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SUWANVARA LAWFIRM
Suwanvara Law Firm Co., Ltd.
SUWANVARA LAWFIRM
SUWANVARA LAWFIRM
Suwanvara Law Firm Co., Ltd.
Surat Thani

Thai Will & Estate Lawyer for Foreigners in Surat Thani — Drafting, Probate, Cross-Border Estates

Foreigners with assets in Thailand — a condominium, a Thai bank account, a vehicle, an interest in a Thai company — should have a separate Thai will covering those assets. Trying to administer Thai-situs assets via a foreign will is possible but takes longer, costs more, and routinely fails when documents need translation/legalisation that the foreign executor cannot easily produce. A short, properly drafted Thai will sidesteps all of that. We draft Thai wills for foreign residents, coordinate with home-country counsel for the rest of the estate, and handle probate at the Thai Court when the time comes.

Scope of Thai will and estate lawyer for foreigners work in Surat Thani

  • Thai will drafting — bilingual English/Thai with witness and registrar protocols
  • Coordination with home-country wills to avoid contradiction or revocation issues
  • Executor appointment, including non-resident executor letters
  • Probate at the Thai Court — application as administrator/executor
  • Condominium and bank-account transfer to heirs
  • Cross-border estate coordination — Thai property + foreign property allocation

Process

  1. 1Initial consultation — asset map, dependants, existing foreign wills
  2. 2Draft bilingual will and review with you
  3. 3Sign in front of witnesses (or register at the district office for added evidentiary weight)
  4. 4Store originals safely; provide certified copies to nominated executor and counsel
  5. 5On death: Thai probate filing, asset transfer, final tax matters

Documents to prepare

  • Passport and any Thai visa or residence document
  • Asset list — condo title, bank accounts, vehicle registration, company shareholdings
  • Family information — spouse, children, dependants
  • Existing wills from any other jurisdiction

About our team in Surat Thani

Surat Thani is the largest province in the upper South, combining a mainland oil-palm and rubber base with Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, and Koh Tao — tourism and property markets with a large foreign buyer and operator population, substantial enough that Koh Samui has its own provincial court. The caseload splits into two worlds: agriculture and industry on the mainland, and property, visas, and hospitality on the islands.

Island work usually turns on landholding, long leases, and joint ventures with Thai partners — arrangements that are common but that frequently do not survive being tested in court. We establish first how far the existing structure is actually enforceable. The team works in Thai, English, and Chinese, runs the file from our Khon Kaen head office and Bangkok branch, and travels to appear at the Surat Thani and Koh Samui Provincial Courts.

Courts we appear at in Surat Thani

  • Surat Thani Provincial Court
  • Koh Samui Provincial Court
  • Surat Thani Juvenile and Family Court
  • Region 8 Labor Court (Phuket)

Mueang Surat Thani, Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, Phunphin, Chaiya, Wiang Sa, and the areas continuing into Chumphon, Nakhon Si Thammarat, and Krabi

Contact our Surat Thani attorneys

We serve clients across Thailand. Initial consultation.

Frequently asked questions — Thai will and estate lawyer for foreigners in Surat Thani

2 questions answered

Strongly recommended for any Thai-situs assets. A foreign will can in theory be probated in Thailand, but in practice it must be translated, legalised by your embassy, and then processed by the Thai Court — months of delay during which assets are frozen. A short Thai will limited to your Thai assets, drafted to dovetail with (not revoke) your foreign will, removes that bottleneck and is inexpensive to prepare.
Yes, subject to the foreign-quota rule. If the building's foreign quota has room, the heir can register the condo in their own name. If the quota is full, the heir must dispose of the unit within a reasonable period (commonly understood as one year) and inherit the sale proceeds instead. Planning ahead — knowing the quota status now — avoids forced-sale stress later.