Book 5: Family
Marriage, divorce, prenuptial agreements, parental rights, custody, adoption: updated for the 2024 Marriage Equality Act.
Sections 1435 to 1598/41
Annotated sections in this Book
- §1435 Minimum age for a betrothal A betrothal may be made only when both parties have completed their eighteenth year of age. A betrothal made in breach of that requirement is…
- §1436
- §1437 Khongman and sinsod
- §1438
- §1439 Breaking off a betrothal
- §1440 What compensation may be claimed
- §1441 Death of a betrothed party
- §1442 Renouncing for a cause on the betrothed side
- §1443 Renouncing for a cause on the betrothing side
- §1444
- §1445 Compensation from a third party
- §1446 Compensation where the betrothed is raped
- §1447
- §1447/1 Time limits for betrothal compensation claims
- §1447/2
- §1448 Minimum age to marry Marriage requires both parties to be 18 or older. Below that age, a court order is required. The 2024 Marriage Equality Act both raised the…
- §1449 Mental capacity to marry A marriage cannot be made where either person is of unsound mind, or is a person whom the court has adjudged incompetent. A marriage made…
- §1450 Prohibited degrees of relationship
- §1451
- §1452 No marriage while already married A person who is already validly married cannot enter into another marriage. A second marriage during the first is void.
- §1453 The 310 day waiting period
- §1454
- §1455
- §1456
- §1457 Marriage by registration only A marriage takes effect only on registration with the District Office (Amphur). Religious or customary ceremonies alone do not create a legal marriage in Thailand.
- §1458 Consent of the two persons marrying A marriage can be made only if the two persons consent to be spouses of each other, and that consent must be declared openly before…
- §1459
- §1460 Marriage in danger of death or in war
- §1461 Duty to live together and maintain Spouses must cohabit and support each other according to their condition in life.
- §1462 Court order to live apart
- §1463 Spouse as guardian or curator
- §1464 Maintenance and protection of a spouse of unsound mind
- §1464/1
- §1465 Default marital property regime Where the spouses made no special agreement about property before the marriage, this Chapter governs the property relations between them. Separately, a clause in a…
- §1466 Prenup, limits on what can be agreed สัญญาก่อนสมรสเป็นโมฆะ ถ้ามิได้จดแจ้งข้อตกลงนั้นไว้ในทะเบียนสมรสพร้อมกับการจดทะเบียนสมรส หรือมิได้ทำเป็นหนังสือลงลายมือชื่อคู่สมรสและพยานอย่างน้อยสองคนแนบไว้ท้ายทะเบียนสมรส และจดไว้ในทะเบียนสมรสพร้อมกับการจดทะเบียนสมรสว่าได้มีสัญญานั้นแนบไว้
- §1467 An ante-nuptial agreement can be changed only by court order Once the marriage has taken place, the parties cannot alter or cancel their ante-nuptial agreement between themselves. Only the court can authorise a change. Where…
- §1468 An ante-nuptial agreement does not bind third parties in good faith The clauses of an ante-nuptial agreement have no effect on the rights of third persons who act in good faith. That holds whether or not…
- §1469 Avoiding an agreement made between spouses สัญญาเกี่ยวกับทรัพย์สินที่คู่สมรสได้ทำไว้ต่อกันในระหว่างเป็นคู่สมรสกัน ฝ่ายใดฝ่ายหนึ่งจะบอกล้างเสียในเวลาใดก็ได้ที่ยังเป็นคู่สมรสกันอยู่ หรือภายในกำหนดหนึ่งปีนับแต่วันที่ขาดจากการเป็นคู่สมรสกัน แต่การบอกล้างนั้นไม่กระทบกระเทือนถึงสิทธิของบุคคลภายนอกผู้ทำการโดยสุจริต
- §1470 Marital property defined
- §1471 Sin Suan Tua, separate property Property that each spouse owned before the marriage, personal-use items and professional tools, property acquired during the marriage by inheritance or by gift, and the…
- §1472 Separate property remains separate when exchanged, sold or reinvested Sin Suan Tua, or personal property, does not lose its character by changing form. If it is exchanged for other property, if other property is…
- §1473
- §1474 Sin Somros, marital property Sin Somros (marital property) is property acquired by either spouse during the marriage, property received during the marriage by will or written gift that declares…
- §1475 Adding a spouse's name to the title document
- §1476 Acts needing both spouses' consent Certain major transactions over Sin Somros require joint management or the other spouse's consent; a unilateral act without consent is voidable unless ratified by the…
- §1476/1 Varying the management rules by prenuptial agreement
- §1477 Suing to protect the marital property
- §1478
- §1479 Consent must be in writing
- §1480 Revoking a juristic act done without the other spouse's consent Where the management of Sin Somros requires joint action or the other spouse's consent under Section 1476 and one spouse acts alone or without that…
- §1481 No will over more than your own share
- §1482 Household management where one spouse manages the property
- §1483 Injunction against a damaging act of management
