Unmarried Couples and Property in Thailand: Dika 97/2569

Last updated on สิงหาคม 31, 2026

Many foreigners live with a Thai partner for years before marrying, or never marry at all. Property bought during that time is often registered in one name only. Supreme Court decision 97/2569 confirms that what matters is who earned and paid for the asset, not whose name is on the title deed, and that land acquired together before the wedding stays jointly owned after it. This guide explains the rules for unmarried couples and mixed couples in Thailand.

The case: Dika 97/2569

A woman and a man began living together as husband and wife in 1983 (B.E. 2526) without registering a marriage. From the start they ran a joint money-lending business: loans, mortgages and land dealings, with the man’s name appearing on the documents. They registered their marriage only on 28 February 1997 (B.E. 2540) and divorced on 2 August 2001 (B.E. 2544). After the divorce the woman claimed a half share in two plots of land (title deeds 40379 and 20884) that had been acquired through the business and registered in the man’s sole name.

The Court of First Instance and the Court of Appeal (Special Family Division) treated the two plots as the man’s separate property, largely because they had been acquired before the marriage was registered. The Supreme Court reversed. It held that the plots were acquired through the couple’s joint enterprise during the period of cohabitation, that the woman had contributed to acquiring them, and that they were therefore co-owned in equal shares, half each, despite the sole registration. The Court ordered the man to register the woman as co-owner on both title deeds.

The decision relies on the co-ownership provisions of the Civil and Commercial Code (Sections 1356 to 1366, including Section 1363 on a co-owner’s right to partition) rather than on the matrimonial-property rules in Section 1474, because the assets were acquired before the marriage existed in law.

Two different legal worlds: married and unmarried

Thai law does not recognise a “common-law marriage”. Under Section 1457 of the Civil and Commercial Code, a marriage exists only when it is registered. Everything about property therefore depends on which side of the registration date an asset was acquired.

The key difference is the burden of proof. A registered spouse benefits from the presumption in Section 1474 that anything acquired during the marriage is ซิน ซอมรอส. An unmarried partner has no presumption: she or he must prove that the asset was acquired through joint effort or joint funds. In 97/2569 the evidence of a joint lending business run for over a decade was enough.

What happens to pre-marriage assets when you later marry

A common assumption is that marriage “converts” everything into marital property. It does not. Under Section 1471(1), property that a spouse owned before the marriage is บาปสวนตัว, that spouse’s separate property. So if one partner alone bought a condominium in 2015 and the couple married in 2020, the condominium stays the buyer’s separate property on divorce.

Decision 97/2569 adds the other half of the picture. If the asset was jointly acquired before the marriage, each partner’s half share is that partner’s own separate property, and the later marriage does not hand the whole asset to the person whose name is on the deed. On divorce, the court divides ซิน ซอมรอส and, separately, recognises each party’s pre-existing co-ownership share. Our guide to dividing property in a Thai divorce explains how the two categories are separated in practice.

The foreign partner: what co-ownership can and cannot give you

ที่ดิน

Co-ownership does not override the Land Code. A foreigner cannot be registered as owner or co-owner of land in Thailand except in narrow cases (Section 86 and Section 96 bis of the Land Code B.E. 2497). A foreign partner who proves that he paid for land registered in his Thai partner’s name will generally not obtain registration in his own name; the realistic outcomes are a money claim for his contribution or a court-ordered sale with division of the proceeds, and any land a foreigner does acquire in breach of the Code must be disposed of within the period the Director-General sets under Section 94. This is why the Land Office asks a Thai buyer with a foreign spouse to sign a declaration that the purchase money is the Thai spouse’s own; see our explanation of the confirmation letter for property bought through a Thai spouse and the wider rules on foreign land ownership restrictions.

Condominiums, vehicles, bank accounts and businesses

For assets that a foreigner may lawfully own, co-ownership works as it did in 97/2569. A condominium unit within the foreign quota can be registered in both names from the outset. A car, a boat, shares in a company or the balance of a joint account can all be co-owned, and the co-ownership provisions let either partner demand partition. The practical lesson is to register both names at the time of acquisition wherever the law allows it, rather than litigating contribution years later.

