Bob

Ugh....never heard of those and it hardly sounds appetizing for any meal. Perhaps I'll make some french toast (we gotta change that name) with sour dough bread?

Perhaps east of the Atlantic ocean. West of the Atlantic ocean, both the Republican and Democratic parties have been economically insane for 40+ years (with the small exception of a few of Bill Clinton's years where some of the books appeared to be balanced by ignoring trillions of background debt and also ignoring the twin catastrophic financial futures of both social security and medicare). Without some major changes, some day the dollar maybe will be worth a couple of dong (Vietnamese money which currently is about 19,000 to the dollar). From the US side of things, medicare is a great thing for seniors but it's not being paid for and is adding to the national debt. Not even the politicians on the left could stomach adding benefits to the current program.

Hmmmmm.....what time's breakfast? That, sir, is on my agenda this fall. Now....being a yankee.....I can do without the grits!

Thanks for the info, Jim. For the next 3 years, I'll hold onto my current coverage (BC/BS) as it will reimburse me for "covered" items that occur even in Thailand; however, I'll have to make some choices in 3 years and, although health care is relatively cheap in Thailand, the idea of going bare is not in my consitution. I'll be talking with you then a bit more specifically.

Yes, a later Thai Will is effective to probate assets in the court of your state in the US - provided that your Will complies with the drafting requirements of your state (which is very likely - most states simply require 2 disinterested (non-beneficiary) witnesses. But, one must be careful to make sure that somebody in the US actually knows about the "Thai" Will (one can't probate what one doesn't know about). In the very unlikely occurrence of a Will contest, it could pose an logistics and expense problem to have the Thai witnesses testify but it still can be done (even by sworn deposition in Thailand). But Will contests are rare and, even when they occur, are rarely successful. Presuming you're using a Will to transfer your US assets, distribution to your Thai beneficiary happens through the probate proceedings held in your home state. Your personal representative (executor) in the states would transfer the funds or property directly to your Thai beneficiary. Another alternative, of course, is to create a living trust and then to make sure you've transferred all your assets to that trust; then, when you die, your trustee will transfer the assets to your Thai beneficiary.

Frankly, that's an old wive's tale. Every Will, if drafted properly, is dated and contains the standard language that you are revoking all prior Wills. Take a look at your current Will and you'll see the language there (and it's usually in the first paragraph). The most recent Will controls and I don't know of a single case where there was any argument about that whatsoever (other than when somebody attempts to argue that the drafter was incompetent when the later Will was made). There's no need to go collect older Wills as they are revoked the moment you sign your new one; however,obviously it would be wise to make sure your executor and/or beneficiary know that you made a new one and know where it can be located. I guess I never heard about anybody stashing Will originals and copies hither and yon. Usually, one has no more than 2 or 3 originals out there and then they are usually held by your lawyer, bene/executor, and yourself.

It doesn't matter where you die (i.e., your Thai assets will ultimately go to your beneficiary or heir-at-law provided somebody probates the stuff in Thai court). Of course, if nobody in the US knows you have assets in Thailand, they'll probably not go anywhere (and I suspect that ultimately the bank or Thai government will get your Thai bank account balance).

Nice try, Rich, but I'd think you have better odds at winning the lottery. The Medicare system is functionally broke already and, in my view, there is absolutely no way that they are going to add a feature that costs it more money. Plus, even if they did pass a law, the likelihood that a Thai hospital would comply with their paperwork requirements or not require you to pay up front in the first place is also unlikely in my view. I understand that Thai medical insurers won't cover falang who are 65 years or older (with some exceptions - one that comes to mind is I saw that one insurer advertised that it would cover 65+ year-old falang if that falang had already had their insurance with that company for 10 or more years). If that's truly the case, I'll be going fairly bare in a little over 3 years (but, frankly, I'm going to shop around then and find out for sure if I can buy insurance to cover catastrophic expenses possibly incurred in Thailand). Alternatively, presuming I get some nasty disease requiring long-term treatment and also presuming I have time, I'll be heading back to the states to use my Medicare coverage.

My belief is definitely "yes"; however, the problem you have with that (presuming you croak in Thailand and/or have Thai assets worth bothering about) is as follows: (1) How does anyone in Thailand know about the Will? You might be relatively/ultimately safe if somehow the embassy connects up with that person (i.e., if your "next-of-kin" is the same person or knows about the US Will). If not, the "next-of-kin" provisions will apply. If you want a Thai citizen to control disposition of your remains should you die in Thailand, then you probably ought to do a Thai Will and make sure that topic is covered in the Will. (2) I've been told before (and this was confirmed by my Thai lawyer) that it's a difficult process to get your Thai assets (including a Thai bank account) repatriated to the US. Apparently, it involves some fairly expensive proceedings in a Thai court where the few attorneys that do it charge a fair amount, the US Embassy has to be involved with certifying documents, and it takes too much time. On the other hand, at least according to my Thai lawyer, the proceedings to "probate" your Thai assets to a Thai citizen are much less expensive and time consuming. (3) I've been told that Thailand won't recognize a foreign Will unless it's executed according to the requirements of Thai law. I'm not sure if I believe that (typically, one jurisdiction will honor a Will made in another jurisdiction if the purported Will is executed properly under the rules of either jurisdiction). If you don't have assets of any significant value in Thailand, don't worry about it (it'll cost more to probate the stuff than it's worth in the first place); however, if you have significant assets there (examples there might be where you have a condo or where you're using the 800K in a Thai bank account to support your one-year visa), it's probably wise to make a Thai Will. GB suggested you leave a note in your passport (the document the embassy will demand to see first) indicating that you have a Thai Will and/or contact information for your Thai executor. Probably a wise idea and will likely stop the "next-of-kin" proceedings from grinding ahead. On a somewhat related theme, US expats living in Thailand or there for extended periods of time can register online with the US embassy - and you can provide contact information that way. It's easy to do and, besides getting emails for any embassy warnings, they'll have on file who your contact person would be, your address and telephone number in Thailand (if you have one), etc.

