Tiger Moth Posted May 28, 2004 Report Share Posted May 28, 2004 I am primarily concerned with the financial risks associated with buying a house (which would be in the name of a Thai woman - she would then own the house of course) when married vs being unmarried. Are there any financial/legal benefits to being married. Having read about nightmare stories where a farang buys a house in his wife's name and she sells it when he is out of the country, disappearing and keeping all the proceeds for herself, I am wondering if being married offers any protection/benefit vs being unmarried. Also, are there other financial risks associated with being married or unmarried? For example, having been married to a Thai woman in Thailand (as oppossed to one's home country), does the wife have a claim on retirement or investment income sourced in one's home country? Are there other considerations? Bottom line, is it safer to be unmarried or married from a financial/legal point of view? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BelgianBoy Posted May 28, 2004 Report Share Posted May 28, 2004 Tiger Moth said:Are there other considerations? Yes. Depending on the value of the property, why not set up a company in LOS, and have the co buy the property ? Lots of legal ways to do that...... BB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gene1944 Posted May 28, 2004 Report Share Posted May 28, 2004 Hey TM, Why don't you buy a condo (if you really want to "invest" here) and own the place by yourself? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiger Moth Posted May 28, 2004 Author Report Share Posted May 28, 2004 "Why don't you buy a condo (if you really want to "invest" here)" The real issue I am interested in is married vs unmarried and associated financial/legal risks. I have no interest in Thailand as a place for investment but could end up buying a house (and land) due to a relationship with a woman that I would marry or not depending upon these risks. That is, overall risks, not just those associated with buying a house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 28, 2004 Report Share Posted May 28, 2004 I think the issue is not that of being married or not married but that of trust - that is a big issue in Thailand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grabii Posted May 28, 2004 Report Share Posted May 28, 2004 TM, I think you need to talk to 2 attorneys - a Thai attorney and an attorney who practices family law in your home country (or home state if your home country is the USA) to see what the applicable laws are regarding marriage and associated rights and obligations. As a practical matter, 1) it may not make much difference if you're married or un-married if the concept of common-law marriage applies, 2) it may not make much difference if your partner doesn't have the knowledge and resources to go after you on your home turf, and 3) in Thailand, she's Thai and you're farang. Advantage Thai. Grabii Tiger Moth said:I am primarily concerned with the financial risks associated with buying a house (which would be in the name of a Thai woman - she would then own the house of course) when married vs being unmarried. Are there any financial/legal benefits to being married. Having read about nightmare stories where a farang buys a house in his wife's name and she sells it when he is out of the country, disappearing and keeping all the proceeds for herself, I am wondering if being married offers any protection/benefit vs being unmarried. Also, are there other financial risks associated with being married or unmarried? For example, having been married to a Thai woman in Thailand (as oppossed to one's home country), does the wife have a claim on retirement or investment income sourced in one's home country? Are there other considerations? Bottom line, is it safer to be unmarried or married from a financial/legal point of view? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 28, 2004 Report Share Posted May 28, 2004 I don't think that marriage to a Thai enhances the legal position of a foreigner in Thailand. I read somewhere that when the Thai wife buys a house she has to affirm that the husband cannot inherit if she were to die. This would not seem attractive to me. There would a visa benefit if you were married to a Thai. I asume that you are currently on the "retiree" visa. One of the conditions for that visa, if I remember correctly, is good health. That means that if you become seriously ill your visa may not be renewed just when y ou most need access to lower cost Thai medical services. I don't belive that the "husband" visa has a similar health requirement. I don't live in Thailand, so my knowledge is limited, but I did discuss some of these issues with a sharp Australian fellow who has been living in the Kingdom for nine years. I can put you in touch with him if you like. Khun Pad Thai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasmine Posted May 29, 2004 Report Share Posted May 29, 2004 Hello, Being married to a Thai citizen does not enhance ones to more rights of Thai laws. On contrary, being married to an American does enhance ones to the monies and properties gained during the marriage. I used to work on TSP (government 401K) and wrote programs which are still used to distribute monies to any country in the world. The only valid reason was (and still is) that the foreign person has a marriage certificate, did not even have to be registerred with a US Embassy. Even a pre-nuptial contract can be re-voked using the reasons such as "No understand English well then" or "Too much in love, did not read the contract, etc. I do sound negative, but the truth is, the only thing you gain by being married to a Thai legally is, you may get a visa to stay in Thailand for a while (that is if the Thai embassy feels like giving it to you), nothing else, sorry. Hubby and I built a one room apartment in Thailand and knew that it is money in a hole, we have no legal right to it. Jasmine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whosyourdaddy Posted May 30, 2004 Report Share Posted May 30, 2004 "she has to affirm that the husband cannot inherit if she were to die. " A friend is closing a house. According to him, he can inherit the house. --------------------------------------------------------- My best advice is to find a good lawyer and real estate agent. There is a lot of questionable advice on this board when it comes to house and mortgages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 30, 2004 Report Share Posted May 30, 2004 I think the point is that he can inherit the house but not the land. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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