Integrity Legal

Prenups in Thailand

Prenuptial Agreements in Thailand are one area of law where diverse legal specialties intersect. The reason for this intersection is the fact that Prenuptial Agreements can involve many jurisdictions as well as substantive areas of law. As an example, if a prenuptial agreement is drafted and executed in Massachusetts, but the divorce occurs in California, what state’s law will govern? In what state will the agreement need to be adjudicated?

Further add the element of a Foreign Country’s laws being added into the equation and conflict of laws questions multiply exponentially. In the example of Thailand, under Thai law, the prenuptial agreement is registered with the marriage so that the agreement becomes part of the marriage contract. Therefore, if the prenuptial agreement is not registered with the Amphur at the time of the Thai marriage, then the prenuptial agreement is likely to be rendered unenforceable.

Conversely, in most jurisdictions of the United States, the prenuptial agreement need only be signed by both parties before the marriage takes place in order for the legal formalities to be met. So, what does one do about ensuring that a prenuptial agreement is properly drafted? In Thailand, it is essential to retain the service of firm that knows how to handle prenuptial agreement drafting where multiple jurisdictions are involved. There are many so-called “visa agents” and “visa specialists” who have gotten into the business of drafting prenuptial agreements and charge exorbitant rates for a document of dubious quality because it was not drafted by a legal professional. Always be leery of this type of operator.

Essentially, a prenup drafted for US jurisdictions and translated into Thai is a very effective method of asset protection, but it is not 100% guaranteed. Prenuptial agreements can be thrown out for many different reasons, but the most common reasons for a judge to throw out a Thailand prenup is the fact that it is unconscionable, one party truly did not understand what they were signing when they signed it, or the prenuptial agreement dictates terms on issues that the court feels it has no right to dictate (generally, child custody and child support payments are issues that a properly drafted prenuptial agreement should not mention).

One of the most important things to consider when obtaining a Thai prenup is to make sure that the Thai party had a translated version and had adequate legal counsel who was an independent operator.

(Nothing in this post is meant as a substitute for personal legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is created by reading this post).

For information about Us Immigration for Fiancees and Wives from Thailand, please see:

Fiance Visa Thailand or K3 Visa Thailand

Tags: Thai Notary, Thai prenup, Thai prenuptial agreement, Thailand Notary, thailand prenuptial agreement