{"id":3311,"date":"2026-08-06T17:10:29","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T10:10:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/thai-will-and-foreign-will\/"},"modified":"2026-09-05T19:27:48","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T12:27:48","slug":"thai-will-and-foreign-will","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/thai-will-and-foreign-will\/","title":{"rendered":"Do You Need a Thai Will AND a Will at Home? Conflict of Law Guide (2026)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"tlo-answer-box\" style=\"border-left:5px solid #1a7f4b;background:#f4faf6;padding:20px 22px;margin:0 0 26px;border-radius:6px;\">\n<p style=\"margin-top:0;\"><strong>R\u00e9ponse courte :<\/strong> in almost every case, yes. You want a Thai will covering your Thai assets and a home-country will covering everything else, each expressly limited to its own territory so that neither cancels the other. Thai immovable property is the decisive point: under Section 37 of the Act on Conflict of Laws B.E. 2481, succession to immovable property is governed by the law of the place where the property is located, so your Thai condominium or land is governed by Thai law no matter what your will at home says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"tlo-hublink wp-block-paragraph\">How the two wills interact depends on the Thai succession rules described in our guide to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/thailand-inheritance-guide-for-foreigners\/\">le droit des successions en Tha\u00eflande<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"margin-bottom:0;\">The trap that catches people is the revocation clause. A later will at home that says <em>\u201cI hereby revoke all former wills\u201d<\/em> can revoke your Thai will too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This page explains which country&#8217;s law actually applies to which part of your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/glossary\/estate\/\">domaine<\/a>, where the two documents collide, and how the scoping should be drafted. For the mechanics of making the Thai one, see <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/last-will-in-thailand\/\">R\u00e9diger un testament en Tha\u00eflande<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rank-math-toc-block\" id=\"rank-math-toc\"><h2>Table des mati\u00e8res<\/h2><nav><ul><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#which-law-applies\">Which Country&#8217;s Law Applies to What<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#revocation-trap\">Le pi\u00e8ge de la r\u00e9vocation<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#why-separate-will-faster\">Pourquoi un testament tha\u00eflandais s\u00e9par\u00e9 est plus rapide, m\u00eame lorsque le testament \u00e9tranger est valide<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#civil-law\">Si vous \u00eates fran\u00e7ais, belge, suisse ou qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#practical-rule\">La r\u00e8gle pratique<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#faq\">Testament tha\u00eflandais et testament \u00e9tranger : FAQ<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"which-law-applies\">Which Country&#8217;s Law Applies to What<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thailand does not simply apply Thai law to everything. It has a dedicated statute for this, the <strong>Loi sur les conflits de lois de l'\u00e8re bouddhique 2481<\/strong>, and its succession provisions decide the question. Thai courts do apply it to foreign estates: in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/glossary\/supreme-court-dika\/\">Cour supr\u00eame<\/a> decision 4027\/2545, the powers of the administrator of the estate of a British national, appointed by an English court, were determined under this Act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table>\n<thead><tr><th>Question<\/th><th>Gouvern\u00e9 par<\/th><th>Autorit\u00e9<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr><td>Succession to <strong>immeuble<\/strong> property (land, condominium unit, buildings)<\/td><td>The law of the place where the property is located, so Thai law for Thai property<\/td><td>Article 37<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td>Succession to <strong>movable<\/strong> property (bank accounts, vehicles, shares, personal effects), by will or by statute<\/td><td>The law of the deceased&#8217;s <strong>domicile<\/strong> at the time of death<\/td><td>Article 38<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td>Whether you were <strong>capable<\/strong> of making a will<\/td><td>The law of your <strong>nationalit\u00e9<\/strong> at the time you made it<\/td><td>Article 39<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td>Whether the will is in a valid <strong>form<\/strong><\/td><td>Either the law of your nationality, or the law of the country where you made it<\/td><td>Article 40<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Effect and interpretation<\/strong> of the will, and its invalidity<\/td><td>The law of your domicile at the time of death<\/td><td>Article 41<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td><strong>Revocation<\/strong> of a will<\/td><td>The law of your domicile at the time of the revocation<\/td><td>Article 42<\/td><\/tr>\n<\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two consequences follow immediately, and they are the reason a single will rarely works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>First, your Thai property is not portable.