Death of National in Thailand

Dear sugarplum1 Yesterday 18:47:27

Sorry to hear about your Father's passing... You will probably need to come here and hire an attorney to research who actually owns the house because in most cases a foreigner cannot legally own a house & land. As for the bank account, if his girlfriend had access, he must have intended for her to use those monies. An attorney can investigate that for you also and if she wasn't authorized on the account, then you may be able to file a complaint with authorities. Some foreigners end up buying a house & land in a girlfriend or wife's name, but I would never do that because when you do that, the house belongs to her. You may want to contact your embassy to see if they can help too... Good luck...

I feel very sorry for you that your dad has passed away and as already mentioned there’s not much you can do from your country.

   Considering that he wasn’t married to his Thai gf, she doesn’t automatically have the right to take over the house. You, as the only child would also have rights regarding the house, but also anything that he had in his house. If you go to court, they could make a decision that the house must be sold, but there are so many unknown factors that it's impossible to give you the best possible advice.

It’s very difficult to give you any advice because it’s possible that your daddy gave her the PIN code for his ATM card when he was very sick, but that’s something you’ll have to find out. But that's only an assumption.

If the house is worth some good money, you can go for it, even when it’s in her name now, you’ve got rights, but that’s something that has to be discussed with an attorney.

  Best of luck, whatever you’ll decide to do. Try to find anybody who knew him well enough to get some important information. As already mentioned, your embassy would be the first address to talk to and they'll also give you a list of competent lawyers.

  But the time is not really on your side now. Such cases can take forever. If the house is in her name and she sells it, she could easily change her name and move away.  Good luck.

sugarplum1 wrote:

Hi All
He lived on Ko Samui.
Sadly my father passed away at the start of this year, I am his only child. He had a Thai girlfriend she has emptied his bank account and is living in his house. When I tried to ask her about this she has blocked my messages on facebook.
I thought as he was not married, and died in Thailand, his money must not be touched in the bank according to Thai Law ?

I noticed that you signed up as a new member on the same day you made this post on Oct 2, but haven't replied to anyone and you haven't made any other posts since signing up. I hope you were able to find out what you needed to know about your deceased Father's affairs in Thailand. If you have any specific questions, please don't hesitate to ask, but without anyone knowing specifics, it will be difficult to offer any advice. Good luck if you're still following this post... and if not, then I guess we are wasting our time and words... kindly...

Sorry, but most foreigners cannot legally own land & house unless they have been granted permanent residency or citizenship which very few have been granted. Most foreigners put up the money with the land & house being put in girlfriend's or wife's name. If that's the case, the house belongs to her. Very high odds all the money is gone too. The girlfriend probably has an ATM card. Did your Father leave a "Will" or any written instructions for you? You did not give any specifics in your original post.