{"id":3220,"date":"2026-08-03T08:44:19","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T01:44:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/thai-inheritance-claims-after-one-year-dika-284-2569\/"},"modified":"2026-09-28T04:05:52","modified_gmt":"2026-09-27T21:05:52","slug":"thai-inheritance-claims-after-one-year-dika-284-2569","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/thai-inheritance-claims-after-one-year-dika-284-2569\/","title":{"rendered":"R\u00e9clamations d'h\u00e9ritage en Tha\u00eflande apr\u00e8s un an : Dika 284\/2569"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/glossary\/supreme-court-dika\/\">Supreme Court<\/a> Decision (Dika) No. 284\/2569, published in late July 2026, answers a question our firm hears constantly from heirs: &#8220;It has been more than a year, is it too late to claim my Thai inheritance?&#8221; The Court&#8217;s answer: not when the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/glossary\/estate\/\">estate<\/a> administrator has been dealing with estate property for her own benefit. This article explains the decision, the one-year prescription rule in Section 1754 of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/glossary\/thai-civil-and-commercial-code\/\">Civil and Commercial Code<\/a>, and the powerful exception in Section 1748 that kept the heirs&#8217; claim alive more than two decades after the deceased passed away.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rank-math-toc-block\" id=\"rank-math-toc\"><h2>Table of Contents<\/h2><nav><ul><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#the-facts-of-dika-284-2569-an-estate-administrator-who-kept-the-land\">The facts of Dika 284\/2569: an estate administrator who kept the land<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#the-one-year-rule-section-1754-of-the-civil-and-commercial-code\">The one-year rule: Section 1754 of the Civil and Commercial Code<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#the-exception-that-saved-the-heirs-section-1748\">The exception that saved the heirs: Section 1748<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#no-disinheritance-under-section-1605-a-note-of-caution-both-ways\">No disinheritance under Section 1605, a note of caution both ways<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#why-this-decision-matters-to-foreigners-and-cross-border-families\">Why this decision matters to foreigners and cross-border families<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#practical-lessons-for-heirs-and-administrators\">Practical lessons for heirs and administrators<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#frequently-asked-questions\">Frequently asked questions<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"the-facts-of-dika-284-2569-an-estate-administrator-who-kept-the-land\">The facts of Dika 284\/2569: an estate administrator who kept the land<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The deceased, Mr. Perm, died in December 1993. He had seven children, three of whom died before him, two of them leaving descendants who inherit in their place. One of the children, Ms. Anong, was appointed estate administrator by the court in 1994 and took the land into her name as administrator in 1995. Twenty years later, in July 2015, instead of distributing the disputed plot among the heirs as the law requires, she registered it in her own name personally. From there, the land moved through a chain of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/glossary\/gift\/\">gift<\/a> transfers and ended in the hands of the defendant, himself one of the heirs, who subdivided the land and sold part of it for 3,000,000 baht.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The other heirs sued, asking the court to order the land back into the estate and to recover the sale proceeds. The defendant raised two classic defences: first, that the claim was time-barred under Section 1754 of the Civil and Commercial Code (the one-year <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/glossary\/prescription\/\">prescription period<\/a> for inheritance claims); and on their side the heirs asked the court to exclude the defendant from the inheritance altogether under Section 1605 for concealing or misappropriating estate property, which the trial court and the Court of Appeal did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"the-chain-of-transfers\">The chain of transfers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table>\n<thead>\n<tr><th>Step<\/th><th>Transfer<\/th><th>Legal character<\/th><\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr><td>1<\/td><td>Mr. Perm dies (1993); land devolves on 7 heirs<\/td><td>Succession opens, CCC Section 1599<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td>2<\/td><td>Ms. Anong, estate administrator, registers the land in her own name<\/td><td>Administration act, not a distribution<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td>3<\/td><td>Ms. Anong transfers the land by gift to Ms. Saovalak<\/td><td>Gratuitous transfer of estate property<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td>4<\/td><td>After the defendant files a criminal complaint against both women, Ms. Saovalak transfers the land to the defendant (an heir), registered as a gift (2018)<\/td><td>Gratuitous transfer of estate property<\/td><\/tr>\n<tr><td>5<\/td><td>Defendant subdivides and sells part of the land for THB 3,000,000<\/td><td>Disposal of estate property<\/td><\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"the-one-year-rule-section-1754-of-the-civil-and-commercial-code\">The one-year rule: Section 1754 of the Civil and Commercial Code<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Section 1754 CCC bars an action concerning inheritance brought by an heir more than one year after the death, or after the heir knew (or ought to have known) of the death, with an absolute outer limit of ten years from the death. On paper, a claim filed decades after a 1993 death looks hopeless. Estate administrators, and people who receive property from them, frequently rely on this section to shut heirs out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"the-exception-that-saved-the-heirs-section-1748\">The exception that saved the heirs: Section 1748<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Supreme Court held the claim was <strong>not<\/strong> time-barred. Under Section 1748 CCC, an heir who is in possession of estate property that has <em>not yet been distributed<\/em> may demand partition of that property even after the one-year period in Section 1754 has expired. The key legal move in Dika 284\/2569 is this: when an estate administrator registers estate land in her own name and passes it around by gift instead of distributing it to the heirs, the administration of the estate is not lawfully completed, and the property is still treated as undistributed estate property. The administrator holds it, in effect, on behalf of all the heirs, so the prescription clock in Section 1754 does not defeat the co-heirs&#8217; right to demand their shares.