Will

[gerefan2]

Anyone help with some advice?

I live in the UK but spend about 4 months per year in Thailand.

I am about to re-write my will and want to include boy special, just a small percentage, not the house and everything included!

I do not intend to make a will in Thailand as all my financial interests are in the UK.

Any ideas? Just include him like anyone else? Would the lawyers get hold of him by phone or facebook?!

He has a family in Esaan but like most he comes from a small village and sending a letter there would be difficult.

[frequent]

Anyone help with some advice? I live in the UK but spend about 4 months per year in Thailand. I am about to re-write my will and want to include boy special, just a small percentage, not the house and everything included! I do not intend to make a will in Thailand as all my financial interests are in the UK. Any ideas? Just include him like anyone else? Would the lawyers get hold of him by phone or facebook?! He has a family in Esaan but like most he comes from a small village and sending a letter there would be difficult.

Why not simply instruct your executor to deposit the amount direct into his bank account, including the details in your Will itself? Most bank/wire transfers allow for a message to be sent with the transfer. Even if you have a bank account with a small balance in it in Thailand that constitutes an asset that can only be disposed of (formally) via a Thai Will

[Mancs]

An additional note to the Executors with contact details, like a facebook name and anything else that is useful is a method to consider. Advice I have read is not to inform anyone in Asia that a will exists or a bequest may be made. One does not want to invite an early passing.

[StevieWonders]

Why not simply instruct your executor to deposit the amount direct into his bank account, including the details in your Will itself? Most bank/wire transfers allow for a message to be sent with the transfer. Even if you have a bank account with a small balance in it in Thailand that constitutes an asset that can only be disposed of (formally) via a Thai Will

Great advice.

[mahjongguy]

"An additional note to the Executors with contact details"

Name in Thai and English alphabets
Thai ID number
Thai passport number (if any)
Address in Thai language where he is registered (blue book)
His Thai bank, branch address, account name and number

[arsenal]

No capitalisation needed for 'will' frequent.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_and_testament

[Nirish guy]

"An additional note to the Executors with contact details"

Name in Thai and English alphabets,Thai ID number,Thai passport number (if any),Address in Thai language where he is registered (blue book),His Thai bank, branch address, account name and number

All good advice, but I guess the problem is how do you go about getting all that info ( unless you're very sneaky and do it over a period of months perhaps) without letting the guy know the reason for your enquiry as to same. Of course the logical answer to that is that if you're actually thinking of leaving something to the guy then it's probably fair to assume that you already trust and like him enough for it not to be a problem in being open and honest about your plans, however I think for me personally I think I'd also be wanting to be sure he noted the ( low) amount of the transaction intended so that if not he but some broke relative upon hearing on his lottery ticket didn't decide to hurry on your demise to cash in their 'winnings" perhaps !?

Always a difficult question to address and one that I've pondered myself over the years and I'm glad to see it raised and being discussed openly on the board. Maybe with any luck this IS a topic we can maybe keep on track for a while perhaps due to it's levity ?!

Oh one other thing I've often wondered about was in the case of me UK solicitor not being able to find or verify said boy to suggest to him that he could ( or definitely should NOT ??!!) use a Thai lawyer to find the boy, but after hearing so many horror stories there too about Thai lawyers scamming the hell out of all concerned to line their own pockets I wonder is that considered a good idea or not too !?

[NitNoi]

For most of our "friends" a lump sum legacy will not last long. I have instructed my executor to remit a significant sum monthly for five years - conditional on my not dying suspiciously.

[Nirish guy]

Not to comment on your personal choices there Nitnoi - but I'd suggested something similar as a possible option to my own solicitor and he was quite negative about the idea for the reasons that it left HIM to decide what was and what wasn't a natural death ( aside from any legal process) and also he admitted to me that his costs to administer same would be high as he would have to keep my file open for the 5 plus years to ensure all was successfully carried out as to my wishes and informed me in no uncertain manner that he WOULD be charging my estate accordingly. He also commented ( in as polite a way as he could) that a) I was dead so what did I care how quickly the money was spent and b) once the money was handed over it was no longer any of my business how it was spent and that I was wrong to try and micro manager someone else life / spending after my death ( rightly or wrongly or even if being done for what I perceived were valid reasons).

Again the above is no slant on your own decisions there Nitnoi, just my guys view on a very similar conversation I'd have with him - oh and one other thing that concerned ME was that my solicitor is a BRETHREN ( born again Christian type) and I'd just have a niggling fear that once I was gone he'd find SOME reason NOT to pay some back Country Thia boy due to the my "sudden death" and end up donating his monies to some local charity here instead ( or his bloody local church funds as nothing would surprise me with bloody born again Christians !)

[mahjongguy]

"I have instructed my executor to remit a significant sum monthly for five years - conditional on my not dying suspiciously. "

I'm wondering how you mean the word executor in your case. In the States an executor is the person accepted by the probate judge to execute the stipulations of the will and then report back (usually the following year) to the judge and request that probate be closed. From that day forward he or she is no longer the executor.

Perhaps it is the case that in your state the gross assets of the estate fall below the requirement to probate the will. If so, then the person handling your affairs can set aside the amount needed for the extended payments.

In either case, court-approved executor or simply friend/relative acting informally, SWIFT transfers require a lot of info about the recipient. Western Union goes mostly by name but the recipient needs to be contacted first and given a PIN number.

Maybe your will should stipulate an alternative heir for that amount if he hasn't been in recent contact. To me, that seems fair enough.