Reviewed by ThaiLawOnline, a licensed Thai law firm practising in Thailand since 2006. Thai lawyer of record: Wichuda Atthamethakon, LL.M., Thai Bar Licence 3149/2556.
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Intestacy (การตายโดยไม่มีพินัยกรรม, kan tai doi mai mi phinaikam; a person who dies this way is said to die intestate) is the situation in which someone dies without a valid will, or with a will that does not dispose of the whole estate. The Civil and Commercial Code then distributes the estate, or the part the will did not cover, to the statutory heirs in the order fixed by Section 1629, with the surviving spouse taking the share set by Section 1635. The rules are mechanical and take no account of who was close to the deceased, who was dependent on them, or what they said they wanted.
Table of Contents
How the Code distributes an intestate estate
Section 1620 sends the estate to the statutory heirs whenever there is no will, the will is void, or the will leaves part of the property undisposed. The estate is first reduced by dividing the marital property, so a surviving spouse keeps their own half of the sin somros before inheriting anything. The remainder then goes to the nearest surviving class: descendants first, then parents, full-blood siblings, half-blood siblings, grandparents, and uncles and aunts. Parents inherit alongside children, each taking a child’s share; every other class is excluded by the class above it.
The spouse’s share depends on who else survives: an equal share with each child; half the estate where the deceased left only parents or full-blood siblings; two thirds against half-siblings, grandparents or uncles and aunts; and the whole estate where no relative in any class is alive. Where there is neither spouse nor relative, the estate passes to the State (Section 1753). An heir’s claim must be brought within one year of learning of the death (Section 1754), and in practice a court order appointing an estate administrator is usually needed before banks release anything (land can also be registered to heirs on their own application under Land Code section 81).
Where intestacy hurts foreigners
The unregistered partner. A Thai partner of many years who never registered the marriage at a district office is not a statutory heir and receives nothing. A child born outside marriage always inherits from the mother, but from the father only if he legitimated the child (legitimation by registration, marriage or court order) or acknowledged the child, which Section 1627 treats the same way and the courts accept from conduct such as supporting the child and giving the child his surname. Without either, the child takes nothing from the father. In both cases the estate goes to parents or siblings abroad who may never have visited Thailand.
The estate nobody administers. Without a will, the family must agree who applies to the court, gather birth and marriage certificates from the home country, have them legalised and translated, and prove the family tree; an intestate estate with foreign relatives commonly takes 8 to 16 months to a usable court order, against 3 to 6 with a Thai will. A foreign heir who receives land needs the Minister’s permission under section 93 of the Land Code, failing which it must be disposed of within the period the Director-General sets, between 180 days and one year (section 94). The cure is cheap: a bilingual Thai will naming an administrator removes almost all of this.
Intestacy compared with a will
| Question | Intestacy | Valid Thai will |
|---|---|---|
| Who inherits | Statutory heirs in the order of Section 1629 | Anyone the testator names, related or not |
| Unregistered partner | Nothing | Whatever the will gives |
| Who administers | Whoever the heirs agree on and the court accepts | The administrator the will names, confirmed by the court |
| Time to court order | Often 8 to 16 months | About 3 to 6 months |
Partial intestacy is the version people do not see coming. A will that leaves “my condominium” to one person and says nothing about the bank accounts leaves those accounts to the statutory heirs, and a will that names a beneficiary who has since died, without a substitute, sends that gift into intestacy too. A residuary clause covering everything not otherwise mentioned closes the gap.
Last reviewed: 27 September 2026. Civil and Commercial Code sections 1620, 1627, 1629, 1630, 1635, 1753 and 1754, Land Code sections 93 and 94, and sections 37 and 38 of the Act on Conflict of Laws B.E. 2481 were read in Thai. The timeframes for a court order are our practice experience, not statutory.
Frequently asked questions
What happens if a foreigner dies in Thailand without a will?
Land and buildings in Thailand pass under Thai law (Conflict of Laws Act B.E. 2481, section 37), but movables such as bank accounts follow the law of the deceased’s domicile at death (section 38), so for a foreigner domiciled abroad the home country’s rules may decide them. Where Thai law applies, the estate passes to the statutory heirs under Section 1629: children first (with parents taking a child’s share), then parents, siblings, grandparents and uncles and aunts, with a registered spouse sharing under Section 1635. Banks in practice release money only on a court order appointing an estate administrator. Land is different: under section 81 of the Land Code an heir can apply to the Land Office with proof of the inheritance, and the officer registers it after a 30-day public notice if nobody objects; where an heir is abroad, missing or a minor, or the heirs disagree, the court route under section 1713 is the usual one.
Does a Thai girlfriend or unregistered wife inherit under intestacy?
No. Only a spouse from a registered marriage is a statutory heir. An unregistered partner receives nothing under intestacy, however long the relationship lasted, and can inherit only if a valid will names them.
How long do heirs have to claim an intestate estate in Thailand?
One year from the date the heir knew or should have known of the death, under Section 1754, with an absolute limit of ten years. The position is different where an estate administrator already holds the assets for the heirs, so a claim that looks late is worth checking.
See also: statutory heir, six classes of statutory heirs, estate administrator, marital property, and the guides on dying without a will in Thailand and making a last will.
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