- §1484 Taking over or separating the marital property
- §1484/1 Revoking a restriction on management
- §1485 Applying to manage a particular item
- §1486 Entry of the court's order in the marriage register
- §1487 No seizure of a spouse's property during the marriage
- §1488 Paying a spouse's personal debt
- §1489 Paying a joint debt
- §1490 Which debts are joint debts A debt either spouse incurs during the marriage is a joint debt in four cases only: debts for managing the household and providing the family's…
- §1491 Bankruptcy separates the marital property
- §1492 Effect of separating the marital property
- §1492/1 Revoking the separation of marital property
- §1493 Household expenses where there is no marital property
- §1494
- §1495
- §1496 A marriage may only be declared void by a court judgment; until then it is treated as valid. Only the spouses, their parents or descendants,…
- §1497
- §1497/1
- §1498 No property relationship from a void marriage
- §1499 Rights of a person who married in good faith
- §1499/1
- §1500 Void marriage and the rights of third persons in good faith การสมรสที่เป็นโมฆะไม่กระทบถึงสิทธิของบุคคลภายนอกผู้กระทำการโดยสุจริต ซึ่งได้สิทธินั้นมาก่อนมีการบันทึกความเป็นโมฆะไว้ในทะเบียนสมรสตามมาตรา 1497/1
- §1501 Marriage ends by death, divorce or annulment A marriage comes to an end in only three ways: the death of a spouse, divorce, or cancellation by the court. The list is exhaustive,…
- §1502
- §1503
- §1504 Annulment of an underage marriage
- §1505
- §1506
- §1507
- §1508 Annulment for mistake, fraud or duress
- §1509
- §1510 Annulment for want of consent
- §1511
- §1512
- §1513
- §1514 Divorce by mutual consent Spouses may divorce by mutual consent in writing, witnessed by two persons, and registered at the District Office.
- §1515 Registration of a consensual divorce
- §1516 Grounds for divorce Divorce in Thailand is fault-based. Section 1516 sets out twelve grounds: (1) keeping or honouring another person as a spouse, adultery, or habitual sexual acts…
- §1517 Consent, connivance and trivial breaches
- §1518 Forgiveness extinguishes the right to sue for divorce A spouse who has a ground for divorce loses the right to sue on it if he or she does anything showing forgiveness of the…
- §1519 Divorce where a spouse is of unsound mind
- §1520 Parental power after divorce
- §1521
- §1522 Child maintenance after divorce
- §1523 Compensation on divorce for adultery Where the court grants a divorce on the ground in Section 1516(1), the wronged spouse may claim compensation from the other spouse and from the…
- §1524 Compensation where a spouse provoked the ground for divorce Where a ground for divorce under Section 1516 (3), (4) or (6) arose because the party at fault deliberately behaved so as to make life…
- §1525 How the court fixes compensation on divorce Compensation under Sections 1523 and 1524 is fixed by the court according to the circumstances, and the court may order it paid in a single…
- §1526 Maintenance to ex-spouse after divorce After a divorce granted on a ground that arose from the fault of one spouse only, the other may claim a living allowance if the…
- §1527
- §1528
- §1529 One-year limit on divorce claims based on certain grounds A right of action based on Section 1516 (1), (2), (3) or (6), or on Section 1523, is extinguished one year after the claimant knew…
- §1530 Temporary orders during a divorce case
- §1531 When a divorce takes effect For a marriage registered under the law, a divorce by mutual consent takes effect from the time the divorce is registered, not from the date…
- §1532 Dividing property on divorce
- §1533 Marital property divided equally On divorce, the Sin Somros is divided equally between the husband and the wife.
- §1534 Sin Somros disposed of to injure the other spouse is added back Where a spouse has disposed of Sin Somros for his or her sole benefit, or with intent to injure the other, or without a consent…
- §1535 Common debts are shared equally when the marriage ends On the termination of the marriage, the husband and wife are liable for their common debts in equal shares. The rule applies to debts for…
- §1536 Presumption of legitimacy A child born during a marriage, or within 310 days after its termination, is presumed to be the legitimate child of the husband.
- §1537 Child born after a remarriage in breach of Section 1453
- §1538 Legitimacy where a second marriage is void
- §1539 Action to repudiate a child
- §1540
- §1541 Barred from repudiating a child he registered
- §1542 Time limits to repudiate a child
- §1543 Substitution where the claimant dies
- §1544 Repudiation by an affected heir
- §1545 Child denying legitimacy through the prosecutor
- §1546 Child born outside marriage A child born to a woman who is not validly married to the biological father is the legitimate child of the mother only.
