Thailand Law Library

by Thailand Lawyer

Chapter 5: Revocation and Lapse of a Will or Clause in a Will

A testator may at any time revoke his will wholly or partly.

If a former will is to be revoked wholly or partly by a latter will, the revocation is valid only when the latter will is made in any of the forms prescribed by law.

Where a will is embodied in one document only, the testator can revoke it wholly or partly by intentional destruction or cancellation.

Where the will is embodied in several duplicates, such revocation shall not be complete unless it is effected in all the duplicates.

A testamentary disposition is revoked if the testator has intentionally made a valid transfer of the property which is the subject of the will.

The same rule applies if the testator has intentionally destroyed such property.

Unless the testator has otherwise made a declaration of intention in his will, if it appears that a former and a latter will conflict, the former is deemed to have been revoked by the latter only as to the parts in which their provisions conflict.

A testamentary disposition lapses:

1. if the legatee dies before the testator;
2. if the testamentary disposition is to take effect on a condition being fulfilled and the legatee dies before its fulfillment, or it becomes certain that the condition cannot be fulfilled;
3. the legatee refuses legacy
4. if the whole property bequeathed is, without the intention of the testator, lost or destroyed during his lifetime and the testator has not acquired a substitute or a claim for compensation for the loss of such property.

If a will or a clause in a will as regards any property has no effect for any reason whatsoever, such property devolves on the statutory heirs or the State as the case may be.