Unclaimed Thai Bank Accounts Of Deceased Expats

[travelerjim]

What happens :dontknow:

Unclaimed Thai Bank Accounts Of Deceased Expats

Have you planned ahead :old:

A new and good question posed on ThaiVisa.com today...

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/584 ... ed-expats/ (http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/584596-unclaimed-thai-bank-accounts-of-deceased-expats/)

tj

[travelerjim]

Although this has just been aired on another Board, TJ is right to 'spread the word', as it were,
as it is a vital issue that some people just seem to keep postponing.

It has been said by others, but the key issue for anyone living here or with assets here needs to have a properly drafted will written in Thai and ideally by a lawyer. This is in addition to any master will they may have in another country because my understanding is that Thai law does not honour a will made in another legal jurisdiction. Getting a locally drafted will is easy to do. There is even a service where it can be done inexpensively on-line by a Thai-based law firm. Have a copy in a safe deposit box at the bank or somewhere secure in your home. Also give a couple to friends/relatives/overseas lawyer along with full details of your bank/s and account number/s, and copies of the title deeds to any property you own here and where the original is located. Same with investments and any credit card details. Then make sure relatives, friends and your Embassy know you are living here. If you live alone, the Embassy is likely to be the first to be contacted.

This may not be all you should do, but it is a start. As TJ suggests, plan ahead!

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you fh for your informative reply, as posted here and on other boards.

Indeed, I found the question posed a good one to share with all.

Also, from experience in dealing with expats who have passed...

even with a valid Thai will...the legal costs of finally gaining access
to the expats funds by a Thai beneficiary is 15,000 Thai baht + 6 months
of court time...per quotes seen/received before.

So... that begs the question: How does your beneficiary (bf) gain access
to funds to sustain themselves in the interim, if the expat who died, was
providing full support to the Thai?

Thai banks will require a Thai court order before releasing account funds...
to the executor or to the Thai beneficiary named in the Thai will. Simply showing the bank a bankbook with death certificate and a Thai will ... will not result in your loved ones ability to receive the bank account funds.

Planning ahead for such situations does need thought...
and another questions looms: Do you - the expat - leave whatever you
have or so decide to bequeath your loved one...a LUMP sum or should it be
parcelled out throughout a periodic basis (monthly, quarterly, annually) over period of years ???

Does the beneficiary have the ability to manage such funds?
Or will the funds left ...be spent in 6 months or a year?
Or will "family" interests impose upon the beneficiary to "send home to papa"?

So many questions...which upon your passing as an expat, remain.,,and your
love and devotion to your loved one..will have passed too.

Most importantly... Who do YOU TRUST ...
to set up what you really want to happen ...upon your passing?

tj

[Neal]

As far as my money, my b/f has known my pin number for over a year and I have told him that when I die he should keep his mouth closed and go to the ATM and he can take out the money at 100,000 per day until it is gone and not have to wait for lawyers and death certificates.

[travelerjim]

As far as my money, my b/f has known my pin number for over a year and I have told him that when I die he should keep his mouth closed and go to the ATM and he can take out the money at 100,000 per day until it is gone and not have to wait for lawyers and death certificates.

db...

TRUST is the KEY issue here...
good for you if you are OK with your plan.

I am reminded of your recent episode about the Pattaya Hospitality Company...
things can and do happen.

Also I am reminded of the former owner of an area club, ...who left town
unexpectedly one day when the loan shark came calling... to collect big Thai baht from bf gambling debts...or else!

...and more which can and has happened..but I'll leave that to another day over coffee with you.

IF you are happy, so am I.

tj

[Neal]

Oh I know things can happen. Oh God don't I know.
My one big ATM card is in my safety deposit box which he can go into upon my death and the small one is in my wallet. He can get the correct card when the time is right.

[travelerjim]

db...

On another note...

Once the US Embassy has notice of expat American death...
they not only contact next of kin re: instructions what to do with your body...
make sure your next of kin knows your wishes...and..

