A Thai law firm for foreigners since 2006. 5,300+ client matters. Thai lawyer of record: Wichuda Atthamethakon, LL.M., Thai Bar Licence 3149/2556. English, Thai and French. We answer within 24 to 48 hours.
Reviewed by ThaiLawOnline, a licensed Thai law firm practising in Thailand since 2006. Thai lawyer of record: Wichuda Atthamethakon, LL.M., Thai Bar Licence 3149/2556.
Last updated on
A Thai law firm for foreigners since 2006. 5,300+ client matters. Thai lawyer of record: Wichuda Atthamethakon, LL.M., Thai Bar Licence 3149/2556. English, Thai and French. We answer within 24 to 48 hours.
I am Sébastien Brousseau, and I run ThaiLawOnline. I am not a Thai lawyer. The Thai court work on our divorce files is done by our Thai lawyers. What I do is make sure you understand every step in English or French, and that nothing gets lost between you, the registrar and the judge.
We help expatriates with divorce agreements, child arrangements and property disputes in Bangkok. Start with a one hour consultation for 2,000 baht.
When you first write to us, tell us five things. Where the marriage was registered. Whether you both agree to divorce. Where each of you lives now. Whether there are children or property. And any hearing date or deadline you already have. Contact our team for an appointment, or read our published fees and service scope.
Table of Contents
Why the language matters in a Thai divorce
A small translation error can delay a case. A misunderstanding about a court rule can cost you part of your share of marital property or make custody harder. Advice has to come from the Civil and Commercial Code, and it has to reach you in a language you actually read. The Code is one thing; how a particular district office or judge applies it is another, and that only comes from being there.
Two ways to divorce in Thailand
At the district office
When you both agree on everything, including property and children, an administrative divorce is the fastest and cheapest way. It is done at the district office, called the Khet in Bangkok or the Amphoe elsewhere. You both bring your passports, the marriage certificate, and a bilingual agreement if there are children or assets. You sign before the registrar, finish the paperwork in one visit, and pay small fees.
In court
If your spouse will not cooperate, or you disagree about custody or money, you file a lawsuit. In Bangkok that is the Central Juvenile and Family Court; elsewhere, the right provincial court. The judge usually orders mediation first. If that fails, the case goes to trial: witnesses testify, evidence is reviewed, and the judge decides. A contested or partly contested case often takes six to eighteen months.
Talk through both routes with us before you choose.
Property, children and maintenance
Property is split between Sin Somros, marital property, and Sin Suan Tua, personal property. We list your assets with you and back each claim with bank transfers, receipts or witness statements. Then we negotiate a split or argue it in court.
For children, the test is the child’s best interests. A parenting plan should cover where the child lives day to day, schools, visitation times and support payments, based on real needs and each parent’s income.
Spousal maintenance is rarer in Thailand than in most Western countries. Under the court’s power to order spousal maintenance after divorce, the court may order a living allowance where the ground for the divorce was the fault of one spouse alone and the divorce would leave the other destitute. The ability of one and the circumstances of the other are weighed. It has to be claimed in the plaint or the counterclaim. Raise it late and the right is gone.
If you plan to live outside Thailand, you need a judgment foreign authorities will accept. We arrange certified translations of the Thai judgment and notarized copies to make recognition easier abroad.
The grounds a court will accept
The grounds for divorce in the Civil and Commercial Code are set out for a divorce action. They include adultery or keeping another partner, misconduct causing the other spouse serious shame or excessive trouble, wilful desertion for more than one year, and voluntarily living apart for more than three years.
Watch the two periods. Desertion needs more than one year, separation more than three, so a case brought at exactly three years is short. Mutual consent is not on this list at all. As divorce by mutual consent, it is the other route to divorce, done in writing before the registrar rather than decided by a judge. The ground you rely on can affect property and maintenance, so tell us the whole story, including the parts you would rather leave out.
How we work
Our team is Thai lawyers plus me, a lawyer by training from Canada, explaining every step in English or French. Fees are fixed: an uncontested administrative divorce is 9,900 baht, and court cases have their own published fees. Documents, video consultations and updates all happen online. Our Thai lawyers appear at the Central Juvenile and Family Court in Bangkok, and partner lawyers in Pattaya, Chiang Mai, Phuket and Isaan cover the rest of the country.
What happens, in order
You book a consultation, 2,000 baht per hour (book here). You gather the marriage certificate, passports, and evidence of income and assets. We draft either the bilingual agreement for the district office or the lawsuit for the court. After filing, mediation settles many disputes. If it fails, the case goes to trial, with witnesses, financial records and expert testimony. Once we have the judgment, we get certified copies and handle any embassy authentication. Then we help with asset transfers, name changes, visa updates and child support enforcement.
Frequently asked questions
How long must I be married before filing in Thailand?
There is no minimum period. What matters is a valid Thai marriage registration.
Can I file if my spouse is overseas?
Yes. Papers can be served through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and courts can allow testimony by video link.
Will my Thai prenuptial agreement hold up?
Courts usually accept a prenuptial agreement that keeps to what Thai law allows. It must be signed before the marriage and recorded in the marriage register at the moment the marriage is registered, or it is void.
Do I need to attend every hearing?
For an administrative divorce, one visit to the registrar is often enough. In a court case you can give a power of attorney and appear only when the judge asks for your personal testimony.
Talk to us
Book a consultation, 2,000 baht per hour, by calling +66 (0) 8 7225 1340, emailing info@thailawonline.com, or adding us on Line.
Last reviewed: 5 September 2026. The divorce grounds were checked against the Civil and Commercial Code itself. The Code makes divorce by mutual consent a route to divorce rather than a ground a court decides on, and that distinction is now drawn. Among the grounds for divorce in the Civil and Commercial Code, desertion requires wilful desertion for more than one year and separation requires living apart for more than three years, so the periods here are stated as the Code states them. The maintenance sentence is restated on the court’s power to order spousal maintenance after divorce, whose test is the other spouse’s fault plus destitution. Our own fees, 9,900 baht for an uncontested administrative divorce and 2,000 baht an hour for a consultation, match the fee source.
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