- §1547 Legitimation by father, three routes A child becomes legitimate when (1) the parents subsequently marry, (2) the father registers acknowledgment of the child with the child's and mother's consent, or…
- §1548 Legitimation by the father requires the consent of the child and mother A father applying to register legitimation needs the consent of both the child and the mother. If they do not appear before the Registrar, the…
- §1549 Objection to the father exercising parental power after legitimation Once the Registrar has given notice of an application for legitimation under Section 1548, the child or the mother may, within ninety days of receiving…
- §1550
- §1551 Objection to registration of legitimation
- §1552
- §1553
- §1554
- §1555 The seven grounds on which legitimation may be claimed in court An action for legitimation may be brought only on one of seven grounds: rape, abduction or unlawful confinement of the mother during the period of…
- §1556 Who may bring an action for legitimation การฟ้องคดีขอให้รับเด็กเป็นบุตรในระหว่างที่เด็กเป็นผู้เยาว์ ถ้าเด็กอายุยังไม่ครบสิบห้าปีบริบูรณ์ ผู้แทนโดยชอบธรรมเป็นผู้ฟ้องแทน ถ้าไม่มีผู้แทนโดยชอบธรรมหรือผู้แทนทำหน้าที่ไม่ได้ ญาติสนิทของเด็กหรือพนักงานอัยการอาจร้องขอต่อศาลให้ตั้งผู้แทนเฉพาะคดี เมื่อเด็กอายุครบสิบห้าปีบริบูรณ์แล้ว เด็กต้องฟ้องเอง โดยไม่จำต้องได้รับความยินยอมของผู้แทนโดยชอบธรรม
- §1557 Legitimation takes effect from the child's birth Legitimation under Section 1547 takes effect from the day of the child's birth. It may not, however, be set up so as to prejudice the…
- §1558
- §1559
- §1560
- §1561 Child's right to use a family name A child has the right to use the father's family name. Where the father is unknown, the child has the right to use the mother's…
- §1562
- §1563 Children are bound to maintain their parents Children are legally bound to maintain their parents. The duty is stated without qualification and is not conditional on the parents having maintained the child,…
- §1564 Parents' duty to maintain and educate their children Parents must maintain and educate their minor children. After the child reaches majority, the duty continues only if the child is disabled and unable to…
- §1565
- §1566 Parental power of both parents, and when one exercises it alone A minor child is under the parental power of both parents. Parental power rests with the father or the mother alone only in the cases…
- §1567 A person exercising parental power may determine the child's place of residence, punish the child for correction provided it does not amount to cruelty, require…
- §1568 Remarriage does not move parental power over an existing child Where a person who already has a child marries someone else, parental power over that child continues to be exercised by that person. The new…
- §1569 The person with parental power is the child's legal representative The person exercising parental power is the child's legal representative. If the child is later adjudged incompetent or quasi-incompetent, that same person becomes the custodian…
- §1569/1
- §1570
- §1571 Parental power includes managing the child's property Parental power extends to the management of the child's property, and that management must be carried out with the same care as a person of…
- §1572
- §1573
- §1574 Parental control of child's property A person exercising parental power may not do any of the thirteen acts listed in Section 1574 with a minor's property without the court's permission.…
- §1575 Court permission is required where interests conflict with the minor's Where an act would put the interests of the person exercising parental power, or those of that person's spouse or children, in conflict with the…
- §1576
- §1577
- §1578
- §1579
- §1580 Acknowledgement of the management of a minor's property
- §1581
- §1582 Deprivation of parental power or of the right of management The court may deprive a person of parental power, in whole or in part, where that person is adjudged incompetent or quasi-incompetent, abuses the parental…
- §1583
- §1584
- §1584/1
- §1585
- §1586
- §1587
- §1588
- §1589
- §1590
- §1591
- §1592
- §1593
- §1594
- §1595
- §1596
- §1597
- §1598 Ward acquiring valuable property during guardianship Where a ward acquires valuable property by succession or gift during the guardianship, Sections 1592 to 1597 apply mutatis mutandis, so the guardian is subject…
- §1598/1
- §1598/10
- §1598/11
- §1598/12
- §1598/13
- §1598/14
- §1598/15 Spouse as guardian, rights and duties
- §1598/16
- §1598/17 Outside guardian managing the marital property
- §1598/18 Rights and duties of a curator
- §1598/19 A person may adopt only if they are at least 25 years old and at least 15 years older than the person to be adopted.
- §1598/2
- §1598/20 Adoption of a person aged 15 or over requires that person's own consent; adoption of a minor requires the consent of the minor's father and…
- §1598/21
- §1598/22
- §1598/23
- §1598/24 The person empowered to consent on behalf of a welfare institution (under §§1598/22 to 23) may themselves adopt a minor in the institution's care, but…
- §1598/25
- §1598/26
- §1598/27
- §1598/28 An adopted child acquires the status of a legitimate child of the adopter, and nothing in the adoption prejudices the child's rights and duties in…
- §1598/29
- §1598/3
- §1598/30
- §1598/31 Termination of adoption
- §1598/32
- §1598/33
- §1598/34
- §1598/35
- §1598/36
- §1598/37 Parental power after the adopter dies or the adoption ends
- §1598/38 Claiming maintenance
- §1598/39
- §1598/4
- §1598/40
- §1598/41
- §1598/5
- §1598/6
- §1598/7
- §1598/8
- §1598/9