Thailand Last Will & Testament

The five forms of will recognised by Thai law

Book VI of the Civil and Commercial Code recognises five forms of will, and a document that does not fit one of them is not a will at all. The ordinary written will requires the testator's signature before at least two witnesses present at the same time, who then sign to attest. The holographic will must be entirely in the testator's own handwriting, dated and signed, and needs no witnesses. The public document will is made before the district officer, who records the testator's declaration and reads it back before witnesses.

The secret document will is sealed and delivered to the district officer with a declaration, and the will made by oral declaration is confined to exceptional circumstances where no other form is possible. For most expatriates in Thailand the practical choice is between the ordinary written will, which is flexible and can be bilingual, and the public document will, which is harder to challenge because a public officer records its making.

Witness capacity is where homemade wills most often fail. A beneficiary or a beneficiary's spouse cannot validly witness, and a person who is not sui juris cannot witness at all. A will that leaves an estate to the very person who signed as witness invites exactly the challenge the testator wanted to avoid.

Choosing the form

How we draft for a cross-border estate

1. Asset situs mapping: We list Thai-situs assets — condominium units, leaseholds, Thai bank accounts, Thai company shares, vehicles — separately from foreign assets, because succession to immovables is generally governed by the law of the place where they sit.
2. Deciding on one will or two: For most clients a Thai-law will covering Thai assets plus a home-country will covering the rest is cleaner than a single global instrument, provided each contains a carefully limited non-revocation clause.
3. Executor selection: We name an executor who can realistically act in Thailand and, where the primary choice is overseas, a Thai substitute or co-executor to avoid a probate application stalling on practicalities.
4. Bilingual drafting: The instrument is prepared in Thai and English with one governing text identified, so the Thai court reads an authoritative version and the family reads a faithful one.
5. Execution and safekeeping: We supervise execution with qualified witnesses, retain a signed original in safekeeping, and give the family the information they will need to locate it.

What a Thai will should address that people forget

• Foreign ownership limits: a foreign heir cannot generally hold Thai land, so the will should direct how such an interest is to be dealt with rather than leaving the estate to litigate it.
• Condominium quota: an inherited unit may still be subject to the foreign-ownership quota in that building, which affects whether an heir can register ownership or must sell.
• Digital assets: exchange accounts, domains and cloud archives need locatable instructions that do not themselves disclose credentials in the will text.
• Guardianship of minor children, expressed so that a Thai court and a foreign court are given the same nomination.
• Funeral and repatriation wishes, which in practice are acted on long before probate begins.
• A revocation clause drafted to cancel earlier Thai wills only, so a home-country will is not accidentally destroyed.

Common mistakes and how we avoid them

More questions we are asked

Does a foreign will work in Thailand?

It can be recognised, but it usually requires translation, legalisation and a probate application in which the foreign formalities must be proved. A separate Thai will is normally faster and cheaper for the family.

Can I write my own will by hand?

Yes, the holographic form is valid if the entire document is in your handwriting, dated and signed. In practice handwritten wills generate disputes about legibility and completeness far more often than drafted ones.

Is a will enough to transfer a Thai bank account?

No. Banks release funds to an executor appointed by court order, so probate is normally still required even where the will is clear.

How often should the will be reviewed?

After any marriage, divorce, birth, death of a named person, or significant change in Thai asset holdings, and otherwise every few years.