Protecting yourself: unmarried and mixed couples

Whether or not you intend to marry, four documents do most of the protective work.

• A written cohabitation or co-ownership agreement recording who paid what for each significant asset and how it is to be divided. Thai courts give weight to contemporaneous documents; 97/2569 was decided on years of business records.
• A registered right for the foreign partner over land held by the Thai partner: a usufruct, a superficies or a lease registered at the Land Office at the time of purchase. These survive a sale by the Thai owner and, for a usufruct, the Thai owner’s death.
• A prenuptial agreement if you do marry. Under Sections 1465 and 1466 it must be registered together with the marriage on the same day at the district office; a prenup signed but not registered is void. It can confirm which pre-marriage assets, including co-owned ones, remain separate. See our guide to ข้อตกลงก่อนสมรสในประเทศไทย.
• A Thai will. An unmarried partner is not a statutory heir under Section 1629. Without a will, the surviving partner keeps only his or her co-ownership share and the deceased’s share passes to the deceased’s children, parents or siblings.

For an overview of what changes on the day you register a marriage, see our page on the ผลทางกฎหมายของการสมรสในประเทศไทย, and for the whole family-law picture our Thai family law guide.

คำถามที่พบบ่อย

We lived together for ten years but never married. Do I have any claim to the house?

Possibly, as a co-owner. You must prove that the house was acquired through joint funds or joint effort. If you do, you are presumed to own half (Section 1357) and can demand partition (Section 1363). If the house sits on land, a foreign partner’s remedy will normally be financial rather than registration in his own name.

Does a Thai marriage make property bought before the wedding joint property?

No. Property owned by one spouse before the marriage is that spouse’s separate property under Section 1471(1). Property jointly acquired before the marriage remains co-owned in the shares that existed before the wedding, as decision 97/2569 confirms.

My name is not on the title deed. Does that mean I own nothing?

Not necessarily. Registration is strong evidence but not conclusive. In 97/2569 the Supreme Court ordered the registered owner to add his former partner as co-owner because she proved joint acquisition. The same is true within marriage: ซิน ซอมรอส is joint even when registered in one name.

Can a foreigner be a co-owner of land bought with a Thai partner?

Not by registration, except in the narrow cases allowed by the Land Code. The foreigner can protect his contribution by a registered usufruct, superficies or lease, by a written agreement, and by a will on the Thai partner’s side. A claim to a share of the sale proceeds may be possible but is fact-dependent.

What is the time limit for claiming a co-ownership share?

A co-owner’s right to demand partition under Section 1363 may be exercised at any time while the co-ownership continues, subject to any agreement not to partition for up to ten years. A claim for a money contribution, by contrast, is subject to the general ten-year prescription in Section 193/30 and may be shorter in some situations, so do not wait.

Does the Marriage Equality Act change any of this?

Since January 2025 same-sex couples can register a marriage and are then governed by the matrimonial-property rules exactly like other spouses. Same-sex couples who do not register remain in the co-ownership regime described here.

ประเด็นสำคัญ

Thai law asks who acquired the asset and with whose money, not whose name appears on the deed. For unmarried couples, joint acquisition means equal co-ownership; for married couples, acquisition during the marriage means ซิน ซอมรอส; and a later marriage does not erase either partner’s pre-existing share. Foreigners face the additional limit that land cannot be registered in their name, which makes registered usufructs, written agreements, prenups and wills the practical tools. If you are living with a Thai partner and property is involved, put the arrangement in writing now.

About the author. Written and reviewed by Sebastien H. Brousseau, LL.B., B.Sc., founder of ThaiLawOnline.com, which has assisted foreigners with Thai family, property and succession matters since 2006. To document a cohabitation arrangement, register a usufruct or draft a prenuptial agreement or a Thai will, ติดต่อ ThaiLawOnline.

This article is general information about Thai law, not legal advice. Supreme Court decision 97/2569 is summarised from the published text; outcomes in any particular case depend on its facts and evidence.