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 le 5 septembre 2026
A holographic will (พินัยกรรมเขียนเองทั้งฉบับ, phinaikam khian eng thang chabap, also called a handwritten will) is a will that the testator writes out entirely in their own handwriting, dates and signs, under Section 1657 of the Code civil et commercial. It needs no witnesses, no officer and no fee, which makes it the simplest of the forms Thai law recognises. It is also the easiest to attack after death, because everything turns on the handwriting, the date and whether anyone can find the paper. Thai law accepts it; anyone with a condominium, a bank account or a family to provide for should think hard before relying on it.
Table des matières
What Section 1657 requires
Three elements, all in one hand. The whole text must be written by the testator personally, the document must carry a date, and the testator must sign it. A will typed on a computer and signed by hand is not holographic; it can only stand as an ordinary witnessed will under Section 1656, which needs two witnesses present at the same time. A printed form with blanks filled in by hand fails for the same reason. No seal is needed.
Corrections. Any erasure, addition or other alteration is valid only if the testator made it in their own hand and added a date and signature next to it. A later note in someone else’s writing, or an undated crossing-out, is simply ignored, which can leave the original cadeau standing. The language is free: an English holographic will is valid, though a Thai court will need a certified translation at succession.
Points pratiques pour un étranger
The holographic will is the one form that needs no office and no witnesses, so it suits an emergency: a hospital bed, a trip abroad, a change of heart the night before surgery. It still needs to be found. There is no register of private wills in Thailand, so the original should be left with the person named as administrator or with a firm that stores it, and the family told where it is. A photocopy is not enough; the court wants the original to examine the handwriting.
The Ministerial Regulation on the Making of Wills B.E. 2569, in force since 24 March 2026, does not touch this form. It governs wills made at a district office, the public will under Section 1658, sets the 250 baht fee and allows any amphur or khet office to be used. A holographic will still costs nothing and is made anywhere. The common mistake is mixing forms: a testator who handwrites the will and then asks the partner who will inherit to sign as a witness gains nothing from the witness and, under Section 1653, loses the gift to that partner.
Where holographic wills fail in practice
Disputes about a holographic will are disputes about evidence. Was this really the testator’s handwriting? The court may order a forensic comparison against letters, forms and bank documents, and a foreigner who wrote little by hand while in Thailand leaves few samples. Was it dated? An undated document is not a valid holographic will at all. Was there a later one? Because the form is so easy, several versions often surface, and the latest valid one revokes the earlier ones to the extent they conflict.
Compared with a witnessed will, the holographic form trades two live witnesses who can testify to capacity and signature for a handwriting analysis after the testator is gone. Compared with a public will, it trades a certified duplicate in a government file for a single sheet of paper. For a small domaine or a stopgap it is adequate; for property, a business or a blended family, the guide on making a last will in Thailand explains why the witnessed or public form is safer.
Foire aux questions
Is a handwritten will legal in Thailand?
Yes. Section 1657 of the Civil and Commercial Code recognises a will written entirely in the testator’s own handwriting, dated and signed, with no witnesses required. It must be wholly handwritten; a typed document signed by hand is not a holographic will.
Does a holographic will in Thailand need witnesses?
No. Witnesses are not required, and adding them changes nothing legally. Be careful, though: a witness and the witness’s spouse cannot receive anything under the will, so having a beneficiary sign as a witness voids that person’s gift.
Can a foreigner write a holographic will in English for Thai assets?
Yes. The will can be in any language as long as it is entirely in the testator’s hand, dated and signed. The estate administrator will need a certified Thai translation when applying to the court, and the original document must be produced.
Voir aussi : volonté, testator, public will, secret will, and the guides on making a last will in Thailand et le Thai will template.
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