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Court also relied on Section 1719 (the administrator&#8217;s rights and duties to administer and distribute the estate): an administrator appointed by the court holds estate land on behalf of the other heirs, so a transfer to herself personally is not a good-faith distribution and does not complete the administration. Because the land and the sale money were still undistributed estate property under administration, the heirs could sue for partition although the one-year period had passed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"no-disinheritance-under-section-1605-a-note-of-caution-both-ways\">No disinheritance under Section 1605, a note of caution both ways<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Interestingly, the Supreme Court reversed the lower court on one point in the defendant&#8217;s favour: he was <strong>not<\/strong> excluded from the succession under Section 1605, which strips an heir who fraudulently conceals or misappropriates estate property of his status as heir (entirely, or in proportion to what was taken). The reason was the defendant&#8217;s state of mind. He had obtained the land through the settlement of his own criminal complaint, nobody recorded that he was to hold it for all the heirs, and he understood that the administration was finished and the land was his. Section 1605 requires fraud or knowledge that the other heirs are being prejudiced, and that was not shown. The practical result: the defendant kept his own inheritance share, but had to (1) transfer the remaining land back into the estate for distribution, and (2) return 2,500,000 baht, five-sixths of the 3,000,000 baht sale proceeds, corresponding to the other heirs&#8217; shares, to the estate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"why-this-decision-matters-to-foreigners-and-cross-border-families\">Why this decision matters to foreigners and cross-border families<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Our firm regularly acts for foreign heirs, children living abroad, foreign spouses of Thai nationals, and expats inheriting Thai assets. This decision matters to them for three reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Distance invites self-dealing.<\/strong> When heirs live in Europe, North America or Australia, a locally appointed administrator (often a Thai relative) controls the paperwork at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/glossary\/land-office\/\">Land Office<\/a>. Heirs abroad frequently discover years later that estate land was quietly registered in the administrator&#8217;s name. Dika 284\/2569 confirms that discovery years later is not necessarily fatal to a claim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Gift transfers give no shelter.<\/strong> Each onward transfer of the plot in this case was a gift, and the Court treated the land as still undistributed estate property in the defendant&#8217;s hands. The part the defendant had sold to outside buyers stayed with them; he returned the sale money instead. Family members who receive estate land &#8220;for free&#8221; from an administrator should expect to give it back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The one-year rule is not the end of the analysis.<\/strong> Many potential clients are wrongly told that Thai inheritance claims simply die after one year. The correct question is whether the estate was ever properly administered and distributed. If not, Section 1748 and the rules on undistributed estate property keep the door open. For the general framework, see our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/thailand-inheritance-guide-for-foreigners\/\">complete guide to inheritance law in Thailand for foreigners<\/a> and our step-by-step guide to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/probate-in-thailand-estate-administration\/\">probate and estate administration in Thailand<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"practical-lessons-for-heirs-and-administrators\">Practical lessons for heirs and administrators<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"if-you-are-an-heir\">If you are an heir<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Obtain copies of the title deeds and check the current registered owner at the Land Office; do not rely on family assurances. If the administrator has registered estate property in his or her own name, demand distribution in writing and consult a lawyer promptly, while Section 1748 helped these heirs, litigation decades after the fact is far harder and more expensive than acting early. If there is no will, understand who inherits by law: our article on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/if-you-die-without-a-will-in-thailand\/\">dying without a will in Thailand<\/a> explains the six classes of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/glossary\/statutory-heir\/\">statutory heirs<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"if-you-are-or-will-appoint-an-estate-administrator\">If you are (or will appoint) an estate administrator<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An administrator who transfers estate property to herself outside a lawful distribution is exposed to civil claims with no practical prescription shelter, removal by the court, and in serious cases criminal liability for misappropriation. Foreigners making a Thai will should also choose their executor with this case in mind, see our review of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/last-will-in-thailand\/supreme-court-decisions-last-will-thailand\/\">10 Thai Supreme Court decisions every foreigner making a will should know<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Last reviewed: 28 September 2026.