Many of the foreigners who contact us describe the same situation. They already have a will at home. They keep money in two or three Thai bank accounts, sometimes a condo, sometimes a car. And they want to know whether that home-country will is enough.
It may be legally valid, but it is rarely enough in practice. A short Thai will that deals only with Thai assets is one of the simplest forms of protection a foreigner living in Thailand can arrange for their family.
Why a home-country will is slow in Thailand
When someone dies, Thai banks freeze the accounts. To release the money, they generally want to see a Thai court order appointing an estate administrator. The same is true at the land office or the condominium juristic office for a transfer of title.
If the only will is a foreign one, the family has to bring that document into a Thai court, which usually means:
- The original or a certified copy of the foreign will
- A certified Thai translation
- Legalisation or apostille-style certification of the documents
- In some cases, evidence of the foreign law under which the will is valid
None of this is impossible. But it is slow, and the accounts stay frozen while it happens. A Thai will, written in a form the court reads every day, removes most of these steps.
What a simple Thai will usually contains
For a foreigner whose Thai assets are straightforward, the document can be short:
- Your identity, with passport details, and a statement that the will covers only assets located in Thailand
- The assets, described clearly enough to identify: bank name, branch, account numbers, condo unit and building, vehicle registration
- Who receives what, including a backup beneficiary if the first one dies before you
- An executor or proposed estate administrator, plus an alternate
- A clause preserving your home-country will for assets outside Thailand
- Signature and two witnesses, all present at the same time
A bilingual Thai–English layout, with the two languages side by side, lets you read exactly what you sign and lets the court and bank read the Thai.
Signing: where most homemade wills fail
Thai law recognises several forms of will. The one most foreigners use is the ordinary written will. It must be in writing, dated, and signed by you in front of two witnesses who are present together. The witnesses then sign in front of you.
The failures we see are almost always about the witnesses:
- A beneficiary signs as witness. A witness and the spouse of a witness cannot receive anything under the will. If your Thai wife is the sole beneficiary, she cannot be a witness. Nor can anyone else who receives a gift under the will, or that person's spouse.
- The witnesses sign on different days. They must be present together when you sign.
- One witness is not legally competent. Witnesses must be adults of sound mind and not blind, deaf or mute.
A will that fails on these points does not always fail completely. But a gift to a witness is void, and in a two-person household that gift is often the whole will.
The condo needs a separate check
Bank accounts are simple: money can pass to anyone. A condo is different. Whether a foreign beneficiary can register the unit in their own name depends on the building's foreign ownership quota and on that person's own eligibility.
If the beneficiary is a Thai spouse or Thai child, there is usually no issue. If the beneficiary is a foreign relative, check this before you sign. The will should not promise something the condominium office will refuse to register.
The mistake that cancels your will at home
A later will revokes an earlier will where the two conflict. Standard will templates include a line such as "I revoke all previous wills."
If a foreigner signs a Thai will with that sentence, a family back home may later argue that the Thai will cancelled the home-country will too. The fix is simple drafting. The Thai will should say it covers only assets in Thailand and does not revoke any will dealing with assets elsewhere. The home-country will should mirror that.
Keep the list of accounts up to date
A will that names "my account at Bank X" does not help if that account was closed and the money moved. Each time you open or close an account, or sell or buy a unit, update the schedule of assets. You can also make a short new will; a will can be changed or replaced at any time while you are alive and of sound mind.
What your family still needs to do
A Thai will does not remove the court step, but it changes what the application looks like. The heirs and the proposed administrator are already named. The assets are already listed. There is no foreign document to translate and prove. For most estates, that is the difference between a routine application and a contested one.
For the full picture, including what happens to Thai assets when there is no will, see our guide to wills and inheritance in Thailand for foreigners.
📌 See more: wills & estates · foreign wills & estates
If you want a short bilingual Thai will covering your Thai bank accounts or condo, talk to our team at our estates practice.
This article is general information, not legal advice for a specific case.