The US Embassy will immediately notify US Social Security re your death and the SocSec checks
stop coming ....along with freeze/hold placed by your US bank...the US bank depository account your SocSecurity
ck is deposited as the bank will know you are deceased.

tj

[Neal]

Yes, my US will and my Thai will state that my wishes are to be cremated here in Thailand and to have a nice, should I say, pig roast party section 16 on the beach. :snorting: :snorting: :bis: :sign5:

Neal, without wanting to delve to much into your personal arrangements have you left some form of legal written instruction giving your BF permission to access your account after your demise as I know if the situation you describe were to happen here the executor of your will ( perhaps in another country) or the police or many number of other organisations / creditors etc may try to imply that your BF was cleaning out your account without your permission and he could end up being arrested on theft charges and having to prove he was simply following your agreed wishes, there is also a legal question as to if ANYONE has the right to use another persons ATM card after their death unless perhaps it is a joint account.

I realise this may be a simple plan to let him clean out your accounts and disappear so to speak but depending on the speed and circumstances of your demise ( car crash with you both in the same car for instance) or a slow illness where creditors ( if there are any ?) are watching carefully your plan may not be just a simple and clean as you may have hoped for and you could be leaving your BF in a world of legal crap perhaps if he is discovered ???


EDIT .....

Ah I see from reading a post on GB re this topic that its not perhaps just as simple in Thailand easy to walk into a bank with a will, a bank book and a death certificate and obtain funds, with 6 months of court time and court orders being required and also additional expense so I guess I see the wisdom of your plan now more, but I would still worry about your BF getting pulled for emptying your accounts on your death, which whilst no doubt being your absolute wish he may find hard to prove if called upon to do so ?

[francois]

My final exit plan is similar to that of DaBoss. The bf can use my ATM card to transfer the funds to his account. He is also the Executor of my Thai Will so little chance that someone could claim fraud. But, there is that real possibility that we could both go in a motorbike accident! However another trusted farang also could access the account with the ATM card and PIN.

Francois - if you mean that theres little chance someone could claim fraud simply because he is the exceutor of your will hence no one else will be aware of your / his actions then possibly, but if you mean that as he's the executor him taking the money won't alert someone to a possible fraud I couldn't disagree more as there must be nothing more suspect ( to those who don't know your wishes ) than the exector of a will also being the sole benificary of all funds ??

[francois]

The bf is the sole beneficiary and the Executor of my Thai Will. So don't know who else would have any interest in my Estate. Of course he could go through Thai probate which takes time and money.

[Impulse]

As far as my money, my b/f has known my pin number for over a year and I have told him that when I die he should keep his mouth closed and go to the ATM and he can take out the money at 100,000 per day until it is gone and not have to wait for lawyers and death certificates.

I hope he wont think you're talking about chewing food when you mention keeping his mouth closed,ha ha. Sorry, that was the first thing that came to my mind.

I'm in the middle of recieving a small inheritance now, and am in the middle of purchasing a condo in Thailand so I would have to change my will eventually to reflect this. This is why I'm putting off a will for now. If I die in the meantime...so be it.
Also, my sister who would be the executer and her son's beneficiaries are always calling me a hypochondriac...so I would get the last laugh so to speak.

[lonelywombat]

Maybe this needs a new thread. But I am told that Thai lawyers make a lot of money from farang estates, that do not have correct Thai wills drawn up.

Only recently I got a shock when I went to alter my will to nominate a new person and asked for a Thai will to be issued.

I will not go into detail but was made aware afterwards that my request was not appreciated. It was only after pressing that I found the will it replaced included "if there is no Thai will in force the lawyer----------------------------------------.

I asked a number of residents and they were not aware they needed a Thai will, or needed a translation of what the will contained.

[travelerjim]

As far as my money, my b/f has known my pin number for over a year and I have told him that when I die he should keep his mouth closed and go to the ATM and he can take out the money at 100,000 per day until it is gone and not have to wait for lawyers and death certificates.

