Australian marry a Thai lady - asset protection?

[b simpson]

An Australian friend of mine recently married a Thai lady. She lives in Thailand and he lives in both Thailand and Australia however I think his official residence is in Australia and he spends 80% of time in Australia as he works FIFO.

The marriage was done in Thailand formally.

I believe if they divorced she would be entitled to half his stuff in Australia while she never actually contributed financially. He currently pays for much of her expenses although she is working full time.

Could this be prevented if things were done differently?

I myself have entertained doing something similar one day but I don't want to be like so many guys I know who lost half due to a failed marriage especially where the woman didn't contribute equally. For someone from Thailand that could be very tempting. Fare enough for assets accumulated during the marriage, but all assets accumulated prior to marriage including superannuation...!

My understanding is that an official marriage in Thailand is recognised in Australia. Even if it was just a ceremony I assume that defacto laws may come in effect from living together in Thailand. Is this true?

Thai law seems to state that assets acquired prior to marriage are excluded, and assets accumulated after marriage are split 50%. I would be happy with this result.

It would good if pre-nups were valid but I have no confidence in them standing up in court as they just seem to be challenged anyway.

I will likely discuss with a Thai and australian lawyer for clarification.

Before people go on about worrying about separating prior to getting married I have been married before but we divorced with a mutually agreeable asset split. This time I have more to loose.

 

[Mr. Fabulous]

b simpson, the best way to protect your assets from the ravages of a divorce and a legal system that is heavily skewed in favour of women is to not get married.

 

[Truly Exotic]

Talk to Terryw, he knows his stuff

as for marrying a Thai, as a foreigner you cant own a house and it has to go into her name,

from a asset AND relationship, im sorry to say, the odds are stacked against you, especially if you are divorced prior, and if you are 30 years older , and if she is from Issarn

 

[Corey Batt]

My understanding was that Thai ceremonies weren't recognised in Australia, and had to be completed here also?

 

[TMNT]

oh no, have a look at Thaivisa.com

so many examples of "Hansum" aussies, yanks and poms getting married to bar girls in thailand, and buying houses, looking after the family, and their buffalos

Dont be another one of those losers

Foreigners seem to leave their brain at the airport, dont be one of them !!

my advice for any person with jasmine fever is "never do anything that you wouldnt do back home"....sadly they never seem to listen

 

[Mr. Fabulous]

my advice for any person with jasmine fever is "never do anything that you wouldnt do back home"....sadly they never seem to listen

Desperation and a debilitating fear of loneliness is a lethal combination, both at home and overseas.

Read this on The Private Man the other day. If I was a woman, I'd be all over this like a whore on pay day. What a great business opportunity.

http://trove.com/me/content/locFA?chid=144766

 

[nhg]

I do follow the context of this conversation,

Just to point out though, the question should simply be asset protection...

Doesn't matter if the woman is from Thailand, Ukraine, or America.

My mate just married a Thai girl. She is a well educated professional that has more assets than he does., yet I hear pretty negative connotations around his marriage from our mutual peers. Such a shame.

My other mate who married a Thai girl, he wouldn't be doing anywhere near as well without her non-financial support, she is an absolute gem and runs the family like a well oiled machine.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[TMNT]

I do follow the context of this conversation,

Just to point out though, the question should simply be asset protection...

Doesn't matter if the woman is from Thailand, Ukraine, or America.

My mate just married a Thai girl. She is a well educated professional that has more assets than he does., yet I hear pretty negative connotations around his marriage from our mutual peers. Such a shame.

My other mate who married a Thai girl, he wouldn't be doing anywhere near as well without her non-financial support, she is an absolute gem and runs the family like a well oiled machine.

Just my 2 cents.

and you may realise that all of them also say "my girl is different" or "shes never asked me for money" or "she earns more then me" or "my one is university educated and can speak 47 lanuguages" or "I met her in a bar but she was new to the scene"

 

[nhg]

and you may realise that all of them also say "my girl is different" or "shes never asked me for money" or "she earns more then me" or "my one is university educated and can speak 47 lanuguages" or "I met her in a bar but she was new to the scene"

And with that mindset, therein lies the problem.

You can be in Aus, France or England, if you're flashing cash to try and get attention, you're likely going to attract interesting relationships.

 

[boeman]

Hence the plethora of single women in their 30's and 40's.

Play hard to get for too long until they become withered old bits of leather with bad attitudes that can't make the cut on the Bachelor anymore.

Don't blame all these guys looking overseas, at least the girls are grateful for the attention.

I was lucky to meet a nice Australian girl, though they are few and far between in a lot of cities.

My tip, if it truly is the right woman, is assets shouldn't matter. If it is a point of concern, it is probably not the right girl to marry.

 

[Terry_w]

I believe if they divorced she would be entitled to half his stuff in Australia while she never actually contributed financially.

Why do you think this?

This isn't what the law says.

I am a lawyer and am married to a Thai lady (born a lady too I might add!).

Under Thai law any assets acquired during the marriage are to be split 50/50. It is pretty straght forward.

Under Australian law it is much more complex and various factors will be taken into account. see s79 Family Law Act

A legal marriage in Thailand would be a legal marriage in Australia. A common law marriage with no registration isn't recognised in Thailand but it is in Australia and they could still be deemed to be spouses an the Family Law Act apply.

Pre-nups are called binding financial agreements and can be set up before/during/after a marriage or defacto relationship. They are legally binding and can stand up in court if they are done correctly and all requirments met - such as disclosure of assets.

Also need to consider asset protection in death. Family Provision means the wife will get a large portion of the man's assets if he dies whether he leaves her anything or not. Under Thai law things are different, generally the foreign spouse will not own land and not have much in the way of assets over there.

 

[datto]

"Me love you long time!"

"Say no more, let's get married...yeeha"

What if you find out later, she was really a he, does this small detail nullify things?

No, this never happened to me but heard it at the pub it happened to someone.

 

[TMNT]

also remember, foreigners cannot own houses in thailand, so all you Hansum guys who are have paid for the house, bike, and everything else, wont get a cent of it back since it will all be in her name!!!

 

[Corey Batt]

"Me love you long time!"

"Say no more, let's get married...yeeha"

What if you find out later, she was really a he, does this small detail nullify things?

No, this never happened to me but heard it at the pub it happened to someone.

There was that case of the guy who married a transsexual, got sick of it and claimed annulment, as 'she' couldn't provide children. This was quite a while ago though, 70's if I remember correctly.

 

[danwatto]

My lawyer told me that if there's no kids, the judge normally gives you both what you had before you met. If you had lots you get that back.

Then whatever new wealth that was created on top during the marriage is split.

This is how some people end up with 66/33 split.

I speak from personal experience.

 

[Terry_w]

also remember, foreigners cannot own houses in thailand, so all you Hansum guys who are have paid for the house, bike, and everything else, wont get a cent of it back since it will all be in her name!!!

This is not correct.

 

[sanj]

This is not correct.

There's no room for facts here Terry, just gross generalizations and general bitterness.

 

[whiteduck]

Pretty Disgusted.

I agree with Sanj. Some of the threads in this forum have degenerated to a new low. Can the Mods please review.

 

[TMNT]

This is not correct.

ok, I lumped it all in the same group, you can own a condo/apartment, but you cannot own a house that has a land component

 

[Mr. Fabulous]

This is not correct.

Hi Terry, from what I've read, foreigners can own up to a maximum of 49% of a given property, with a Thai national owning the remaining 51%. Is that right?