Thailand Law Library

by Thailand Lawyer

Chapter 1: General Provisions

Where a person dies without having made a will, or if having made a will, his will has no effect, the whole of his estate shall be distributed among his statutory heirs according to the law.

Where a person dies having made a will which disposes of or has effect for a part only of his estate, the part which has not been disposed of or is not affected by the will shall be distributed among his statutory heirs according to the law.

Where a person dies without having made a will, or if having made a will, his will has no effect, the whole of his estate shall be distributed among his statutory heirs according to the law.

Where a person dies having made a will which disposes of or has effect for a part only of his estate, the part which has not been disposed of or is not affected by the will shall be distributed among his statutory heirs according to the law.

Unless otherwise provided by the testator in his will, although a statutory heir may have received any property under the will, such heir is still entitled to avail himself of his statutory right of inheritance up to the extent of his statutory share from the estate which has not been disposed of by the will.

A Buddhist monk cannot claim inheritance as a statutory heir, unless he leaves the monkhood and enforces his claim within the period of prescription specified in Section 1754.

However, a Buddhist monk can be a legatee.

Any property acquired by a Buddhist monk during his monkhood shall become, upon his death, property of the monastery which is his domicile, unless he has disposed of it during his life or by will.

Property belonging to a person before he entered the Buddhist monkhood shall not become property of the monastery, and shall devolve on his statutory heirs, or may be disposed of him by any way whatsoever according to the law.

If the deceased was married, the liquidation of property and the distribution of the estate between the deceased and the surviving spouse shall be as follows:

1. as regards the share in the property of husband and wife, the provisions of this Code concerning divorce by mutual consent as supplemented by Sections 1637 and 1638 and especially Section 1513 to 1517 of this Code shall apply; however, such liquidation shall take effect as from the date of dissolution of the marriage by death;
2. as regards the share in the estate of the deceased, the provisions of this Book other than Sections 1637 and 1638 shall apply.

After Section 1625 (1) has been complied with, the division of the estate between the statutory heirs shall be as follows:

1. the estate will be divided between the several classes and degrees of heirs as provided in Chapter II of this Title;
2. the proportion accruing to each class and degree shall be divided between the heirs of such class and degree, as provided in Chapter III of this Title.

An illegitimate child who has been legitimated by his father and an adopted child are deemed to be descendants in the same way as legitimate children within the meaning of this Code.

Spouses who are living apart under desertion or separation do not lose the statutory right of inheritance to one another as long as divorce between them has not taken place according to the law.