ผู้ใช้อำนาจปกครองหรือผู้อนุบาลของบุคคลผู้เยาว์หรือไร้ความสามารถ

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อัปเดตล่าสุดเมื่อ 5 กันยายน 2569

เอ ผู้พิทักษ์ (ผู้ปกครอง, phu pok khrong, also spelled phu pokkhrong) is a person appointed by the court to take charge of the person and property of a minor who has no parents or whose parents have lost parental power, or of an adult the court has declared incompetent. Guardianship of minors is governed by Sections 1585 to 1598/18 of the ประมวลกฎหมายแพ่งและพาณิชย์, and the same rules apply to the guardian of an incompetent adult. The guardian stands in for the parents in law, but under court supervision and with less freedom than a parent.

When and how a guardian is appointed

Section 1585 allows a guardian to be appointed only when a minor has no father and mother, or when parental power has been withdrawn from both. While one parent holds parental power there is no room for a guardian; that parent exercises อำนาจของผู้ปกครอง alone under Section 1566. The appointment is made by the Juvenile and Family Court under Section 1586 on the application of a relative, the อัยการ, or the person named as guardian in the will of the last surviving parent. A nomination in a will does not make the appointment; the court normally follows it unless the person is unsuitable.

Section 1587 excludes anyone incompetent or quasi-incompetent, an undischarged bankrupt, a person the court finds unfit, a person with a pending lawsuit against the minor, and a person the parents excluded in writing. For an adult declared incompetent under Section 28, the court appoints a guardian in the same way; where the incompetent person has a spouse, the spouse is ordinarily appointed unless the court decides otherwise.

Practical points for foreign families

Foreigners meet guardianship in predictable situations: both parents of a child die or cannot act, a foreign grandparent wants standing to care for a half-Thai child, or an ageing foreign resident loses capacity and the family needs authority to deal with banks, hospitals and the สำนักงานที่ดิน. In each case the route is a petition to the Juvenile and Family Court, with a report from a court social worker, and the order takes some months.

The petitioner brings the child’s birth certificate, the parents’ death certificates or medical evidence of incapacity, the house registration and evidence of the applicant’s relationship and means, with certified Thai translations of foreign documents. A foreigner may be appointed, and a foreign guardian of a Thai child can apply for a วีซ่าประเภท Non-Immigrant O on that basis. Parents of minor children should name a guardian in their คนไทยจะ so the court has their choice on record.

How a guardian differs from a parent

A parent exercises parental power by right; a guardian holds authority by court order and answers to the court. The guardian must draw up an inventory of the ward’s property soon after appointment, may not buy the ward’s property, and needs court permission for the same major transactions a parent needs it for under Section 1574: selling or mortgaging land, granting a lease over three years, lending the ward’s money, or renouncing an inheritance. The court may also require security and periodic accounts.

Guardianship of a minor ends when the ward turns 20, dies or is adopted, or when the court removes the guardian. Guardianship of an incompetent adult ends when the court revokes the declaration. On termination the guardian hands over the property and renders final accounts.

คำถามที่พบบ่อย

ดูเพิ่มเติม: incapacity and quasi-incapacity, สิทธิของผู้ปกครอง, ศาลเยาวชนและครอบครัว, การรับเลี้ยงบุตรบุญธรรม, และคู่มือฉบับเต็มสำหรับ สิทธิในการดูแลบุตรในประเทศไทย และ making a last will in Thailand.