<\/strong> Supreme Court decision 284\/2569 was read in Thai to its disposition, with Civil and Commercial Code sections 1599, 1605, 1719, 1745, 1748, 1754 and 1755. The published text of the judgment also cites a section 1784, which does not exist in the Code; this article does not rely on it. Statements about foreign heirs and criminal liability of administrators are general practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"frequently-asked-questions\">Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n\n\n<div id=\"rank-math-faq\" class=\"rank-math-block\">\n<div class=\"rank-math-list \">\n<div id=\"faq-question-1788700000000\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">Is there a deadline to claim an inheritance in Thailand?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>Yes. Section 1754 CCC generally requires inheritance actions within one year of the death (or knowledge of it), capped at ten years. But where estate property was never lawfully distributed, for example because the administrator kept it, Section 1748 allows heirs to demand partition even after those periods.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-question-1788700000001\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">What happens if a Thai estate administrator transfers property to themselves?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>The transfer does not complete the administration. The property remains estate property held for all heirs, and the heirs can sue to bring it back into the estate even from a later holder, as they did in Dika 284\/2569.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-question-1788700000002\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">Can an heir who misuses estate property lose their inheritance?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>Section 1605 CCC excludes an heir who fraudulently conceals or misappropriates estate property, wholly or partly. However, the courts apply this sanction restrictively, in Dika 284\/2569 the defendant heir was not excluded, though he had to return the land and most of the sale money.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-question-1788700000003\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">Can a foreigner bring an inheritance claim in a Thai court?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>Yes. Foreign heirs have standing before Thai courts and can act through a Thai lawyer under a power of attorney without necessarily travelling to Thailand. Whether a foreigner can keep inherited land long-term is a separate question, see our guide on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/thailand-inheritance-guide-for-foreigners\/\">inheritance law for foreigners<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-question-1788700000004\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">Does it matter that the property was given away rather than sold?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>Yes. Recipients by gift are not protected as purchasers in good faith for value, so estate property that moved by gift is much easier to claw back into the estate.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\", \"@graph\": [{\"@type\": \"Article\", \"headline\": \"Thai Inheritance Claims After One Year: Dika 284\/2569\", \"author\": {\"@type\": \"Person\", \"name\": \"Sebastien H. Brousseau\"}, \"publisher\": {\"@type\": \"Organization\", \"name\": \"ThaiLawOnline\"}, \"datePublished\": \"2026-08-03\", \"about\": [\"Thai inheritance law\", \"estate administration Thailand\", \"Section 1754 Civil and Commercial Code\", \"Supreme Court Decision 284\/2569\"]}]}<\/script>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>This article was written and reviewed by Sebastien H. Brousseau, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/glossary\/ll-b\/\">LL.B<\/a>., <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/glossary\/b-sc\/\">B.Sc<\/a>., who has practised law in Thailand since 2006. If you are an heir to a Thai estate, suspect an administrator is mishandling estate property, or need help planning your own Thai succession, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/contact-us\/\">contact ThaiLawOnline<\/a> for a consultation in English or French.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Disclaimer: this article is general legal information based on a published Supreme Court decision summary, not legal advice. Outcomes depend on the specific facts of each case; consult a qualified Thai lawyer about your situation.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>La d\u00e9cision 284\/2569 de la Cour supr\u00eame permet aux demandes de succession en Tha\u00eflande d'aller de l'avant apr\u00e8s le d\u00e9lai de prescription d'un an lorsqu'un administrateur de succession s'adonne \u00e0 des transactions pour son propre compte. Ce que les h\u00e9ritiers doivent savoir.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4228,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","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 inheritance claims after one year","rank_math_title":"","rank_math_description":"Explore Thai inheritance claims after one year, estate administrators and the issues examined in Supreme Court Decision 284\/2569.","rank_math_breadcrumb_title":"Thai Inheritance Claims After One Year","rank_math_canonical_url":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3220","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-family-law","pmpro-has-access"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3220","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"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=3220"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3220\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8799,"href":"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3220\/revisions\/8799"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4228"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3220"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3220"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thailawonline.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3220"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}