What should a Last Will and Testament include under Thai law?

1. Scope and Revocation
2. Executor

A will that does not follow the legal form is void (Civil and Commercial Code s.1705), so follow every step.

• Read it through first. Check every name, passport or ID number, account number and address. Do not sign a draft with mistakes and correct it by hand: erasures, additions and other changes are invalid unless made with the same formalities as the will itself. Print a corrected copy instead.
• Two witnesses, present together. Sign at the end of the will, in the presence of both witnesses at the same time. Both witnesses then sign straight away, in front of you and of each other (s.1656). Neither witness may leave the room between your signature and theirs.
• Who can be a witness. Each witness must have reached the age of majority, be of sound mind, and be able to see, hear and speak (s.1670). A witness must sign with a signature, not a mark or thumbprint (s.1666).
• Who must not be a witness. A witness, the person who wrote the will, and the spouse of either cannot receive anything under the will. A gift to any of them is void (ss.1653 and 1705). Your executor may be a witness only if the executor receives nothing under the will.
• The date. Write the date by hand in the space at the top of the will, on the day you sign, before you sign. A will must be dated at the time it is made (s.1656).
• The date. The will is dated …. Sign it on that day. If the signing moves to another day, print a new copy with the correct date.
• The writer. … wrote the text for you and must sign in the writer's box, stating whether he or she is also a witness (s.1671).
• Sign every page. Initial each page, and ask both witnesses to initial each page too, so that no page can be swapped later.
• If you cannot sign. A thumbprint may replace your signature only if two witnesses certify it at the time (s.1665). If that applies, consider a will made at the district office instead (see below).
• By hand, one original. Sign one original with a pen. A will cannot be signed electronically. Photocopies are only copies.

• Keep the single original somewhere safe that your executor can reach, such as a fire-proof box at home or with your lawyer. Tell your executor where it is and give them a copy.
• Do not unstaple the pages or attach anything to the original.
• You can revoke the will at any time (s.1693). If there is only one original, you can revoke it by deliberately destroying it (s.1695). A new will revokes an earlier one only if the new will is itself made in a valid legal form (s.1694).
• Review the will after marriage, divorce, the birth of a child, the death of a beneficiary, or the purchase or sale of a major asset. A gift of an asset that you sell or give away before your death lapses (s.1696), and so does a gift to a beneficiary who dies before you (s.1698).

• The will is valid in English, but your executor will need a Thai translation certified as accurate to apply to a Thai court, and banks and the Land Office will ask for it. Consider having a certified translation made now and keeping it with the original. Clause 7.6 says the English text is the will, so have the translation checked carefully.

• Public-document will at the district office (Amphur or Khet). You state your wishes to the district official in front of two witnesses; the official writes them down, reads them back, and everyone signs; the official then dates, signs and seals the will (s.1658). It can be made outside the district office on request (s.1659). It is harder to challenge later. A foreigner who does not speak Thai should bring an interpreter.
• Secret will. You sign and seal the will in an envelope and present it to the district official with two witnesses, who record it on the envelope (s.1660).
• Holograph will. You write the whole will, the date and your signature entirely in your own handwriting; no witnesses are needed, but a typed or printed will like this one does not qualify (s.1657).

• If you also have a will in another country, make sure the two wills do not cancel each other. This will covers only your property in Thailand and keeps your other wills for property abroad (Clause 1.1). Check that your will at home does not revoke "all earlier wills" without an exception for Thailand.This will revokes all your earlier wills, including any will made in another country (Clause 1.1). If you want to keep a will at home for property abroad, choose the option that covers only property in Thailand instead.
• Land and condominium units in Thailand are generally dealt with under Thai law. Other property of a foreigner who lives abroad may be governed by the law of the country where the foreigner is domiciled. If your affairs cross borders, ask a lawyer in both countries.
• Thai law generally does not allow a foreigner to own land, and limits foreign ownership of condominium units to a quota. Clause 5 lets your executor sell such an asset and give the beneficiary the money.You chose not to include a power to sell. If a foreign beneficiary cannot own an asset given to them, that gift may fail and the asset may pass to your statutory heirs instead.

• Obtain the death certificate, and for a death abroad, a translated and legalised copy.
• Apply to the competent Thai court, usually through a lawyer, for an order appointing or confirming the executor. Banks and the Land Office normally require this order before they release money or transfer property.
• Collect the assets, pay debts, funeral costs and taxes, and then hand over the gifts and the rest of the estate as the will directs.
• A guardian of property appointed for a minor must register the appointment at the Land Office for any land or condominium unit (s.1688).
• Thai inheritance tax applies only to very large inheritances received by each heir. Check the current threshold with the Revenue Department if the estate is substantial.

• No stamp duty is payable on a will. A will is not an instrument listed in the Stamp Duty Schedule of the Revenue Code.

Compiled from the notes that accompany the English contract templates on this site, published by Phuwara Krobtaku (ภูวรา ครอบตะคุ), Thai attorney-at-law, licence no. 477/2558. The short answer and summary at the top of this page are put together by the site from the template's clause headings and notes. Statutes are quoted only in the official Thai text: Thai is the only official language of Thai legislation, and an unofficial translation can mislead. Article registry OKC-DA25B3. If you reuse this content, please credit the author and link to the original.