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.
Dernière mise à jour :
Un administrateur de succession (ผู้จัดการมรดก, phu jat kan moradok, souvent appelé le exécuteur in English-language wills) is the person who collects the deceased’s assets, pays the debts and distributes what remains to the heirs. In law a person named in a will is an administrator without any court order (Sections 1711 and 1712), but in practice banks and the Department of Business Development will not release money or register a share transfer without a Thai court’s appointment order, so the appointment is the first real step in almost every estate. The Bureau foncier is the partial exception: under section 81 of the Land Code an heir can register inherited land directly after a 30-day public notice, though with foreign heirs or foreign documents it often asks for a court order anyway.
Table des matières
Comment se déroule le rendez-vous
Sous le Code civil et commercial an administrator is either the person appointed by the will or the person appointed by the court (Section 1711). In practice both go through court: an heir, any interested person or the ministère public applies to the provincial court for the district where the deceased was domiciled, or where the assets are, asking for the appointment (Section 1713). Where the will names someone, the court normally appoints that person. Where there is no will, the court chooses among the applicants, usually the spouse or an adult child, and can appoint more than one administrator jointly.
Who cannot serve. A minor, a person of unsound mind or adjudged quasi-incompetent, and a person adjudged bankrupt are barred (Section 1718). Nationality is not a bar: foreigners are appointed routinely, though they must attend the hearing in person. The court can later remove an administrator who neglects the duties, or for another good reason, on the application of an interested person made before the distribution is complete (Section 1727).
Ce que l'administrateur doit faire
The administrator must start an inventory of the estate within 15 days of the appointment and finish it within one month, in the presence of at least two interested witnesses, and must complete the whole administration and render accounts within one year unless the will, a majority of the heirs or the court sets another period (Sections 1728, 1729 and 1732). The work is practical: obtaining the death certificate, cancelling the house registration, closing bank accounts, transferring condominiums at the Land Office, transferring vehicles and company shares, paying creditors and any Impôt sur les successions, and then distributing according to the will or the statutory order.
Documents for the petition include the death certificate, the will if any, proof of the applicant’s relationship to the deceased, house registration and identity documents, and a list of assets with title documents. Foreign documents need certified translation and légalisation. The court petition fee is a flat 200 baht plus small announcement and delivery costs; an uncontested case usually takes 3 to 6 months to the order, then about a month more for the certificate confirming no appeal, which most banks want to see. Where the will was made at a district office, the office keeps it under the Ministerial Regulation on the Making of Wills B.E. 2569, in force since 24 March 2026, or keeps a certified copy if the testator collected the original. After the death, the administrator or an heir can obtain a copy at the office where the will was made, for 50 baht.
Administrateur, exécuteur testamentaire et homologation étrangère
The English word executor describes the person a testator chooses; the Thai term covers both that person and a court-chosen one (Section 1711). A person named in a will holds the office without a court order, but in practice cannot deal with a bank or the share registry until a Thai court has appointed them. A UK grant of probate, a US letters testamentary or a Canadian certificate has no direct force in Thailand. The named executor must petition a Thai court, with the foreign will translated and legalised, and be appointed here; the guide to l'homologation d'un testament étranger en Thaïlande covers the extra steps.
The common mistake is a family assuming a Thai wife or a named friend can walk into the bank with the will. They cannot, and a delay of a year while nobody applies can leave utility bills unpaid and a condominium at risk of arrears. Naming a willing, capable administrator in the will, and telling that person where the original is kept, shortens the whole process.
Last reviewed: 30 September 2026. Civil and Commercial Code sections 1711 to 1713, 1718 and 1727 to 1732 and Land Code section 81 were read in the Thai text. Corrected: a person named in a will holds the office without a court order (the court order is a practical requirement of banks and registries, not a legal one), heirs can register inherited land directly under Land Code section 81, and the one-year period and removal rules were restated. Durations and fees are practice estimates.
Foire aux questions
Un étranger peut-il être administrateur de succession en Thaïlande ?
Oui. L'article 1718 exclut uniquement les mineurs, les personnes mentalement incapables ou quasi-incapable, et les faillis non réhabilités. Les étrangers sont nommés régulièrement, mais doivent assister en personne à l'audience du tribunal et auront besoin d'une traduction en thaï de tout document étranger.
Combien de temps faut-il pour nommer un administrateur de succession en Thaïlande ?
Une requête non contestée prend généralement 3 à 6 mois entre le dépôt et l'ordonnance du tribunal, plus environ un mois pour le certificat confirmant l'absence d'appel. Les affaires contestées, ou celles qui reposent sur un testament étranger devant être traduit et légalisé, prennent considérablement plus de temps.
Quelle est la différence entre un exécuteur testamentaire et un administrateur de succession ?
In Thai law both are the same office, phu jat kan moradok. An executor is simply the administrator the testator named in the will; in law they hold the office under the will itself, but banks and the share registry insist on a court appointment in practice, so the named person applies for one before dealing with bank accounts or shares. Where there is no will, the court appoints an administrator on an heir’s application.
Voir aussi : succession, domaine, héritier légal, testament, et les guides sur Administration des successions et des biens en Thaïlande ET rédiger un testament en Thaïlande.
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