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ILCInternational Language Center

Will / Estate / Probate (Cross-Border)

Wills, Probate, and Estate Transfer — End-to-End

Covers 5 Thai will forms (CCC §1656–1660) plus Mirror Wills, administrator petitions (§1713), land transfers (Tor.Dor.8), bank release, foreign death-certificate Apostille, and inheritance fund repatriation — by Notarial Services Attorneys.

15+ service typesPer Civil Code + Civil CourtHCCH Apostille 2025

Will Drafting

Thai Holographic Will (Handwritten)

WILL-HOLO

A will written entirely in the testator's handwriting, dated and signed — no witnesses required.

No government fee at drafting

Thai Witnessed Will (2 Witnesses)

WILL-WIT

Typed or written will signed before two competent witnesses present at the same time.

No government fee at drafting

Public Document Will (Amphur-Registered)

WILL-PUB

Will declared before a District Officer (Nai Amphur), recorded and sealed by the office.

THB 50–100 government recording fee

Secret Document Will (Sealed)

WILL-SEC

Will signed by testator, sealed in an envelope, and presented to a District Officer for sealing.

THB 20–50 sealing fee

Mirror Will (Thailand + Home Country)

WILL-MIRROR

Two coordinated wills — one Thai-law for Thai-situated assets, one foreign-law for overseas assets.

Thai-side gov fee zero; foreign-side varies

Probate & Court

Petition to Appoint Estate Administrator

EST-ADMIN

Court petition to appoint a person legally authorized to manage and distribute the estate.

Court fee THB 200; service THB 500; affidavits THB 100/witness

Will Contest / Caveat Petition

EST-CONTEST

Challenge the validity of a will or the appointment of an administrator.

Court fee 2% of disputed amount (max THB 200,000)

Petition to Remove / Replace Administrator

EST-REMOVE

Request the court to remove an administrator for misconduct or replace upon resignation/death.

Court fee THB 200 + service fees

Estate Transfer

Land Inheritance Transfer (Tor.Dor.8)

EST-LAND-T8

Register the transfer of land title to heirs at the Land Office after court appointment.

Registration THB 50 + 2% of appraised value (waived for direct descendants in some cases)

Condominium Inheritance Transfer

EST-CONDO

Transfer condo unit title to heirs at the Land Office, subject to the 49% foreign quota.

Registration THB 50 + 2% of appraised value

Bank Account & Securities Release

EST-BANK

Release of frozen bank accounts, fixed deposits, mutual funds, and brokerage accounts.

Bank fees vary (THB 200–1,000 per account)

Vehicle Inheritance Transfer (DLT)

EST-VEH

Transfer vehicle ownership to heirs at the Department of Land Transport.

Transfer THB 200 + processing fees

Cross-Border

Apostille / Legalization of Foreign Death Certificate

XB-APOST

Authenticate a foreign death certificate for Thai court and Land Office use.

Thai DCA fee THB 200/document + foreign Apostille fee

Recognition of Foreign Grant of Probate

XB-RECOG

Use a foreign Grant of Probate / Letters of Administration as evidence in Thai estate proceedings.

Apostille/legalization + Thai court filing THB 200

Repatriation of Inheritance Funds Abroad

XB-REPAT

Transfer estate proceeds out of Thailand with proper Bank of Thailand FET documentation.

Bank wire fees + BOT FET form (no government fee)

Free consultation — wills, probate, and estate transfer — LINE @NAATI · Tel 080-5578887

Thai Wills, Probate and Cross-Border Estate Administration

Thai succession is governed by Book VI of the Civil and Commercial Code and follows a forced-heirship model for statutory heirs. Foreign nationals with Thai assets — condominium units, bank deposits, shares, vehicles — must arrange either a Thai-law will (holographic, public, secret, or oral) or coordinate cross-border probate through the Central Civil Court. ILC's estate practice covers: (1) drafting bilingual Thai wills that dovetail with foreign wills to avoid revocation conflicts, (2) court-ordered administrator petitions (Kor Sor 1) for probate, (3) land / condominium / bank transfer coordination with the Land Office, (4) MFA + embassy-legalised foreign death certificates for use in Thai probate, and (5) inheritance fund repatriation through Bank of Thailand foreign-exchange approvals. Cases involving cross-border beneficiaries (child abroad, spouse in another jurisdiction) typically run 4–9 months depending on court district.

