Prenuptial Agreement in Thailand is a written contract entered into between future spouses for the designation and control of marital assets and liabilities, treatment of property and earnings during the marriage, and the potential division of marital property in case of dissolution of the marriage.
The “prenup” may contain a provision stating that in case of a divorce, the parties agree to sell the property and share in its proceeds. The local may also choose to pay out her share in the property if she/he is keen on keeping the property for personal use after the divorce.
Some may find the notion of offering the loan or prenuptial agreement unromantic or offensive. The offer of a prenup is a good opportunity to discover the true intentions of the parties to the marriage. The foreign party will realize if the local’s intent for the marriage is for love or one that is for convenience only. On the other hand, the Thai national will be able to ascertain, through her partner’s demeanor and the provisions made in the prenup, if her foreign fiancé is offering marriage only as a means to secure a long-term marriage visa in Thailand.
In making a Thailand Prenuptial Agreement, you have to meet the following requirements:
- First, the contract must be in writing.
- Additionally, each party must receive separate legal counsel.
- Finally, the parties must sign the Thai prenuptial agreement in the presence of two witnesses prior to the marriage registration, and
- The Thai prenuptial agreement must be registered at the local district where the parties decide to register their marriage.
A well-drafted prenuptial agreement provides the following benefits:
- It ensures the protection of each of the parties’ respective properties by specifying beforehand how these will be disposed of, divided, transferred from one spouse to the other, or whether such will be considered as joint or separate properties;
- It protects business assets by requiring a spouse to waive all rights to the owner-spouse’s interest in the business should the couple divorce or if one of them dies;
- It protects one spouse from the other spouse’s debts. In cases where one spouse incurs debts before marriage, the debtor spouse can waive any claims to the other spouse’s assets thereby protecting his or her creditors;
- It ensures that the children of a previous marriage or relationship, as well as that of the present marriage would be given ample financial support;
- It keeps the ownership of family businesses and assets within bloodlines by not giving the new spouse any right to make claims on these assets;
- It helps avoid or at least minimize the possibility of the spouses having to go through the legal battle over property, thereby sparing them from legal expenses in case the matter reaches the court.
The prenup may bear a provision granting sole management of any jointly owned property between husband and wife to only one of the spouses. Without the said provision, management of marital property is automatically shared by both spouses.
See also Drafting Prenup in Thailand.
