Thai-English Last Will Template Preview

1. Prepare the Final Will Carefully

The Will should be adapted to the Testator's actual circumstances. Remove unused clauses, alternatives, drafting notes and optional provisions that do not apply. Check that the article numbering remains consecutive and that defined terms are used consistently.

Because the document is bilingual, the Thai and English provisions should correspond. Names, passport or Thai ID numbers, dates and addresses should also be checked against the relevant identification documents before the Will is printed for signature.

2. Keep the Scope of the Thai Will Clear

Where the Testator also has a Will in another country, the Thai Will should be drafted so that it does not unintentionally revoke or interfere with testamentary arrangements concerning property outside Thailand. A Thai Will may therefore be limited to property situated in the Kingdom of Thailand.

3. Identify Beneficiaries Accurately

Primary and substitute beneficiaries should be identified clearly. Where a survivorship period is used, such as thirty (30) days, it should be applied consistently throughout the Will.

If a beneficiary may still be a minor when the inheritance becomes effective, an appropriate optional provision concerning the management of that beneficiary's property should be considered.

4. Names and Identification Details

Foreign nationals should normally use their full legal name exactly as shown in their passport. The English passport name may also be used in the Thai-language text; a Thai transliteration does not need to be invented where the correct Thai spelling is uncertain.

For Thai nationals, the Thai name should follow the Thai National ID Card where available. Passport and Thai ID numbers may be written using Arabic numerals in both language versions.

5. Appoint an Estate Administrator

The Will should appoint an Estate Administrator and, where appropriate, an alternate. After the Testator's death, appointment by the Thai Court may be required before the Estate Administrator can deal with certain assets such as bank accounts, registered property or other assets requiring formal transfer.

6. Signing the Will

This template is intended to be executed as an ordinary written Will under Section 1656 of the Thai Civil and Commercial Code. The Will must be in writing, dated and signed by the Testator in the presence of at least two witnesses who are present at the same time.

Both witnesses should then sign to certify the Testator's signature. The Testator and the two witnesses should therefore sign during the same signing session. The witnesses should not sign separately or later.

An ordinary written Will under Section 1656 does not need to be notarised or registered at a District Office merely in order to be valid.

7. Choose Witnesses Carefully

Witnesses should have full legal capacity, be of sound mind, not be legally disqualified from acting as witnesses and should not be beneficiaries under the Will. As a conservative drafting practice, a person whose spouse is a beneficiary should also not be used as a witness.

8. Avoid Handwritten Changes

If a correction is needed before signing, it is generally better to correct the document and print a clean final version. Handwritten amendments, deletions and additions should be avoided.

If a change is required after execution, preparing and properly executing a new Will or an appropriate supplementary testamentary instrument is generally preferable to relying on informal handwritten changes.

9. Originals and Safekeeping

A Will may be signed in one or more original counterparts. If more than one original is executed, each should contain identical wording, be complete and be signed using the same execution formalities.

The signed original should be kept in a secure but accessible place. The Estate Administrator or another trusted person should know that the Will exists and where the signed original and important estate documents are stored.

10. After the Testator's Death

The Will does not by itself complete the administration or transfer of the estate. The original signed Will should first be located and preserved. Where formal estate administration is required, an heir, beneficiary or other interested person may apply to the Thai Court for the appointment of an Estate Administrator.

The Estate Administrator will generally need to identify and safeguard the Thailand estate, deal with debts and expenses, contact banks or government authorities where necessary and arrange the transfer or distribution of the remaining assets in accordance with the Will and Thai law.

The complete 2026 Guidance Notes supplied with the Will package contain additional completion checks, printing and assembly instructions, asset-information guidance and document-review options.