Where there's none there's a lawsuit.

 

My Thai lawyer prepared will for my assets in Thailand. He did this with each paragraph in English and Thai. This avoids any possibility of stuff being misunderstood in translation. It cost about 5000 baht. Most of the lawyers popular with farang residents seem to charge about the same even though my will could not be much simpler.

 

My UK Will I did on an internet website and feel happy with the result. I have spend a few hundred pounds doing wills with lawyers in the past but this one - which is checked by a professional - cost only UK

[Gaybutton]

I think the key is with your family.

 

That depends on the family. I'll never forget when my grandmother passed away. The family vultures were at her house arguing over who gets what even before the funeral.

[Guest pete1969]

This is an important subject, especially for those with long term Thai BFs. I know a guy in phuket who is over 40 and who was forced to go to work in a bar after his BF of ten years died prematurely and left no will in Thailand, so the Thai guy was left with nothing.

 

My BF is horrified by this story (he knew the guy long ago) because the guy "wasted" all those years with a farng and now has nothing to show for it. Life insurance policies in LOS are not too expensive and offer good peace of mind for the BF and his future.

 

Pete

 

(off topic--Gay Thailand, I ran across a guy in Phuket a few times at Visa bar who had a LT Brazilian BF and a bevy of boys in tow. This guy was European though if memory serves. I wonder if this was you as I always gathered you are American.)

[Guest Pearl69er]

Having just emerged from a five year family estate battle--get this on paper now and make it a will that is so specific there can be no chance of a challenge.

 

 

[Guest francois]

I have been reading your responses with great interest. Lots of good advice so far. An insurance policy in Thailand seems like a good idea and I will research it during my next visit. I am now also reconsidering revisions to my Will.

Please do not hesitate to provide more responses. Thanks.

 

[Guest Hedda]

My favorite provision in a will which disinherits someone is this clause authored by a friend in his Will :

 

"Part of me may love you still, but not the part that wrote this Will."

 

___________________

 

A few comments based on years of planning here:

 

I see no reason for an elderly farang to go shopping for life insurance as a way of providing for a younger companion. There are much better ways to invest for his future than paying very high rates because of your age.

 

If you do go the insurance route for some reason, there's also no reason for using a Thai company, especially if it's unrated. Many large rated insurers now operate world-wide and the fact that the beneficiary

is Thai does not mean you should buy a Thai policy. Compare rates and ratings.

 

Remember also that Thailand does not have a Law of Trusts. That's a real problem if you want to leave money that won't get blown by some laughing widow and family in short order. There are ways to do it without creating a "trust", so get a lawyer's advice on how.

 

In that regard, ignore the advice given by one poster above to do things in your Will "despite what your solicitor tells you."

 

Finally, make sure in your Thai will that you appoint someone other than your Thai Lawyer, or a trusted non-Thai co-executor to serve with him, because all sorts of strange things can happen when you are dead and an unsophisticated young Thai man finds himself in the hands of an unscrupulous or totally uninterested local attorney.

.

[Guest francois]

Thanks everyone for your responses and advice. I will check out insurance policies in Thailand and elsewhere however I am not sure why the rates would be better in Thailand than elsewhere. But will see. Also will consider all your advice.

 

GayThailand advised to get copies of the bf's ID card, and other relevent info.

I did this and my bf got real worried, "What you do, make me a slave and sell me?" he asked. I assured him that was not my intent.

 

Francois

[Guest noy9000]

How much exactly are the insurance policies in Thailand? Not really for my BF (which if anybody remembers, it is still going good despite the odds at 7,000THB p/ month for him -- in total though, it should be about 10,000 - 12,000THB).

 

Is it possible to list the beneficiaries to my family who is oversea?

 

layman terms please, I'm not good in the subject.

 

 

[Guest laurence]

By chance I stopped at the Muang Thai Life Assurance Co on Pattaya Tai near the intersection with Third Road. They do offer life insurance for farangs. Both policies they quoted are a form of whole life insurance which is a form of savings. Basically you pay money into the policy for a number of years and at the end of the term you then get back your money plus interest. Or if you die the beneficiary gets the money, hopefully.

Cost depends on the amount of insurance you want and your age and life expectancy.

Here are examples they gave me:

#1- A one million Baht policy would cost 285,000/year for seven years but no further payments for the next 8 years. At end of 15 years the policy would have a cash value of 2million Baht or more. Also you can withdraw about 6 or 7 % of the cash value every two years if you wish.

 

#2- A one million Baht policy for ten years might cost 120,000 Baht/year with a cash value of 1,500,000 at the end of ten years. No withdraws are allowed with this policy.

 

Above info based on someone in their 60s.

 

This might be a good deal for someone in a committed partnership who has the money to invest in such a policy.

 

For more info check with Muang Thai Life. They were most helpful.

 

I have no further info so can't answer any questions you may have.

 

I do know the only inexpensive insurance is term life for someone in their youth. I doubt that term life is available here in Thailand.

 

Maybe Traveler Jim can add some words of wisdom.

[Bob]

Disposing of your Thailand assets via a valid Thai will (use a Thai lawyer) ought to adequately take care of your thai assets.

As to assets in your home country, a valid will there will take care of it. In the states, as long as you adequately identify the beneficiaries, there is almost no likelihood that the beneficiary won't get the bequest. For a thai beneficiary, it would be wise to list the name, home address, and maybe even the name and address of somebody else who could get in contact with him (or, I suppose, her).

If as one poster noted you place a "trusted " friend or relative on a survivorship CD, your trust had better be well placed as the law is clear that, in spite of private instructions, the survivor owns the money and can legally do whatever he wants with it. The cemeteries are filled with parents and people who are still turning over in their graves because the "trusted" son, daughter, brother, sister, or friend decided to ignore the instructions given. I've seen it happen hundreds of times. Plus, if your trusted friend gets a judgment against them, be aware that your friend's creditors can garnish the account (after all....he or she is a co-owner!).

It's my view that it is your job to never place anybody in a position to possibly defy your wishes; as such, leave your assets in your name and write a valid and specific will. Don't worry about "all" of the alleged will contests out there - there aren't very many and they almost always fail. Most will contests really stem out of undue influence and that's doubtful that could be claimed when bf is 10,000 miles away from you when you do your home country will.

[Guest laurence]

The Bank of Ayudha now offers Foreign Currency Deposit Accounts for non resident foreigners to deposit foreign currency without converting to Thai Baht. They offer a Savings Account with a minimum balance of $500 USD which gains interest of about 1%. Also there is a Fixed Account with a minimum of $5,000 USD which gains 4.3% for a fixed period of 12 months. Other terms are available. The interest rate for Euros is much less than for USD.

Investing money is a fixed account may be a good way to provide for a Thai friend by listing him as a beneficiary. Such an account may have tax advantages plus, I assume, there would not be inheritance taxes or estate taxes which other countries/states/provinces may impose.

Also this type of account would avoid some of the pitfalls noted by others in earlier posts on this thread.

Oh, the initial deposit of $5,000 must be in cash. Subsequent deposits perhaps by wire transfers?

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