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Divorce in Thailand : Step by step (Update 2024)
Divorce in Thailand
Divorce can be a very troublesome process not just in Thailand but to every country in the world. It needs dedication and time to process. The process of Divorce in Thailand can be easy with the help of experts in this field such as family lawyers, and a lawyer who has a significant experience with Divorce matter. You can see statistics from here: Rate of broke up
Separation and Divorce is something that we handle responsibly with passion and dedication.
Most of our clients are foreigners who registered marriage with a Thai woman.
So, we know that sometimes the problem comes from the cultural in differences or some minor things that creates a big ripple in a relationship.
A love story doesn’t always end happily. Marriage is actually not the problem, but getting married for the wrong reason is.
Worry not, because Siam Attorney is here to help you with your problem.
Siam Attorney has a great reputation for solving divorce cases here in Thailand.
We are experts in Separation and Divorce in Thailand.
We understand the intricacies of all aspects of Family Law and how to get the best possible outcome for your situation.
We have a dedicated team to assist you and guide you through out the process.
We make sure that all our clients will have a smooth transition for every case they need assistance with.
Table of Contents:
1.How to start a divorce in thailand 2.Thailand Divorce Agreement 3. KNOW WHAT TYPE OF DIVORCE YOU ARE GETTING 4. WHAT YOU CAN CLAIM OR REQUEST ON THE DIVORCE? 5. HOW LONG IT WILL TAKE FOR COURT CASE IN THAILAND? 6. I LOST MY CASE! WHAT CAN I DO? 7. HOW CAN SIAM ATTORNEY HELP YOU? 8. WE ARE DEDICATED IN HELPING YOU 9. WHAT CAN SIAM ATTORNEY DO FOR MY DIVORCE?1. How to start a Divorce in Thailand:
First of all, we suggest you to sit down with your wife and talk together to solve the situation nicely.
If both of you can agree in all detail such as divorce, Thai divorce have a lot of aspects such as division of assets, children support and custody.
After you have it settled with your husband/wife then we can advise you on how to have divorce settlements with a Thai woman properly by Thai Divorce Agreement.
2. Thailand Divorce Agreement
Everyone may agree that Divorce can be a very complicated thing whether it is processed in Thailand or anywhere else in the world.
There are issues on marriage that the divorcing couple needs to settle such as child custody, division of marital property, provisions on spousal support or alimony, and child support.
Divorce agreement or Settlement agreement is a contract between divorcing couples who wish to settle their issues on marital property division and/or child custody before a divorce is granted on them.
At Siam Attorney, we are experts in Divorce agreement or settlement agreement serves as the legal arrangement on rights and privileges of each partner after the divorce has been granted.
It addresses the after-marital issues such as the living arrangement of the child and who will own the custody.
It also divides the marital property, and decide on the amount of financial support for spouse and for the child after divorce has been approved.
The power of the divorce agreement binds the divorcing couples, their executors, administrators, assigns and heirs.
Divorce Agreement is signed by two parties in front of two witnesses, and registered at the local register office.
In case any provision has been violated by one or by both parties, it may be brought to court for enforcement. The court will make sure the covenant of the couple in the agreement will be administered.
3. Know what type of divorce you are getting
It is important for you to know what kind of divorce you are getting. It is also significant for you to identify what type of divorce you want to get as it will help the lawyer to give you the best outcome for your problem.
There are two kinds of divorces, the uncontested divorce and the contested divorce.
The first is the uncontested divorce, this is basically the administrative form of divorce in Thailand. This is where both spouses agree on all issues concerning the divorce, including but not limited to the division of marital property and debts, child custody, child support, and alimony or spousal support.
An uncontested divorce basically means that both spouses agree on all of their divorce-related issues.
Each state has specific legal requirements that must be met before a divorcing couple can proceed with an uncontested divorce.
Even though you have to meet certain requirements, an uncontested divorce is often much easier than a contested divorce because spouses can end their marriage without constant negotiations, legal posturing, and court hearings.
Thus, an uncontested divorce usually involves less stress and fewer legal fees.
A contested divorce is the most complicated of divorces, because it involves spouses that can’t come to an agreement on one or many issues of their divorce.
This basically means judicial or court divorce. Contested divorce is often filed by one side of the spouses, a contested divorce is where the spouses cannot agree on their divorce issues, and they end up in court, asking a judge to make these decisions for them.
The court’s intervention is necessary to put an end to the marriage and the existing issues.
Before filling the case, you must know what ground you need to present to the court.
You can read or find the ground from here : Grounds for Divorce in Thailand.
Siam Attorney specializes on divorces between:
- Thai and Thai
- Thai and Foreigner
- Foreigner and Foreigner
4. What you can claim or request on the divorce case?
Once you know the grounds for divorce already, you should consider some point that it must request in the same case of divorce.
It is important that you know what you want to get as well as you know what you can claim or request from your divorce case, once the case has been filed it will be official and will be reviewed by the court.
Here is something that you can combine in the divorce case:
1.Common Property Separation.
During marriage time one of you or both of you may receive assets, you should know how to do Thai divorce division of assets. As per Thai law the assets that received during marriage time it assume as common property.
And the common property must be divided equally without concern that who receive the assets.
In case you have bought the land and/or house in your wife’s name, we highly recommend you to look at this the last updates of Supreme Court order: Right of the land of foreign husband.
2. Child Custody.
In case you willing to have full custody of the child, you can request the court to terminate right of custody of other party and allow you to have sole-custody.
We also suggest you to read completed information on this matter as well: Child Custody or Parental Power law in Thailand
3. Child Support.
Because the relationship of husband and wife terminated, but the relationship of father and child or mother and child still remain. So, both parties still need to responsible for child support equally.