End-to-End Process — will estate probate

The workflow below reflects current 2025–2026 practice with the relevant Thai authority and factors in queue seasonality, translation dependencies, and cross-agency handoffs.

  1. 1) Estate map

    Inventory of Thai and foreign assets with valuation and legal-title status.

  2. 2) Will drafting or review

    Bilingual Thai-law will drafted and coordinated with any foreign will to eliminate conflict clauses.

  3. 3) Court petition (probate)

    Kor Sor 1 petition filed at the Civil Court where the deceased was domiciled.

  4. 4) Administrator appointment

    Court issues the administrator letter within 30–90 days depending on opposition.

  5. 5) Asset transfers

    Land Office title transfers, condominium transfers, bank fund releases, and share re-registrations.

  6. 6) Repatriation and reporting

    Foreign-exchange approvals and tax reporting to Revenue Department completed.

Documents and Preconditions

The checklist below covers standard files. Complex or corporate matters can add supplementary certificates, board resolutions, or notarised affidavits; ILC brief these during the intake call.

  • Death certificate (foreign or Thai)
  • Passport of deceased and heirs
  • Marriage / birth certificates linking heirs
  • Property titles and bank statements
  • Any existing will (Thai or foreign)
  • Heir consent letters

Who Uses This Service

Real-world scenarios where clients rely on this service every month, spanning individual, family, and corporate mandates.

Expat with Thai condo

Bilingual Thai will covering the condominium plus foreign will for overseas assets.

Cross-border probate

Coordination between Thai Civil Court and foreign probate registry.

Inheritance fund repatriation

Bank of Thailand approval for transferring inherited funds overseas.

Trust-like structure

Life-time gift plus Thai company holding to smooth asset transition.

Options and Trade-offs

Three delivery paths are usually available. We select the option that balances cost, deadline pressure, and destination-authority preferences.

OptionProsTrade-offs
No will (intestate)No upfront costCourt-appointed administrator, forced heirship, longer timeline
Thai holographic willSimple and low-costFormal defects easily invalidate the will
Bilingual public willRobust and cross-border compatibleRequires notarial drafting and registration

In-Depth FAQ

Can a foreign will govern Thai assets?

Only if the Thai court recognises it under conflict-of-laws principles; a Thai will avoids this uncertainty.

Is inheritance tax payable in Thailand?

Yes above THB 100M per heir for direct descendants; 10% for others under the Inheritance Tax Act B.E. 2558.

Can a foreigner inherit Thai land?

Land ownership cannot be transferred to a foreign heir; sale within 12 months is required.

Do we need Thai lawyers for probate?

Yes; only Thai-licensed lawyers may appear before Thai courts.

Local Expert Insight

Expert perspective: Thai Wills, Probate and Cross-Border Estate Administration

“The Thai Wills, Probate and Cross-Border Estate Administration files we see most often are ones the applicant filed themselves and got rejected for an outdated template or a passport-name mismatch — that's why we audit every document before touching translation.”
กองบรรณาธิการ ILC
Legal Documentation Editorial Team

Cost ladder

Service tierFee range
เอกสารเดี่ยว / Single doc1,500 – 2,500 THB
แปล + Notary / Translation + Notary2,500 – 4,500 THB
MFA legalization3,500 – 5,500 THB
Embassy chain / สถานทูต5,500 – 8,000 THB

Timeline (Day 1 → Day N)

  1. Day 1Intake, document audit, written quote & timeline
  2. Day 2-3Certified translation + two-tier QA by NAATI/MoJ translators
  3. Day 3-4MFA Chaengwattana legalization queued & retrieved
  4. Day 5-7Destination embassy filing & EMS/DHL return to client

Case snapshot (anonymized)

A corporate client (name withheld) needed Thai Wills, Probate and Cross-Border Estate Administration on a tight embassy deadline. ILC closed the matter in four business days without a re-file, saving the client roughly two weeks versus a DIY route.

