Marriage, divorce, child custody, spousal maintenance, and inheritance in Thailand are governed primarily by Book V of the Civil and Commercial Code (CCC), complemented by specialised statutes such as the Inheritance Tax Act B.E. 2558 (2015) and the Domestic Violence Victim Protection Act B.E. 2550 (2007). For Thai nationals and foreigners alike, the way these rules interact with embassy procedures, document legalisation requirements, and the jurisdiction of the Central Juvenile and Family Court can transform an apparently simple personal matter into a procedurally demanding case. A family lawyer in Thailand bridges the gap between Thai statutory rules, court practice, and the international dimensions that arise whenever foreign nationality, foreign assets, foreign documents, or foreign children are involved.
This guide explains, in practical terms, what a family lawyer in Thailand actually does, the legal framework they apply, the steps and documents involved in the most common matters, and the typical pitfalls that bilingual cross-border families encounter. It is intended for clients deciding whether they need representation and for readers who want a grounded overview of Thai family law before instructing counsel.
What a family lawyer in Thailand does
A family lawyer advises and represents private clients on the legal relationships created or dissolved by marriage and parenthood. In the Thai context, this work usually combines administrative procedures conducted at the District Office (Amphur or Khet), litigation before the Juvenile and Family Court, and cross-border coordination with embassies, consulates, and foreign counsel. The most frequent retainers cover marriage registration and prenuptial agreements, contested and uncontested divorce, child custody and parental power, spousal maintenance and child support, succession planning and probate, and protective orders in domestic violence situations.
Because Section 29 of the Civil Procedure Code requires court proceedings to be conducted in Thai, foreign clients almost always need certified Thai translations of their evidence and lawyers who can argue the case in Thai while explaining strategy to the client in their own language. A competent family lawyer also takes responsibility for the chain of legalisation that documents must pass through to be admissible: translation, certification, embassy authentication, and endorsement by the Department of Consular Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Marriage registration and prenuptial agreements
Marriage in Thailand is a legal status created by registration, not by ceremony. A wedding party held in a temple, hotel, or beach is not a legal marriage on its own. The marriage becomes effective only when both spouses appear before a registrar at a District Office (Amphur or Khet) and the marriage is recorded in the Marriage Register pursuant to Sections 1457 and following of the Civil and Commercial Code.
For foreign nationals, the District Office requires an Affirmation of Freedom to Marry issued by the embassy or consulate of the foreigner's home country in Thailand. The affirmation must then be translated into Thai by an authorised translator and legalised at the Department of Consular Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before it can be presented to the registrar. Same-sex couples now enjoy full marriage equality in Thailand: the Marriage Equality Act came into force on 22 January 2025, making Thailand the first country in Southeast Asia to recognise same-sex marriage with identical rights and obligations as different-sex marriage.
A prenuptial agreement in Thailand is governed by Sections 1465 to 1469 of the CCC. Section 1465 confirms that, in the absence of a special agreement, the property regime of the spouses is governed by the provisions of the Code, and a clause that purports to subject marital property to a foreign law is void. Section 1466 imposes strict formalities for validity: the prenuptial agreement must be in writing, signed by both spouses, signed by at least two witnesses, and entered in or annexed to the Marriage Register at the time of marriage registration. A prenuptial agreement signed only after the marriage is invalid as a prenuptial; couples who wish to alter their property regime after marriage must follow the more limited routes in Sections 1468 and 1469. In practice, the agreement should be drafted, negotiated, and translated several weeks before the wedding, then physically registered together with the marriage on the same day at the same Amphur.
Divorce: administrative and contested
Thai law distinguishes two types of divorce, and choosing the right route is one of the first strategic decisions a family lawyer makes with the client.
An administrative (uncontested) divorce is available where both spouses agree to terminate the marriage and to settle property, custody, and support. Under Section 1514, the parties simply attend the District Office and register the divorce. To be enforceable, the agreement on custody, contact, and child support should be set out in writing and registered with the divorce; otherwise the District Officer cannot record it and a separate court application will later be necessary. Administrative divorce is only available when the marriage was registered in Thailand or has otherwise been entered into the Thai Marriage Register.
