Living Wills in Thailand

[CrazyExpat]

Wills are instruments used to state one's testamentary wishes after death. Usually the issue of Will preparation arises in the Kingdom of Thailand when property disbursements need to be arranged in advance of one's demise. In Thailand, both foreign nationals and Thai Citizens pass away, leaving property in the form of Real Estate, bank accounts

, or other forms of personal property. In many cases, the family of the deceased will "let the will speak," which is another way of saying that they will have the Will read in front of those mentioned therein. After that the deceased's family will see to it that it processes through the appropriate probate court. This court will then see that the assets are distributed in the manner set forth in the codicils of the Will.

A Living Will is an instrument to be used for an entirely different purpose. The following quote from Wikipedia accurately describes this kind of legal document:

"[The Living Will] was first proposed by an Illinois attorney, Louis Kutner, in a law journal in 1969. Kutner drew from existing estate law, by which an individual can control property affairs after death (i.e., when no longer available to speak for themselves) and devised a way for an individual to speak to his or her health care desires when no longer able to express current health care wishes. Because this form of 'will' was to be used while an individual was still alive (but no longer able to make decisions) it was dubbed the 'living will.' A Living Will usually provides specific directives about the course of treatment that is to be followed by health care providers and caregivers. In some cases a living will may forbid the use of various kinds of burdensome medical treatment. It may also be used to express wishes about the use or foregoing of food and water, if supplied via tubes or other medical devices

. The living will is only used if the individual has become unable to give informed consent or refusal due to incapacity. A living will can be very specific or very general. An example of a statement sometimes found in a living will is: 'If I suffer an incurable, irreversible illness, disease, or condition and my attending physician determines that my condition is terminal, I direct that life-sustaining measures that would serve only to prolong my dying be withheld or discontinued.'" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advance_health_care_directive#Living_will

Recently, the popular website Thaivisa.com in conjunction with The Nation Newspaper reported that the Cabinet in the Kingdom of Thailand has preliminarily approved a proposal that would create legislation allowing living wills in the Kingdom:

"The Cabinet Tuesday gave the green light to living wills. Under the draft decree, health professionals will honour a dying patient's wish to forego treatment during the terminal stage if it can only prolong life. The draft prepared by the National Health Commission Office will now go to the Council of State for review." http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Thailand-Green-Light-Living-Wills-t320469.html

It will probably be interesting to observe how this proposed legislation moves through the numerous government channels. Living Wills are generally an effective method of conveying one's wishes should some misfortune occur. As Thailand is primarily made up of Buddhist adherents, the idea of death can be a notion that some Thais do not wish to openly discuss. Although, passage of legislation aimed at providing for Thai Living Wills would probably be a major relief to some of those living in the Kingdom. With luck, this proposal may gain popular acceptance and be enacted as Thai law.

Ben Hart

Benjamin W. Hart is licensed to practice law in United States Federal District Court. He is also the Managing Director of Integrity Legal (Thailand) Co. Ltd. Contact Integrity Legal at: 1-877-231-7533, +66 (0)2-266-3698, info@integrity-legal.com. To learn more on related topis please see: US-Thai Amity Treaty or Thai property.

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