UHNW Cross-Border Prenuptial & Postnuptial Agreements

Prenup / Postnup UHNW ข้ามพรมแดน · § Family
What to know before you act
A Thai prenuptial agreement is valid only if it is in writing, signed by both spouses and two witnesses, and recorded together with the marriage registration at the district office. Once the marriage is registered you cannot add one retroactively, so post-nuptial arrangements are limited and may be voidable. We draft matched Thai-English texts listing each party's pre-marital assets, family-company shares and offshore holdings, and coordinate with foreign counsel so the agreement is recognised in jurisdictions the couple may later move to.
Timing and external dependencies: Start drafting several weeks before the registration date, since the agreement must be recorded on the same day as the marriage.
Official fee: Recording fees at the registry — confirm current rates with the district office where you will register.
Timing is not a promise of an outcome or hearing date. Check the notice, limitation period and current authority rules for your matter.
What to send for the first review
Send every relevant page, a dated sequence of events, any hearing or filing deadline, and the outcome you need. This lets counsel identify urgent steps, missing evidence and a precise scope of work.
- Party-by-party assets + debts + valuation < 6 months
- 3-year income + tax returns + payslips
- Family tree + children from prior relationships
Legal Basis
Thai CCC §§1465-1469 · §1469 file WITH marriage · Hague Matrimonial Property 1978 · UK MCA 1973 §25 (Radmacher v Granatino [2010]) · US UPAA/UPMAA.
📚 Official sources — check the current law and procedure before acting
- กรมที่ดิน— Department of Lands
- กรมการปกครอง — ทะเบียนครอบครัว— Department of Provincial Administration
- สำนักงานคณะกรรมการกฤษฎีกา — ตัวบทกฎหมายฉบับทางการ— Office of the Council of State
Who Needs This
Couples ≥ USD 3M · Gen-2 family-business heirs · cross-nationality couples · second-marriage couples with prior children.
Required Documents
- Party-by-party assets + debts + valuation < 6 months
- 3-year income + tax returns + payslips
- Family tree + children from prior relationships
- Prior prenup / trust / SHA
- Bilingual certified translation + Notary
- Independent legal advice certificates both sides.
Common Pitfalls
- Signing but not recording it with the marriage registration, so it cannot be raised against third parties
- Incomplete asset disclosure, inviting a later claim of concealment
- Thai and English texts that differ with no governing-language clause
- Presenting it on the wedding day, inviting a duress argument
Typical Use-cases
- Thai heiress + American CEO · tri-jurisdictional prenup · shielded USD 45M shares.
- Gen-2 SME · postnup after receiving shares · shielded from 50/50 split.
- Thai-Japanese couple · Tokyo assets · Hague Japanese-law election · divorce closed in 6 months.
- Second marriage · prenup + will + trust · protected biological children's inheritance.
FAQ
- Can a prenup be added after the marriage is registered?
- No — Thai law requires it to be recorded at the time of registration.
- Is a foreign prenup valid in Thailand?
- It may be, depending on the facts and conflict-of-laws analysis; have counsel review it before relying on it.
- Can child support be fixed in the agreement?
- Terms affecting a child do not bind the court, which decides on the child's best interests.
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Official sources — marriage & family registration
The information on this page follows the official sources below. Always check the latest version before you file.
- Department of Provincial Administration — civil & family registration— Department of Provincial Administration
- Department of Consular Affairs — document legalisation— Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Office of the Council of State — Thai law database— Office of the Council of State
- Office of the Judiciary— Office of the Judiciary
- HCCH — Apostille Convention (5 October 1961) full text & status table— Hague Conference on Private International Law
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Frequently asked questions
- Can a foreigner own 100% of a Thai company?
- Generally no for activities listed in the Foreign Business Act, where majority foreign ownership requires a Foreign Business Licence, a BOI promotion, or treaty rights such as the US–Thailand Treaty of Amity. Manufacturing and certain export activities are largely open, and BOI-promoted activities can permit full foreign ownership together with land-holding and visa privileges, so the right structure depends on the specific activity.
- What is the minimum registered capital for a Thai company?
- There is no general statutory minimum for a Thai-majority company, but practical thresholds apply: a fee quoted after review million of paid-up registered capital per foreign work permit, or a fee quoted after review million if the foreigner is married to a Thai national, and a fee quoted after review million per foreign shareholder for a Foreign Business Licence. Capital should therefore be planned around the visa and work-permit outcome you need, not the incorporation minimum.
- How long does company registration take?
- Registration at the Department of Business Development can be completed within one to three working days once the name reservation, shareholder documents and company objectives are ready, and the VAT registration and social security registration follow afterwards. The realistic end-to-end timeline including bank account opening is two to six weeks, with the bank account usually being the slowest step for foreign directors.
- What ongoing accounting obligations does a Thai company have?
- Every Thai company must keep statutory accounts, file monthly withholding tax (PND 1, 3, 53) and VAT (PP 30) returns by the middle of the following month, file the half-year corporate income tax return (PND 51) and the annual return (PND 50), and have its financial statements audited by a Thai CPA and filed with the DBD each year. Dormant companies are not exempt — nil returns and an audited statement are still required.