<\/strong> Section 37 attaches immovable property to Thai law permanently. You cannot draft around it in a foreign will, and no foreign court order transfers a Thai <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/glossary\/chanote\/\">chanote<\/a> by itself. The Thai <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/glossary\/land-office\/\">bureau des hypoth\u00e8ques<\/a> acts on a Thai court order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Second, domicile does a lot of work.<\/strong> Under Sections 38 and 41, your movable assets and the interpretation of your will follow your domicile at death, which is a question of fact, not of which visa you hold. A long-term expat who has genuinely made Thailand their permanent home may be domiciled in Thailand even while holding a foreign passport. That is exactly the kind of point that gets litigated when the family disagrees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Note in passing that <strong>Section 1667 of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/glossary\/thai-civil-and-commercial-code\/\">Code civil et commercial<\/a> is often miscited on this subject<\/strong>. Its Thai text opens with <em>\u201c\u0e04\u0e19\u0e43\u0e19\u0e1a\u0e31\u0e07\u0e04\u0e31\u0e1a\u0e2a\u0e22\u0e32\u0e21\u201d<\/em>, Siamese subjects. It governs Thai nationals making a will abroad. It is not the provision that validates a foreigner&#8217;s foreign will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"revocation-trap\">Le pi\u00e8ge de la r\u00e9vocation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is the single most damaging drafting mistake we see, and it is almost always accidental.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Standard will precedents in England, Australia, Canada and the United States open with a sweeping revocation: <em>I revoke all wills and testamentary dispositions previously made by me.<\/em> If you sign your Thai will in March and a new will at home in November, that November clause can revoke the Thai will you paid for in March. Nobody at the solicitor&#8217;s office in your home country knows the Thai will exists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The reverse happens too. A Thai will with an unrestricted revocation clause, signed after a carefully constructed home-country will, can undo years of estate planning at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The fix is not complicated, but it has to be deliberate. Each will should:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Limit its own scope by territory.<\/strong> The Thai will disposes only of assets situated in Thailand. The home-country will disposes only of assets situated outside Thailand.<\/li>\n\n<li><strong>Limit its revocation clause to match.<\/strong> &#8220;I revoke all prior wills <em>in so far as they relate to my assets in Thailand<\/em>&#8220;, not &#8220;all prior wills&#8221;.<\/li>\n\n<li><strong>Acknowledge the other will exists.<\/strong> Each document should state that the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/glossary\/testator\/\">testateur<\/a> has made, or intends to make, a separate will covering the other territory, and that neither is intended to revoke the other.<\/li>\n\n<li><strong>Be dated and coordinated.<\/strong> Both lawyers should know about both documents. This costs nothing and prevents the entire problem.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Section 42 adds a wrinkle worth knowing: whether a revocation worked at all is judged by the law of your domicile <em>at the time of the revocation<\/em>. If you have moved countries between the two wills, the analysis changes with you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"why-separate-will-faster\">Pourquoi un testament tha\u00eflandais s\u00e9par\u00e9 est plus rapide, m\u00eame lorsque le testament \u00e9tranger est valide<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A foreign will can be recognised in Thailand. The problem is practical rather than legal, and it is measured in months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To use a foreign will in a Thai <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/glossary\/probate\/\">succession<\/a>, your family generally has to produce the original or a certified copy, have it translated into Thai, have the translation and the foreign documents legalised, prove the foreign