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Tax Issues, Wills, And "Probate" In Thailand?
Transcript of the above video:
As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing Wills in Thailand. For those who are unaware, yes, you can have a Will in Thailand. You can specify who your beneficiaries will be, who your heirs will be under that Will.
A question that sometimes arises is ‘are there any tax implications to conveying property, conveying assets via a Will?’ And the answer is there could be. There are also fees associated with what we would call in the Common Law vernacular, Probate, what's called Succession in the Civil Law system, translated over from their word for it, so succession. Excuse me, Succession is the word that is used in the context of Thailand. It's not exactly probate. That said similar mechanisms insofar as you are going to Court; you are having a Court adjudicate whether or not the Will is indeed valid, and if it is indeed valid, then conveying the assets per the person who made the Will’s wishes.
So the question posed is are there any taxes associated with that? Well there may be. It depends on the circumstances in the case. I don't mean to sound like a broken record that way. One thing we have discussed in prior videos is yes, one thing you can be well assured of is notwithstanding the fact you may have a Court Order to transfer title for example to a condominium - for example from one foreigner to the other, if it comports with the provisions of the Thai Condominium Act - yes it is possible to convey that but there may be some "transfer fees", costs associated with paying the Land Department ‘Tax’, ‘fees’, whatever you want to call it. Basically paying that amount to the Land Department in order to affect the transfer of title from one individual to another pursuant to the provisions of a Will being ‘probated’ here in the Kingdom of Thailand.