A contested (judicial) divorce is filed before the Juvenile and Family Court when the spouses disagree, when one spouse refuses to cooperate, or when the marriage was registered abroad and cannot be administratively dissolved in Thailand. Section 1516 of the CCC sets out twelve exclusive grounds for a court divorce, summarised below.
| Ground (Section 1516) | Substance |
|---|---|
| (1) | Maintaining or honouring another person as spouse, adultery, or habitual sexual intercourse with another person |
| (2) | Misconduct, whether or not criminal, causing serious shame, hatred, or injury to the other spouse |
| (3) | Serious harm or torture, physical or mental, of the other spouse or of an ascendant of that spouse |
| (4) | Desertion for more than one year, or absence for more than three years where the absent spouse cannot be traced |
| (4/1) | Imprisonment by final judgment of more than one year for an offence committed without participation, consent, or knowledge of the other spouse |
| (4/2) | Voluntary separation for more than three years, or court-ordered separation, with no intention of resuming cohabitation |
| (5) | Adjudication of the other spouse as a disappeared person |
| (6) | Failure to provide proper maintenance and support, or commission of acts seriously adverse to the marital relationship |
| (7) | Insanity for more than three years, incurable, of such severity that continued cohabitation is impossible |
| (8) | Breach of a bond of good behaviour |
| (9) | Communicable and dangerous incurable disease |
| (10) | Permanent physical incapacity preventing cohabitation as husband and wife |
Because the grounds are exhaustive, dissatisfaction with the marriage is not, by itself, a basis for a Thai court divorce. The petitioner must prove a statutory ground on the balance of evidence, often by witness testimony, certified messages, photographs, or expert reports. Section 1529 imposes a one-year time bar from knowledge of certain grounds (including adultery), so delay in seeking advice can extinguish the right to sue.
Division of property: Sin Somros and Sin Suan Tua
Thai matrimonial property law is built on a binary distinction. Sin Suan Tua (separate property) under Section 1471 covers what each spouse owned before marriage, items for personal use, tools of profession, and property acquired during marriage by gift or inheritance with a written designation as separate. Sin Somros (marital property) under Section 1474 covers property acquired during marriage, fruits of Sin Suan Tua, and property acquired with marital funds. Section 1474 also creates a presumption that property acquired during the marriage is Sin Somros unless proven otherwise.
On divorce, Sin Somros is divided equally between the spouses regardless of who paid for it, while Sin Suan Tua remains with its owner. This 50/50 rule is robust: the court does not redistribute Sin Somros to reflect contribution, fault, or future need, although fault may be relevant to compensation and maintenance claims under Section 1525 and Section 1526. A prenuptial agreement validly registered under Section 1466 can vary these rules within the limits of Section 1465 (no contracting out into a foreign property regime, no clauses contrary to public order or good morals).
| Asset | Default classification |
|---|---|
| Real estate purchased during marriage with either spouse's salary | Sin Somros (50/50 on divorce) |
| Real estate owned by one spouse before marriage | Sin Suan Tua of that spouse |
| Rental income from pre-marital real estate, received during marriage | Sin Somros (fruit of Sin Suan Tua) |
| Inheritance received during marriage with no written designation | Generally Sin Suan Tua of the heir |
| Bank account opened during marriage | Presumed Sin Somros under Section 1474 |
| Personal jewellery and tools of profession | Sin Suan Tua under Section 1471 |
Child custody and parental power
Thai family law uses the concept of parental power (amnat pokkrong) rather than the common-law term "custody" alone. Under Section 1566, a child is subject to parental power until he or she reaches sui juris (twenty years of age, or upon marriage if earlier). The same section lists the situations in which parental power may be exercised solely by one parent, including divorce.