law under which the will was made, and then persuade a Thai court to appoint an administrator. Every one of those steps is a hearing date, a fee, and a delay, during which the Thai bank account is frozen and the condominium cannot be transferred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A short Thai will covering only Thai assets skips all of it. The document is already in Thai, already in the local form, and the court is being asked a question it answers every day. We cover the foreign route in detail in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/probate-foreign-will-thailand\/\">l'homologation d'un testament \u00e9tranger en Tha\u00eflande<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"civil-law\">Si vous \u00eates fran\u00e7ais, belge, suisse ou qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Civil law jurisdictions add a complication that common law expats do not face: <strong>forced heirship<\/strong>. French law reserves a portion of the estate for children, the <em>r\u00e9serve h\u00e9r\u00e9ditaire<\/em>, and a French notaire will apply that regime to the estate they administer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thailand has no forced heirship. Thai law lets you disinherit your children if you choose to, subject only to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/glossary\/statutory-heir\/\">h\u00e9ritiers l\u00e9gaux<\/a>&#8216; rights where there is no will at all. So for the same person, the same asset can be treated very differently depending on which country&#8217;s law applies to it. Under Section 37 your Thai immovable property is governed by Thai law and is outside the reserve as a matter of Thai law. What your home jurisdiction does about that when settling the rest of the estate is a question for a lawyer there, and the two need to be planned together rather than discovered afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We work in English, French and Thai, which is precisely why this comes up in our practice regularly. See also our French page, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/testament-thailande\/\">testament en Tha\u00eflande<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"practical-rule\">La r\u00e8gle pratique<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>One will per country where you hold assets<\/strong>, each scoped to that country&#8217;s assets only.<\/li>\n\n<li><strong>No unrestricted revocation clauses<\/strong> in any of them.<\/li>\n\n<li><strong>Tell each lawyer about the other will<\/strong>, and keep a note with each original saying where the other one is.<\/li>\n\n<li><strong>Review after every move, marriage, divorce or major purchase.<\/strong> Domicile can shift under Sections 38 and 41 without you noticing, and a divorce does not automatically remove a former spouse from a Thai will.<\/li>\n\n<li><strong>Keep the Thai will short.<\/strong> It only has to deal with Thai assets. Ours are typically nine to twelve pages, bilingual, at a fixed 3,900 THB.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"faq\">Testament tha\u00eflandais et testament \u00e9tranger : FAQ<\/h2>\n\n\n<div id=\"rank-math-faq\" class=\"rank-math-block\">\n<div class=\"rank-math-list\">\n<div id=\"faq-two-wills-need\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question\"><strong>Ai-je besoin d'un testament tha\u00eflandais si j'ai d\u00e9j\u00e0 un testament dans mon pays d'origine ?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer\">\n\n<p>Si vous poss\u00e9dez des avoirs en Tha\u00eflande, la r\u00e9ponse est oui dans la quasi-totalit\u00e9 des cas. Votre testament \u00e9tranger sera probablement reconnu juridiquement, mais son utilisation en Tha\u00eflande implique une traduction, une l\u00e9galisation, une preuve de la loi \u00e9trang\u00e8re et une nomination par un tribunal tha\u00eflandais, ce qui ajoute syst\u00e9matiquement des mois de d\u00e9lai pendant lesquels le compte bancaire tha\u00eflandais est gel\u00e9. Un testament tha\u00eflandais succinct ne couvrant que vos actifs en Tha\u00eflande \u00e9limine enti\u00e8rement ce probl\u00e8me. C'est \u00e9galement le seul moyen pratique de traiter les biens immobiliers tha\u00eflandais, que l'article 37 de la loi sur les conflits de lois rattache au droit tha\u00eflandais, quelle que soit votre nationalit\u00e9.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-revoke\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question\"><strong>Mon nouveau testament \u00e9tabli chez moi annulera-t-il mon testament tha\u00eflandais ?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer\">\n\n<p>Cela est possible, et c'est l'accident le plus courant dans la planification successorale transfrontali\u00e8re. La plupart des mod\u00e8les standard commencent par r\u00e9voquer tous les testaments ant\u00e9rieurs. Si votre testament dans votre pays d'origine est sign\u00e9 plus tard et contient cette clause sans restriction, il peut r\u00e9voquer votre testament tha\u00eflandais. Les deux documents doivent limiter leurs clauses de r\u00e9vocation par territoire et se reconna\u00eetre express\u00e9ment l'un l'autre.