Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing "probate". I am putting "probate" in quotation marks because in the Thai system, that is not the terminology that is utilized. As I have discussed in other videos, Thailand utilizes a Civil Law system and when you are dealing with the “Civil Law”, the correct term for what we would call Probate in a Common Law background is what is called succession. Essentially it is, I mean again I can't say that there's an exact apples to apples comparison, there is an exact overlap if you were to make a Venn diagram of the two systems but it is pretty close. What we call in the Common Law system probate what they call succession here in Thailand is the adjudication of a given testamentary instrument i.e. a Will by a Court to determine who should be for example appointed executor, executrix or multiple executors and who shall be the beneficiary as set forth in the provisions of the Will itself. So again similar procedures. 

Now that said, I thought of making this video after reading a recent comment on our channel, quoting directly: "How long does it take to get through probate in Thailand, Benjamin?" Well yeah that depends. I know I sound like a broken record with this but the facts are going to drive the dynamics of a given case. Generally speaking, it can be handled within a matter of weeks or months but again there is no hard and fast timeline; depends a lot on court dockets. Again I have never claimed to be a Thai Attorney, I am not a Thai practitioner of the law; we do have plenty of them here in the office. I have discussed it with them before even making this video but yeah it depends on the docket; it depends on the location. Here in Bangkok, obviously more people live here, therefore there are going to be more cases on the given dockets. It might take more time to process a case here out of Bangkok rather than for example someplace out in the provinces that just don't have the same case load. So it is going to vary and again, the aspects of the estate at issue as well have a lot to do with how long it can take. If it is going to be a really complex case where you have to ascertain different aspects of how to apportion, the number of beneficiaries can impact on this, how to apportion the estate. All of these things can have an impact on how long it could take so there is no hard and fast number “oh it takes an exact 90 days in every case”, that is never going to be how it is. Instead it's going to again be dictated by the facts in the case, the nature of the estate, as well as the caseload of the given Court adjudicating the matter.