In an administrative divorce, the parents may agree on parental power and record the agreement on the divorce register; such an agreement is valid and enforceable but may be revisited by the court if circumstances change. In a contested divorce, the Juvenile and Family Court allocates parental power by applying the best interests of the child standard codified through Sections 1520, 1521, and 1566, weighing the child's emotional security, education, daily care, and overall welfare. The court routinely interviews children of an appropriate age and may appoint a social worker or court psychologist.
For international families, three further points usually drive strategy. First, a foreign court's custody order is not automatically enforceable in Thailand and may need to be re-litigated under Thai law. Second, Thailand is a contracting state to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, which provides a return mechanism for children wrongfully removed from their country of habitual residence; Thai cases are handled through the Office of the Attorney General as Central Authority. Third, a foreign father whose child is born to an unmarried Thai mother does not have automatic parental power: under Section 1547, parental power is established only by subsequent marriage, registration of legitimation, or court judgment.
Child support and spousal maintenance
Child support in Thailand is grounded in the parental duty to maintain a child under Section 1564 of the CCC. The duty subsists during the marriage and after divorce and continues until the child is sui juris, with a possible extension if the child is unable to support themselves. The court fixes the amount by reference to the child's reasonable needs, the parents' financial capacity, and the standard of living the child enjoyed before separation, rather than by a rigid statutory formula.
Spousal maintenance is not automatic in Thailand. Section 1526 allows the court to award maintenance to a spouse where the divorce was caused by the fault of the other spouse and where the recipient lacks sufficient income; the court considers the parties' circumstances at the time of the award, and the right to maintenance terminates on remarriage. Section 1525 separately allows compensation to a spouse who suffers loss as a result of the divorce.
Enforcement is handled by the Legal Execution Department, with the option to seize assets, garnish salary, or place a charge on real estate registered in the debtor's name in Thailand. International enforcement against an obligor abroad usually requires parallel proceedings in the obligor's country of residence.
Inheritance, succession, and estate planning
Succession in Thailand is governed by Sections 1599 to 1755 of the CCC. The basic rule is that on death, the estate (assets, rights, and liabilities) devolves to the heirs as a whole, who inherit subject to liabilities only up to the value of what they receive (Section 1601). Where the deceased left a valid will, the estate is distributed according to the will. Where there is no valid will, statutory succession applies.
Section 1629 lists six classes of statutory heirs in order of priority: descendants, parents, brothers and sisters of full blood, brothers and sisters of half blood, grandparents, and uncles and aunts. The surviving spouse is a statutory heir alongside these classes, with shares varying depending on which class is present. A higher-ranking class generally excludes lower-ranking classes from inheriting, except for parents who inherit alongside descendants.
Section 1656 sets the formal requirements for the most common form of will: the will must be made in writing, dated, signed by the testator in the presence of at least two witnesses, and signed by those witnesses at the same time and in the same place. Other forms of will (holograph, public document, secret document, oral in emergencies) are recognised under Sections 1657 to 1663, each with their own formalities.
Where there is real estate, business interests, or disputes among heirs, the practical first step is the appointment of an estate administrator by the Civil Court under Section 1711 et seq. The administrator collects the estate, settles the debts, and distributes the remainder to the heirs. Without an administrator, banks, the Land Office, and the Department of Business Development will not transfer assets out of the deceased's name.
Inheritance tax
The Inheritance Tax Act B.E. 2558 (2015) entered into force on 1 February 2016 and is administered by the Revenue Department. Inheritance tax is charged only on the portion of assets received by an heir from a single estate that exceeds 100 million THB; estates below that threshold are entirely exempt. The Act applies to Thai nationals, to foreigners who are tax residents in Thailand, and to non-resident foreigners with respect to assets located in Thailand.
| Heir category | Rate on amount above 100M THB |
|---|---|
| Surviving spouse | Exempt |
| Descendants and ascendants (parents, children, grandchildren) | 5% |
| All other heirs | 10% |
Lifetime gifts above the statutory thresholds are subject to gift tax at the same 5% / 10% rates under amendments to the Revenue Code introduced together with the Inheritance Tax Act, with annual exempt thresholds for transfers to ascendants, descendants, and spouses. Cross-border estate planning should consider double tax treaty exposure, foreign forced-heirship rules, and the practical impact of Section 1465 on any property regime conflict-of-laws clauses.
