Section 1711 — Estate administrator — appointment
Statutory text (Thai original)
ผู้จัดการมรดกนั้นรวมตลอดทั้งบุคคลที่ตั้งขึ้นโดยพินัยกรรมหรือโดยคำสั่งศาล
Verbatim from the Royal Gazette / Office of the Council of State
คำแปลภาษาอังกฤษ
The administrators of an estate shall included the persons appointed by will or by order of the Court.
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified — always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
Section 1711 is part of Book 6 (Succession) of the Thai Civil and Commercial Code. This entry is awaiting firm-authored commentary; the statutory text above is verbatim from the Office of the Council of State (OCS Krisdika) Thai source, with the English translation from the FAO/UN FAOLEX repository. Always rely on the Thai original for legal proceedings.
Why this matters in practice
For lawyers: an executor named in a will takes authority directly from the will without a court order, but in practice court confirmation is often sought for registration of land. A court-appointed administrator derives authority solely from the court order. For clients: if you name an executor in your will, that person can begin managing the estate immediately on your death; if no executor is named, the heirs must petition the court, which takes time and cost.
Legislative history
Part of the original Civil and Commercial Code codification; no major subsequent amendment. Section 1711 is the definitional provision for the estate administrator (ผู้จัดการมรดก), which is the primary mechanism for managing a Thai estate. Unlike common-law jurisdictions, Thai law does not have a separate concept of 'probate'; estate administration is governed by §§1711–1733.
Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 6595/2538 (1995)
Where a will is void for formal defect, the estate reverts to intestacy; a person entitled by representation under §1639 has a share in the estate and standing to petition for appointment as administrator under §§1711 and 1713.
The will lacked a date and was therefore void under §1705. With no valid will, the estate fell to the statutory heirs. A grandson of the deceased whose father (a son of the deceased) had predeceased was entitled to inherit by representation; as a person with a share in the estate he had standing to petition for appointment as estate administrator under §§1711 and 1713.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 5735/2533 (1990) ★ Landmark
The right to petition for or object to the appointment of an estate administrator is a personal right that does not pass to the petitioner's or objector's own heirs.
The petition for and objection to appointment of an estate administrator are personal rights of each heir or interested person and do not pass to that person's heirs on death. When the objector died during the proceedings, the court of appeal's order allowing the objector's heirs to substitute as parties and continuing to hear the objection was held to be improper.
Curated decisions with case numbers verified against the Supreme Court database. English renderings are the firm's editorial translation for study.
Frequently asked questions
What is an estate administrator in Thailand and how is one appointed?
An estate administrator (ผู้จัดการมรดก) is the person responsible for collecting, managing, and distributing the deceased's estate. They may be appointed in two ways: (1) By will: the deceased can name an executor directly in the will; that person can act immediately on death without a court order, though obtaining a court confirmation order is common for land registration purposes. (2) By court order: if no executor is named in the will, or where the will is void, or where there is no will, any heir, interested person, or the public prosecutor may petition the civil court for an administrator to be appointed (§1713). Thai courts usually appoint a close family member. A foreign national can be appointed as estate administrator.