A Prenuptial Agreement in Thailand is a contract signed by two people who intend to get married. It lists all the assets that each party brings into the marriage and specifies what rights they will have if the relationship ends in divorce. It is a legal document and should only be drafted by an attorney who is familiar with Thai law.
How to Draft a Prenuptial Agreement in Thailand
Worldwide the content of prenuptial agreements can vary greatly, but under Thai law a prenup must be strictly limited to personal and marital property of husband and wife. There is a strict requirement to ensure that the prenup does not violate public order or good morals and must be in accordance with section 1465 of the Civil Code.
Benefits of a Prenuptial Agreement in Thailand
The first advantage of a prenup is that it can help prevent future disputes over the ownership of your property. It is easier to list all the personal property each partner brought into the marriage in a prenuptial agreement and therefore prevent unnecessary arguments when the marriage ends. This could save both parties a lot of time and money in the long run as they don’t need to spend money on expensive legal services to defend their property.
Another advantage is that a prenup can help to avoid inheritance disputes between the spouses when it comes to children from previous marriages. By ensuring that all the assets and possessions that each partner brought into the marriage are listed in the prenuptial, it is easier to specify exactly how much should go to the children from a previous relationship and how it will be divided.
It can also protect one person’s personal assets from being seized by debt collectors to pay off the other spouse’s debts. This can prevent a lot of stress and trouble in the future for the spouse who has more assets than the other.
This is especially useful if a spouse has a history of debts and may be at risk of being unable to afford to pay off their debts.
Often this can be achieved by including a provision in the prenuptial agreement where each spouse designates which country’s law should apply to their matrimonial property regime (some allow you to designate the law of any State of which either spouse is a national at the time of the marriage and designation). This is particularly useful if the couple have assets in other countries they want to protect, or if they plan to live abroad after the marriage.
If both spouses agree to the terms of a prenuptial agreement, it must be entered in and annexed to the Marriage Register at the time of marriage registration. Once this has been done, it cannot be altered or amended without court approval.
It is important to note that if the prenuptial agreement is not properly entered in and annexed to the marriage register then it can be void. This can cause a lot of trouble for the parties, so it is best to seek the assistance of an experienced family lawyer to help you draft a prenuptial agreement.