Domestic violence and protective orders
The Domestic Violence Victim Protection Act B.E. 2550 (2007) defines domestic violence broadly to cover physical, psychological, and sexual harm inflicted on family members, including spouses, former spouses, cohabiting partners, parents, children, adopted children, and other persons living in the same household. The Act provides for both emergency protection orders (issued urgently in cases of imminent danger and capable of removing the offender from the home or prohibiting contact) and general protection orders (issued after a hearing and capable of mandating counselling or other long-term measures). Breach of a protection order is itself a criminal offence. The criminal penalty for the underlying act of domestic violence is imprisonment for up to six months, a fine, or both, prosecuted with the consent of the victim except where investigators determine the matter must proceed in the public interest.
The Act runs in parallel with the criminal-law offences of assault, sexual assault, and unlawful detention under the Criminal Code, and with the divorce ground of "serious harm or torture" under Section 1516(3) of the CCC. A family lawyer typically coordinates the protective application, the criminal complaint, and the divorce or custody proceeding so that the strategy in one forum does not undermine the case in another.
Cross-border family matters and foreign clients
Foreign clients face a recurring set of practical hurdles in Thai family proceedings. Documents issued abroad must be apostilled or consularly legalised, translated into Thai by an authorised translator, and certified at the Department of Consular Affairs before they are accepted by Thai courts and government offices. Service of Thai process on a respondent abroad must follow the Hague Service Convention or the bilateral channels in place, which can extend a contested divorce timeline by several months. Thai pleadings, hearings, and judgments are issued in Thai (Section 29, Civil Procedure Code), with the cost of certified translation falling on the foreign party.
Foreign judgments on divorce, custody, and maintenance are not directly enforceable in Thailand. A foreign divorce decree may be recognised in evidence and recorded against the Thai marriage register through the District Office; a foreign custody order may be considered persuasive but the Juvenile and Family Court will exercise its own jurisdiction in the best interests of the child; a foreign maintenance order generally requires fresh proceedings in Thailand. Where the marriage was registered abroad and the parties are habitually resident in Thailand, an experienced lawyer will assess whether to file in Thailand under Section 1516 or to coordinate with foreign counsel for a divorce in the country of registration.
Choosing the right family lawyer in Thailand
The most useful indicators of competence in this field are admission to the Thai Bar (Lawyer's Council of Thailand), demonstrable experience before the Central Juvenile and Family Court, and a track record handling matters with embassy procedures and Hague Convention requests. Working language matters: a lawyer who can take instructions in the client's own language, draft pleadings in Thai, and translate the resulting judgment back into the client's language reduces the risk of misunderstanding at every stage. Fee structures vary, and clients should confirm at the outset whether the engagement is on a fixed fee, hourly, or staged basis, and how court fees, translation, legalisation, and expert witness costs are allocated.
At Juslaws & Consult, the family law team handles marriage registrations, prenuptial agreements, contested and uncontested divorce, child custody, parental power, child support, spousal maintenance, succession planning, probate, and protective orders, with offices in Bangkok and Phuket and bilingual representation across the principal European and Asian languages. Whether the matter is purely domestic or involves multiple jurisdictions, the priority is to protect the client's legal position under Thai law while respecting the procedural rules that make a Thai judgment enforceable in practice.
Frequently asked questions
What does a family lawyer in Thailand actually do?
A family lawyer advises and represents clients in matters arising from marriage, parenthood, and inheritance. The work covers marriage registration and prenuptial agreements, administrative and judicial divorce, parental power and child custody, child support and spousal maintenance, succession and probate, and protective orders in domestic violence situations. In cross-border cases, the lawyer also coordinates document legalisation, embassy affirmations, Thai-language translations, and (where applicable) Hague Convention requests.
