Révisé par ThaiLawOnline, un cabinet d'avocats thaïlandais agréé exerçant en Thaïlande depuis 2006. Avocate thaïlandaise en charge du dossier : Wichuda Atthamethakon, LL.M., licence du barreau thaïlandais 3149/2556.
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A Contrat prénuptial (สัญญาก่อนสมรส, sanya kon somrot, aussi écrit contrat prénuptial or simply contrat prénuptial) is a contract between two people about to marry that fixes how their property will be classified and managed during the marriage, governed by Sections 1465 to 1467 of the Thai Code civil et commercial. It is the only instrument Thai law offers to depart from the default rules on sans sommeil and sin suan tua. Its distinctive feature is procedural: it must be entered in the marriage register on the wedding day, or it is void.
Table des matières
Ce qu'exige le Code civil et commercial
Article 1466 sets the formal conditions. The agreement must be in writing, signed by both future spouses and at least two witnesses, and registered with the marriage at the district office (amphur), where it is noted on the marriage register (Kor Ror 2). An agreement signed weeks earlier but not presented at the marriage registration is void. A Thai text is filed; couples usually prepare a bilingual version in advance rather than rely on a translation done at the counter.
Article 1465 limits the content. The agreement deals with property only. Clauses about fidelity, household duties or behaviour have no place in it, and a clause submitting the spouses’ property relations to a foreign law is void, although only the offending clause is severed. Once registered, Article 1467 prevents any alteration except with court authorisation. Agreements signed after the wedding are a different creature: under Section 1469 either spouse can cancel them at will during the marriage or within one year of its end, which is why a contrat postnuptial offers far weaker protection.
Points pratiques pour un étranger se mariant en Thaïlande
The agreement is signed before the wedding date and brought to the amphur together with the passports, the embassy affirmation of freedom to marry and its certified translation. Some district offices want to see the text a few days ahead so the registrar can check it. A realistic timeline from first instructions to registration is two to three weeks, compressible to about a week in urgent cases.
The usual mistakes are signing without two witnesses, arriving at the amphur without the Thai text, adding a choice-of-law clause copied from a foreign template, and trying to amend the terms after marriage by private agreement. Couples with assets abroad often need a second, coordinated instrument under the law of the home country, because Thai registration does not by itself guarantee enforcement in England, Australia or the United States; see the guide on whether a Thai prenuptial agreement holds up abroad.
Ce que l'accord change en cas de divorce
Without an agreement, property acquired during the marriage is sin somros and is split equally under Section 1533 at divorce, while assets owned before the marriage, and inheritances and cadeaux received during it, remain sin suan tua under Section 1471. A prenuptial agreement lets the spouses redraw those lines: salaries, a business or a specific condominium can be kept as personal property, or one spouse can be given sole management of certain assets.
It cannot decide child garde à vue, child support or spousal maintenance, which the court assesses at the time of the divorce, and it does not bind third parties who deal with the couple in good faith without knowing its terms. Where the Thai spouse will hold land, a registered prenuptial agreement is often paired with a usufruct or other registered right.
Foire aux questions
Un étranger peut-il signer un contrat de mariage en Thaïlande ?
Oui. N'importe quel couple enregistrant un mariage en Thaïlande, qu'il soit composé de deux étrangers ou d'un Thaïlandais et d'un étranger, peut enregistrer un contrat de mariage en même temps. Le texte déposé à l'amphur doit être en thaï, les étrangers signent donc généralement une version bilingue et viennent avec un traducteur ou un interprète le jour même.
Un contrat de mariage est-il valide en Thaïlande s'il n'a pas été enregistré en même temps que le mariage ?
Non. L'article 1466 du Code civil et commercial rend nul tout contrat de mariage non enregistré. Un accord signé après le mariage est traité comme un accord entre époux en vertu de l'article 1469 et peut être annulé par l'un ou l'autre des époux à tout moment pendant le mariage ou dans l'année suivant sa fin.
Un accord prénuptial thaïlandais peut-il choisir une loi étrangère ?
No. Section 1465 provides that a clause making the spouses’ property relations subject to the law of another country is void. The rest of the agreement survives, but a couple with assets abroad usually needs a separate agreement drafted under the law of the country where those assets sit.
Voir aussi : sans sommeil, péché suan tua, contrat postnuptial, marriage certificate (Kor Ror 3), et les guides complets pour contrats prénuptiaux en Thaïlande ET what not to include in a Thai prenuptial agreement.
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