I hope he wont think you're talking about chewing food when you mention keeping his mouth closed,ha ha. Sorry, that was the first thing that came to my mind.

I'm in the middle of recieving a small inheritance now, and am in the middle of purchasing a condo in Thailand so I would have to change my will eventually to reflect this. This is why I'm putting off a will for now. If I die in the meantime...so be it.
Also, my sister who would be the executer and her son's beneficiaries are always calling me a hypochondriac...so I would get the last laugh so to speak.

rocket,

May I "strongly recommend" you have a Thai will drawn up and signed when you are next in Thailand.
Do this as a favor for your sister and her children. Place the properties you now own as well as the property
(new condo under construction with deposits being made) into it, as well as any Thai bank account you hold.

Have the Thai will also be translated into English. Give your sister and the US Embassy as copy of the will...
along with letter expressing your wishes upon your death...Be buried here in TH or shipped back to USA?

Be sure your sister, as next-of-kin knows your wishes in this regard. The US Embassy/BKK will call her to inform
you of your death and ask her for her wishes re: your body. She needs to know what to tell them.

Without such a valid Thai will... many added problems are left for your sister to resolve 10,000 miles from Thailand.

Things do happen rocket...both while in the USA and in Thailand on holidays too.

Take good care!

tj

[x in pattaya]

Francois - if you mean that theres little chance someone could claim fraud simply because he is the exceutor of your will hence no one else will be aware of your / his actions then possibly, but if you mean that as he's the executor him taking the money won't alert someone to a possible fraud I couldn't disagree more as there must be nothing more suspect ( to those who don't know your wishes ) than the exector of a will also being the sole benificary of all funds ??

Yes, my Thai will specifically mentions my friend gets the condo and all its contents as well as whatever is in my bank account. It also states that he is to make all funeral arrangements without interference from the US embassy. They told me if I specified that in a properly drawn up Thai will, they would not contact relatives in the US or otherwise interfere regarding arrangements.

The lawyer, my friend and I each have a copy of the will in Thai and I have a copy in English.

I know the first time I brought this up on this forum BeachBunny or whatever his name is, had some sort of apoplectic fit about how inappropriate it was to divulge this fairly basic information here or to encourage anyone to get a Thai will drawn up, but it just makes sense. Your friend will have no other legal claim on anything of yours. He might get away with using an ATM card, but if his name isn't on the account or he doesn't legally inherit the account, he could very easily run into problems. If you have a condo, a house, a car ... and he tries selling it/them he could also get screwed.

[Impulse]

Be sure your sister, as next-of-kin knows your wishes in this regard. The US Embassy/BKK will call her to inform
you of your death and ask her for her wishes re: your body. She needs to know what to tell them.


I think if the embassy calls my sister she should tell them to call me directly and let me know that I have died. :dontknow:
Thanks TJ for the sensible advice. I will make a will and give it to her, however I'm hesitant to give a copy to the embassy as I know I will change it very shortly and I don't like the idea of confusion on their part with updated wills etc.

[x in pattaya]

"however I'm hesitant to give a copy to the embassy "

The US embassy would be unlikely to accept a copy of your will. When you register with them or update your current profile (which you should be able to do on-line) you can indicate who you want to be notified in case of an emergency.

If you make a Thai will, you can also specify who you want to handle your funeral arrangements. If you haven't made a specific designation, they will attempt to contact your relatives or whoever is indicated on the registration form. You will be, more or less literally, kept on ice pending the outcome of the embassy's attempts to find someone qualified to make a decision. That's why it's probably best that you make it clear in a Thai will what you want done with your remains . The lawyer can inform the embassy and things can proceed before you become totally unpleasant to be around ... due to р╕бр╕╡р╕Бр╕ер╕┤р╣Ир╕Р©Ñ€â••Ð¥Ñ€â••â••Ñ€â•£Ð–.