Transcript of the above video: 

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing so-called off plan condos and testamentary instruments aka Wills here in Thailand. What are we talking about with regard to this? 

Well this actually came up in a recent case. We were dealing with drafting a Will on behalf of a client and he currently has an interest in what we would call an "off-plan" condo, meaning this is a condo that is under construction that he has certain rights in, and this person wanted to go ahead and have those rights if you will, mentioned in the Will. Now the issue with this is it is kind of a complex one, and it depends on the underlying terms of the off-plan condo agreement oftentimes, including matters pertaining to assignment clauses etc. 

But long story short, yeah, I have often talked about so-called off-plan condos. You need to be somewhat careful with them here in Thailand because again we are talking about something that has yet to be built; you are sort of investing in it on “spec” if you will, and there are certain considerations that be taken under advisement in that kind of scenario to begin with. So you have to kind of be aware of the special circumstances associated with doing due diligence on that as opposed to a condo itself or a built-already condo itself. 

Meanwhile, how that interacts with Thai Wills and how that interacts with basically the rights that can be conferred under a Will or Court Orders later associated with what we would call in the American Common Law vernacular or even in the overall Common Law vernacular "Probate", what is often referred to as Succession here in Thailand under a Thai Civil Law vernacular, the rights and obligations and benefits that can accrue as a result of an off-plan condo arrangement may be I stress may be - again depending on the underlying facts in the given case – may be transferable by the Court in the event of making final determinations regarding the overall estate that is created and conferred by the terms of the Will.

The thing to take away from this video and understand is the interactions between these two kinds of instruments, for example an off-plan condo agreement or a Thai testamentary instrument also called a Will, these are two different things and the interaction between these two different things can be somewhat if you will conflicting in certain ways and the interaction can be complex. For this reason, it is a very good idea for those who may have interest in an off-plan condo who are looking to do estate planning, to contact a legal professional, gain some insight and guidance into how best to proceed.