What legal steps should an American expat take when buying a house in Thailand with a Thai spouse, particularly regarding usufruct rights and inheritance?

@Matthew *********

@Steve ******

Correct, however you can also consider a little-known right which was introduced just before Covid which is a combination of the Usufruct and a lease and gives far more rights to the holder. It is called a sap ing sith

For more information you can visit my companies website on the following





@John ********

And this. If the y can tie up 40m for three years and have “special skills”

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@Matthew *********

I’m building a villa right now that isn’t in a project so I’ve gone through all stages of this with many considerations, but everyone has different situations. You and I are different people. Good on you to get advice from a lawyer. And if you aren’t satisfied, go see another. Good luck.

@Matthew *********

Any lease need to be logged at the land registry to be legal! I do not know if an "intent to lease" can be registered at the land office so I do not think it would have any validity!

@Matthew *********

live long and prosper!

@David *******

Sorry, one last question! Even if I don't have official residence in Thailand, can I be appointed as my wife's usufructuary?

@Gianpaolo *****

yes i believe so, as i am here on a extention of stay on a marriage visa.

@David *******

i meant Permanent residency, the one that allows you to also have a Thai identity card! You don't have thai Id card! It's correct?

@Gianpaolo *****

that's correct.

@David *******

i should be getting married next year but if we can speed up the timing it's better! Next week I will go and get information from a lawyer acquaintance of mine (hoping he is familiar with these things since I live in a remote village in Udon Thani) and I will let you know if usufruct is possible without being married! I saved the post so I have a way to find you anyway if it's okay for you I'll send you a friend request now

@Gianpaolo *****

yes thats fine : )

@Matthew *********

You cannot make any agreement which looks like you assert control on the property as this is in violation of Thai Constitutional law and will overturn any agreement to the contrary!

@Graham ******

In the West it would be called an Easement so that he could access his own home. Only control in the sense that he can live there.

He cannot sell the land. It belongs to Thais. That is what I was trying to ascertain if there was a Thai version of.

Think of it this way. You buy a Condo on the 10th floor of a building in Bangkok. Thais own and control the land, bottom floor, entrance, and all the common areas of the property. But, as a Condo Owner, you are granted an Easement to your home and use of common areas. They have too. They cannot deny you entrance into your own home.

I am a land developer in Central America, I know what an easement is, I have granted easement and leeway myself to others! Point being the freeholder grants leeway, he is not obliged to, and it can be revoked if misused!

@Graham ******

I don't claim to know all the laws. Especially, in every country. It seems complicated to revoke access if a person owns property within your property. Granted there are going to be limits and you cannot just be cranky one day and decide to revoke the access of Susan Smith into here own home.

There, presumably, has to be a good reason.

@Burnard ***********

Not complicated or difficult at all, the only thing your wife need do is file a domestic abuse complaint and ask for a restraining order! You can appeal from jail!

@Graham ******

Well yes, the property is under her name. I believe we were talking about what happens if she dies before him.

We were presuming that he trusts his wife but, in general, I would discourage anyone from buying property in someone else's name.

But the conversation was past that contingency. But, yes, I have had friends of friends who that has happened too.

@Burnard ***********

If your wife's family decide you are not worth your keep any longer, this can happen but usually the husband decides not to take the risk and does a runner!

@Graham ******

Now you are going into the Way-Back machine of the Conversation. We had already discussed doing this legally under Thai law.

He cannot own land. We are agreed on that. But he can own the house. I was simply asking the question if a legally binding contract, under Thai law, can be drawn up to protect access into his own home?

To legally protect access from exactly what you are describing.

@Burnard ***********

To access his house he must cross her land! She can easy get a restraining order against him and serve it to him at a prison address!

@Graham ******

You keep going back to things we already discussed. We where talking about if she dies first. We are presuming that he trust his wife.

Btw, are you suggesting she file a false police report?

As a Real Estate Contractor, is that how you normally do business?

@Burnard ***********

I am not suggesting anyone do anything! If she dies first then he might inherit the land depends on if there are others claims. As a Farang he must dispose of the property within 12 months! A Farang cannot own or control land or try to assert control of land in any way, read the constitution!

@Graham ******

Again, yawn, you are going back to things already discussed.

@Burnard ***********

What do YOU want to specifically know?

@Graham ******

If you read back, a lawyer already answered my question ages ago. I pointed something out and he said he would check on it.

Thanks, but I don't need anything from you right now.

@Brandon ***********

Mine too. Estate planning is very common in the United States. I have a friend whose Father past away. She didn't directly inherit his property. Instead, everything is in an Estate and she, his only child, is the Executor of the Estate. Everything is still in his name in the form of: The Estate of...

Even in the USA, that requires an Attorney with a lot of Expertise to plan it out and write it into his Will.