4. Compensate from other man/woman that committed adultery with your husband/wife.
If the ground of divorce is about adultery, you can sue the other man and ask compensate to this situation. The amount is variable on how damage you are.
Most likely, we suggest you to ask more, then the court can consider to reduce. (but the court cannot consider to increasing!)
In order for you to understand more about Family Court process, please click this link to read in detail Thai Family Court Process.
Our Divorce Lawyer Expert
Somsak Suleethorn
40 years experienced
Jirasak Taosiri
16 years experienced
5. How long it will take for divorce in Thailand?
If your case needs to be filed in Bangkok, the case may take around 2-3 years. This takes too long because Bangkok area has a lot of family case that we need to wait for availability of court schedule.
But if your case can fill outside of Bangkok, the case will take only around 6 months – 1 year.
The process can be very easy if you can reach an agreement with your spouse. You can make it in one day.
However, if you have to go to Court, it can take from few months (6 months to 1 year normally to get a judgment) to many years (in case of appeals or if you have to execute the judgment, example, to sell a property in order to get your part of the marital asset).
6. I lost my case! What can I do?
Losing is not an option for Siam Attorney, we make sure that we get the best result for our clients but in case you lost your case of divorce in Thailand at Primary Court and you need us to help you.
Sure, we can help you to appeal the case to the Court of Appeal.
First of all, you must appoint us to be your lawyer. Then we can go to Primary Court to duplicate all documents and study the case.
Then our lawyer can write the appeal to challenge the point that you lose to the Appeal Court for re-consideration.
This may convert your situation to be good.
7. How can Siam Attorney help you?
Siam Attorney can help you for all your divorce in Thailand.
May it be uncontested divorce or contested divorce and also criminal issue that is relevant to divorce.
You can make an appointment for consultation together with your wife to start the process and we are here to assist and help you with that.
Moreover, we can handle the divorce in Family Court in Thailand as well.
We at Siam Attorney, are going to use our variety of experience for the past years to provide the best approach in handling your divorce case and other matter that is relevant to your divorce.
Once we are done for the divorce case filing, we can assist you for the translation of divorce papers and have it legalized by Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
You can see the how the process of legalization by clicking the link Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
8. We are dedicated in helping you resolve your Divorce in Thailand:
We have decades of experience in Separation and Divorce matters and bring this wealth of expertise and knowledge to each and every case we take on.
We will also actively communicate with you to give you update and heads up about the situation of your application.
Our aim is to help you achieve the outcome you are looking for.
9. What can Siam Attorney do for my Divorce in Thailand?
Our aim is to help you achieve the outcome you are looking for, whether it is more time with your precious children, a better share of the matrimonial assets, we know how to maximize the outcome for you.
In case you have divorce or family problem and you need someone to guide you with the right perspective, please do not hesitate to contact us via call or email.
Siam Attorney is here to assist you, we are always on standby and ready to be of your service. Please contact us through our email support@siam-attorney.com or call us from the numbers provided below:
Conclusion
Family problem is the serious matter, because it will effect with your emotion, property and children. So, you need expertise to assist you for Divorce in Thailand.
The divorce process has two types as uncontested divorce and contested divorce.
If possible, we always advised our client try to go with uncontested divorce. Because it is win-win situation for them.
However, if uncontested divorce is impossible, we can handle serious matter of contested divorce as well.
If you need lawyer who expertise in divorce area, we are the best person to assist you.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Answer: Yes, you can file for a divorce in Thailand by showing the Marriage Certificate from overseas with its Thai translation.
Answer: Yes, filing a divorce to Thai Court is possible in this situation. If she does not reply to the court, the court will proceed for a one-way examination and will make a decision to divorce. Then you can use the court order for reference as you are divorced.
Answer: If it’s only divorce matter, you need to come to the court one time for examination. However, if it seems to be a settlement at mediation time at the court, we suggest you to come as well.
If the case has a child involved, you need to attend to the Child Protection Center one time.
Answer: Yes, you can. The lawyer can send you the appointing lawyer form via email. Then you can send it through courier by DHL to the lawyer. And the lawyer can proceed the case from that.
Answer: If you sign the summon when the court officer delivered the file to you, you need to reply to the court within 15 days.
But if you are not the one who signed it the court will hang the file in front of your door, afterwards you need to reply within 30 days.
Answer: No, life is not easy. You need to find a legal ground for filing the divorce. You can see the list of ground for divorce via this link: Ground for Divorce in Thailand.
However, if you are serious to divorce, we advise you sit down and talk to your wife frankly. If she agrees, you can register divorce as well.
Answer: 90% of the Divorce Case we handle with Thai is adultery. So, we know what is the court’s perspective in order to win the case.
And the other 10% is about bad behavior, alcoholism, gambling, addiction etc.
Answer: Once you file the case, you can also file for 2 more applications. First is the request for temporary protection to freeze the property. Second is request for emergency examination for freezing the property.
Answer: You need to prepare the Divorce Agreement in Thai and English and file it on divorce registration at the same time. Here is the checklist of what you should prioritize and think about:
- How you are going to divide the property in Thailand and overseas. Like land, house, condominium, car, motorcycle, jewelry and valuable things, the right to stay by lease or usufruct etc.
- Methods to transfer the property after register divorce.
- Who’s going to be responsible for the debts like loan, mortgage, gambling debs etc.
- Spouse support after divorce. (choice)
- Who is going to be custodian of the child?
- How you are going to pay for child alimony and other support like school fees, activities after school etc.
- Period for visitation of the child.