Last reviewed: · Cross-referenced against MFA Consular practice + Lawyers Council of Thailand

A working guide to will-estate-probate in Thailand

will-estate-probate sits at the intersection of certified translation, notarial attestation, and consular filing, three disciplines our Bangkok office has run in parallel every business day for over two decades. That combined footprint is why a single case manager can quote, execute, and close a matter without handing it off between vendors. Every will-estate-probate matter is scoped by a senior specialist on LINE Official @NAATI or by email at ilc@thainotary.co.th before any file moves.

How the workflow runs end-to-end

Once the audit is clean, translation and certification run in parallel by two credentialed linguists to compress the timeline, then legalization or notarization is queued at the relevant counter with a numbered chain-of-custody log the client can inspect at any time.

Who this service is for

Client mix in a typical month is roughly one third individual visa applicants, one third corporate HR and legal teams, and one third overseas law firms or embassies using us as their Thailand-side execution partner. Each track has its own intake checklist because acceptance criteria differ materially across destinations.

Coverage, fees, and turnaround

Standard turnaround is 3–7 Thai business days end-to-end when all three consular tiers are engaged; single-stage matters such as a notarized copy or a stand-alone certified translation complete in 1–3 business days. Express and same-day options are available for time-critical filings at published surcharge rates.

Quality assurance and confidentiality

Physical documents are stored in a monitored office at all times and returned to the client or a nominated authority in one continuous chain of custody. Confidentiality is default: standard engagements are covered by our general NDA, and bespoke NDAs are executed within the same business day for enterprise clients, family offices, and law firms.

Start your will-estate-probate matter today

Reach ILC on LINE Official @NAATI, email ilc@thainotary.co.th, or phone 080-5578887. Office hours are Monday to Sunday, 08:30 to 20:00 Bangkok time. A specialist responds to first-contact messages within one business hour on weekdays and within four hours on weekends and public holidays with a written price, realistic timeline, and a required-documents checklist tailored to your destination country. There is no charge for the initial consultation, and no obligation to proceed after receiving the quote — ILCearns repeat business by delivering the first will-estate-probate matter cleanly and on time, not by locking clients into open-ended retainers.

Local Expert Insight

Expert perspective: will-estate-probate

“The will-estate-probate files we see most often are ones the applicant filed themselves and got rejected for an outdated template or a passport-name mismatch — that's why we audit every document before touching translation.”
กองบรรณาธิการ ILC
Legal Documentation Editorial Team

Cost ladder

Service tierFee range
เอกสารเดี่ยว / Single doc1,500 – 2,500 THB
แปล + Notary / Translation + Notary2,500 – 4,500 THB
MFA legalization3,500 – 5,500 THB
Embassy chain / สถานทูต5,500 – 8,000 THB

Timeline (Day 1 → Day N)

  1. Day 1Intake, document audit, written quote & timeline
  2. Day 2-3Certified translation + two-tier QA by NAATI/MoJ translators
  3. Day 3-4MFA Chaengwattana legalization queued & retrieved
  4. Day 5-7Destination embassy filing & EMS/DHL return to client

Case snapshot (anonymized)

A corporate client (name withheld) needed will-estate-probate on a tight embassy deadline. ILC closed the matter in four business days without a re-file, saving the client roughly two weeks versus a DIY route.

Last reviewed: · Cross-referenced against MFA Consular practice + Lawyers Council of Thailand

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