Seems like that would be pretty obvious even in Thailand. In his case, he MAY be able to put the land in the Thai family name on the condition he maintains control until his death.

@Burnard ***********

I'm a lawyer licensed in the US and I asked my Thai lawyer colleague here about a trust and he said that it does not exist for this purpose. They either use a will or let assets pass through intestate succession.

@Neil *****

Too bad,

He owns the house, at least, and it seems fair to let him live in it. If not an Estate, then a Thai could directly inherit the land. But my fear is that they could evict him from his own house. Or they could lose the property in some other way with the same result.

He wouldn't be cheating. A Thai can own the property and he would have a contract to pay taxes on and live in his own house.

But, yeah, nothing is easy in Thailand when it comes to foreigners.

Thank you for checking.

Btw, I was referring to a Will.

@Burnard ***********

there are mechanisms for handling it. If you are in the situation, contact a Thai lawyer. That is how I've set myself up here with property and a will.

@Neil *****

My friend's Father did put it in the Will. I never considered any other way.

Thank you.

@Brandon ***********

none of those articles say that the properties are seized. The second article says they are going through the process of making sure the land is reclaimed, i.e., no longer held by foreigners through illegal means using nominees. If you have actual knowledge of someone losing their house and investment, please provide it.

@Neil *****

I think you are missing the point here.. if a foreigner is going to the trouble of creating corporate machinations in an effort to protect his investment.. he is doing so to remove any legal right his Thai wife (or partner) may have to the subject land / property.. it is something he clearly sees as 'his' asset and he wishes to retain control of it.. both during his lifetime and upon his death.. he is attempting to create a situation where the asset can never pass into his wife / partner's estate.. and potentially pass into her Thai family's estate further down the line.. this could be because he has children from a former marriage for example.. and he sees them as the rightful heirs to his wealth and that would include the land / property here in Thailand.. so if the Thai govt can see through the machine created to vest title in the name of a foreigner.. who is looking to protect his investment in this way.. and they force the transfer of title into his spouses name.. then he has failed in his attempt to secure the land as a will-able asset.. has wasted a serious chunk of money in establishing the 'illegal' framework at outset and is likely to incur further costs in complying with any govt order.. not to mention the possibility of them fining him as well as any lawyer or accountant involved in the scam.. and even if they were to simply order him to sell the property and keep the sale proceeds.. he risks having to sell it at a bad time when the market is not as buoyant as maybe it was and having to accept a lower offer than the property is really worth.. or even worse the govt assume control of the sale and accept the first offer they receive without any regard to its true market value.. there are so many possibilities of course.. but all of them represent a risk to the foreigner.. and at the end of the day his property has been 'seized' indirectly.. since he can no longer live in the dream house that he built with his own blood and sweat and probably much love.. and if he gets lucky and walks away with the majority of his capital back in the bank he will have to start all over again.. and for many people, especially those that came here to retire and are winding down.. that may be a bridge too far.. the property was their dream and their dream has been seized.. or at the very least tainted by the attention of the authorities.. which all the villagers will know about of course.. once the drums starts beating!

@Ally ***********

I’m sorry you took the time to type all that out. OP already said the land would pass to their Thai child and it is a very legitimate concern of a foreigner who wants to ensure he isn’t thrown out of his house if his wife passes. It is especially legitimate where families are concerned. You either have had a jaded life or a lucky one if you don’t think family disputes can create massive problems for people. And, finally, there is always an investment even if it isn’t the land. The structure is an investment so for someone to have a family issue where they can no longer sell a house in order to afford to use for alternative housing expenses, that is a big problem to consider.

@Neil *****

No apology needed my friend.. my observation was a general one that looked at this issue from the wider perspective of 'any foreigner' looking to invent a corporate identity (or trust) that could potentially be called into question by the authorities.. there are legitimate methods of protecting your tenure when title is vested in your wife's name.. which others have already suggested.. i didn't suggest there weren't other valid reasons for a foreigner to want to protect their 'investment' or that it wasn't acceptable to do so.. only that it was dangerous to try and do it without understanding the risks.. your reply seems to suggest i am blind to the relationship problems that could materialise.. which couldn't be further from the truth given that I'm married to a Thai and our marital home is vested in her name.. why you jump to such a conclusion i have no idea.. i was simply pointing out that if your mechanism is dis-allowed by the Thai govt when you try to invoke it then you will have failed in your intent.. so it's a case of 'buyer beware' if you are given advice that appears to be offering a cast iron solution to your dilemma!

@Brandon ***********

Yeah, I'm not suprised the chinese are mentioned and also Phuket with all those Russians hanging around!

@Graham ******

what's wrong with Russians

@Graham ******

what about all those daft northerners in Pattaya? They’re worst of them all, am I right?