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-which-law\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question\"><strong>Which country&#8217;s law decides who inherits my Thai condo?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer\">\n\n<p>Thai law. Section 37 of the Act on Conflict of Laws B.E. 2481 provides that succession to immovable property is governed by the law of the place where the property is located. A condominium unit in Thailand is immovable property, so Thai succession law applies to it whatever your nationality or domicile, and whatever your foreign will says.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-bank-account\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question\"><strong>What about my Thai bank account and my car?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer\">\n\n<p>Those are movable property, and under Section 38 succession to movables is governed by the law of the domicile of the deceased at the time of death, not by where the asset sits. Domicile is a question of fact about where your permanent home really is, so a long-term expat may be domiciled in Thailand while still holding a foreign passport. Because it is arguable, it is worth settling in advance rather than leaving it to your family to litigate.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-forced-heirship\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question\"><strong>I am French. Does the r\u00e9serve h\u00e9r\u00e9ditaire apply to my Thai property?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer\">\n\n<p>As a matter of Thai law, succession to your Thai immovable property is governed by Thai law under Section 37, and Thailand has no forced heirship. How your French notaire treats that when settling the rest of your estate is a question for a French lawyer, and the two sides need to be planned together. This is a situation where taking advice in both countries before signing anything is genuinely cheaper than fixing it afterwards.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-section-1667\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question\"><strong>Does Section 1667 make my foreign will valid in Thailand?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer\">\n\n<p>No, and it is widely miscited on this point. The Thai text of Section 1667 of the Civil and Commercial Code begins with \u0e04\u0e19\u0e43\u0e19\u0e1a\u0e31\u0e07\u0e04\u0e31\u0e1a\u0e2a\u0e22\u0e32\u0e21, Siamese subjects, so it deals with Thai nationals making a will in a foreign country. For a foreigner, the questions of capacity and form are answered by Sections 39 and 40 of the Act on Conflict of Laws B.E. 2481.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"tlo-uplink\" style=\"border-left:5px solid #1a7f4b;background:#f4faf6;padding:18px 20px;margin:28px 0;border-radius:6px;\">\n<p style=\"margin:0;\"><strong>Getting the two wills scoped properly is drafting work, not form-filling.<\/strong> A bilingual Thai will is a fixed 3,900 THB, and a consultation on a cross-border estate is 2,000 THB. Start with our guide to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/last-will-in-thailand\/\">R\u00e9diger un testament en Tha\u00eflande<\/a>, ou <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/last-will-maker\/\">order a lawyer-drafted will<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:0.95em;color:#555;\">\u00c9crit par <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/our-team\/\">Mr. Sebastien H. Brousseau, LL.B., B.Sc.<\/a>, Bar of Quebec, 30 years in law and 20 years practising in Thailand. Statutory references are to the Act on Conflict of Laws B.E. 2481 and the Civil and Commercial Code. This is general legal information, not advice on your situation.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Short answer: in almost every case, yes. You want a Thai will covering your Thai assets and a home-country will [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":"","rank_math_focus_keyword":"thai will and foreign will","rank_math_title":"Thai Will and Foreign Will: Do You Need Both? (2026)","rank_math_description":"Which country's law governs your Thai estate, the revocation clause that cancels your Thai will by accident, and how to scope two wills so they work together.","rank_math_breadcrumb_title":"Thai Will and Foreign Will","rank_math_canonical_url":""},"class_list":["post-3311","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","pmpro-has-access"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3311","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3311"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3311\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6785,"href":"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3311\/revisions\/6785"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}