Is a religious or traditional ceremony enough to be married in Thailand?
No. Marriage is created by registration at a District Office (Amphur or Khet) under the Civil and Commercial Code, not by a ceremony. A wedding in a temple, hotel, or beach without registration produces no legal effect. For foreigners, the District Office will require an Affirmation of Freedom to Marry from the foreign national's embassy, translated into Thai and legalised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
When must a prenuptial agreement be signed and registered in Thailand?
Under Section 1466 of the Civil and Commercial Code, a prenuptial agreement must be in writing, signed by both spouses, signed by at least two witnesses, and entered in or annexed to the Marriage Register at the time of marriage registration. A document signed before the wedding but not registered with the marriage on the same day is not a valid prenuptial agreement. After marriage, the property regime can only be modified through the limited routes in Sections 1468 and 1469.
Can I get divorced in Thailand if my marriage was registered abroad?
An administrative divorce at the District Office is generally available only when the marriage is registered in Thailand. If the marriage was registered abroad, the spouses can either file for a contested divorce before the Thai Juvenile and Family Court on one of the grounds in Section 1516, or obtain a divorce in the country of registration and have it recorded in Thailand. The right strategy depends on the location of assets, the residence of the spouses, the existence of children, and the evidence available for the statutory grounds.
How is property divided when a marriage ends in Thailand?
Property is divided on the binary distinction between Sin Suan Tua (separate property under Section 1471) and Sin Somros (marital property under Section 1474). Sin Suan Tua remains with its owner; Sin Somros is divided equally between the spouses, regardless of who paid for it. A registered prenuptial agreement can vary these rules within the limits of Section 1465. Property acquired during the marriage is presumed to be Sin Somros unless proven otherwise.
How does Thai law decide which parent gets custody of the children?
The Juvenile and Family Court applies the best interests of the child standard under Sections 1520, 1521, and 1566 of the CCC, weighing emotional security, education, day-to-day care, and overall welfare. Custody can be sole or joint and can be modified later if circumstances change. For unmarried foreign fathers, parental power is established only by subsequent marriage, registration of legitimation, or court judgment under Section 1547.
Is there an automatic right to alimony in Thailand?
No. Spousal maintenance is not automatic. Section 1526 allows the court to award maintenance where the divorce is caused by the fault of the other spouse and the recipient lacks sufficient income, and the right ends on remarriage. Section 1525 separately allows compensation for loss caused by the divorce. Child support, by contrast, is a statutory duty under Section 1564 that subsists until the child is sui juris.
How does Thai inheritance tax work for foreigners?
Under the Inheritance Tax Act B.E. 2558 (2015), tax is charged only on the portion of inheritance from a single estate exceeding 100 million THB. The rate is 5% for descendants and ascendants and 10% for other heirs; the surviving spouse is exempt. The Act applies to Thai nationals, to foreigners who are tax residents in Thailand, and to non-residents in respect of assets located in Thailand. Estate planning should also consider lifetime gift tax at the same rates.
What happens if my spouse becomes violent?
The Domestic Violence Victim Protection Act B.E. 2550 (2007) allows the court to issue emergency protection orders that can remove the abuser from the home or prohibit contact, and general protection orders after a hearing. Domestic violence is also a criminal offence punishable by up to six months' imprisonment, a fine, or both, and is a statutory ground for divorce under Section 1516(3). A family lawyer will normally coordinate the protective application, the criminal complaint, and the divorce or custody proceeding together.
Will a foreign divorce or custody judgment be recognised in Thailand?
A foreign divorce decree is not directly enforceable but can be recorded against the Thai marriage register through the District Office, with supporting translation and legalisation. A foreign custody order is persuasive but not binding: the Juvenile and Family Court will exercise its own jurisdiction by reference to the best interests of the child. A foreign maintenance order generally requires fresh proceedings in Thailand for enforcement against assets or income located here.
