Family & Succession

Cross-Border Family & Succession

Estates and families that exist in two legal systems at once — foreign wills, assets in more than one country, and heirs who have never set foot in Thailand.

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Tell us the situation and we will tell you what we think you should do — and what it will cost.

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Families holding assets in Thailand and in another country
Foreign heirs of a Thai estate, or Thai heirs of a foreign one
Executors abroad who must deal with Thai assets
People with a will in one country and property in another

Which country’s law governs the estate, and which assets it reaches

Using a foreign will in Thailand — legalisation, translation, recognition

Coordinating parallel administrations in two jurisdictions

Acting for heirs who cannot travel, under a power of attorney

Land, condominium and company interests that foreign heirs cannot hold directly

Planning ahead so two wills and two systems do not contradict each other

Identify the assets, the heirs and the countries involved
Determine which law governs which part of the estate
Plan the document chain — legalisation and translation, once
Put powers of attorney in place for heirs abroad
Run the Thai administration in step with the foreign one
Complete the transfers, including any disposal a foreign heir must make

Documents to prepare

The death certificate, legalised and translated where foreign
Every will made, in any country
Documents proving each heir’s relationship to the deceased
A list of assets by country, with title documents
Details of any proceedings already started abroad

That page answers which court decides a family matter — divorce, custody, contact — and which foreign orders Thailand will recognise. This page is about estates: where the assets are, whose law governs them, and how two administrations are run without either undoing the other. Many families need both, and the same team handles them together.

It may, but immovable property in Thailand is governed by Thai law, and a Thai court must be satisfied the foreign will is valid before anything moves. That means legalisation, certified translation and an interpretation exercise. A separate Thai will for Thai assets, drafted so neither will revokes the other, is usually faster and cheaper by a wide margin.

Usually not for every step. Much can be handled under a properly drawn power of attorney, legalised where it was signed and at the Thai embassy there. Certain court appearances and Land Office attendances may still need a person present, and we tell you at the outset which those are so travel is planned once rather than repeatedly.

The inheritance itself is valid, but a foreigner generally cannot hold the land and is typically required to dispose of it within a set period, with the proceeds going to the heir. Planning before death — a sale instruction, a condominium within the foreign quota, or a structure agreed in advance — nearly always produces a better result than the family discovering this at the Land Office counter.

Usually wherever the documents that both sides need originate — the death certificate, the will, the proof of heirs. Starting in the wrong order means producing the same certified translations twice. We map the sequence across both jurisdictions before either process begins.

Lawyers for this matter

Generation 1