Probably not a bad idea; however, presuming you've named a Thai executor you trust (and given that he likely is your bf), I would guess that he would know that you bought the farm and would be clearly making himself known (on the other hand, now that he's "free" and has a few bucks, maybe he's on the prowl for better pickings...hehehehe).

Rather than insert it in the other post which first dealt with money issues, I thought I would start a new topic. The question I put to the Embassy was basically whether they would honor a Thai will (both as to dispostion of remains and disposition of property) or would their defined "next-of-kin" have the right to make such choices. They answered by email in less than 24 hours. Here it is: The U.S. Embassy will follow the wishes of a deceased American citizen according to the deceaseds legal will. If your will is considered a legal document in Thailand, and the will lists an executor, we would follow the will and take direction from the executor named in the legal will. Hypothetically, if the deceased does NOT/NOT have a legal will, then the Embassy would take direction from the legal Next of Kin. A named executor in a legal will trumps the Next of Kin, but sometimes this is the same person. The U.S. Embassy can assist with cremation of remains and transfer of a deceaseds assets if the will executor or legal Next of Kin wishes us to assist; OR there is no legal will or a Next of Kin cannot be located. Hope this helps. Best regards, American Citizen Services U.S. Embassy Bangkok So if you have a valid Thai Will, that's what will control, not the "next-of-kin" routine (which seems to be reserved for somebody that doesn't have a Will or where nobody knows if he does or not).

Nope, never have been there (the website, that is).

Ok, silly question, but how does one tell if one has a resident or non-resident account? I've had accounts (Bangkok Bank and SCB) for about a decade in LOS and I see nothing on the account books indicating if it's a resident or non-resident account. I'm presuming it's a non-resident account but that's just a pure guess as I opened up the acocunts with just the 30-day visas way back when.

Thanks for the info (I'm presuming you got this info straight from the Embassy). I'll take a notarized statement with me when I return to Chiangmai in September....and, when I drop it off at the consulate, I'll see if they'll confirm what you've been told.

Your notation said in part: "The Embassy can, in most circumstances, take charge of personal effects and possessions of the deceased if instructed to do so by the Next-of-Kin." I take it then that the US office (embassy or consulate) won't take charge of any personal effects or possession unless instructed by the "next-of-kin" to do so. In my case, I've already registered the "next-of-kin" at the consulate and my next-of-kin (who happens to also be the beneficiary and personal representative of my US estate) is aware of my wishes and my Thai Will (besides, my US Will notes the existence of my Thai Will and mandates disposition of my "Thai" assets according to that Thai Will). So, I think I've covered all the bases fairly well. Nevertheless, since I have a lot of time on my hands, I'll stop at the Chiangmai consulate this fall and ask the specific questions about both the personal property (including bank account) and disposition (burning) of the corpse in Thailand. If I remember, I'll resurrect this thread or start another with the info.

I used a competent Thai lawyer to draft the Will and I was assured that a Thai Will will in fact work to transfer in-Thailand assets to a Thai beneficiary. There are some minimal proceedings and costs but I was assured it will work just fine. It didn't sound too complicated and my Thai beneficiary has the contact info for my Thai lawyer (both of them have original Wills). You may be right that the US Embassy won't "honor" or recognize a Thai Will with respect to the Thai possessions of a deceased US citizen. That's fine (I really don't want them involved with my Thai property anyway). As to my body, the plan (presuming I buy the farm while in Thailand) is for me to be shoved into the nearest stupa and go up in smoke (being smoked as a final act somehow seems appropriate ); however, I'm not sure how that will go and, in a sense, I don't think I'll really care. Guess I'll ask my Thai lawyer once I'm back in September.

A related and true point. For all those expats who use the 800,000 baht for your visa requirements or those that keep any significant amount of money in a Thai bank account, it would be wise to make a Thai Will to dispose of those amounts upon your death. As TJ says, it's a nightmare for your foreign executor to get ahold of those funds (ultimately, he/she would have to hire a Thai lawyer and go through a lot of expense, delay, and rigamarole to get it done). For those with bank accounts with not substantial amounts, my best suggestion is to just decide who it is in Thailand you want to receive those funds and then make arrangements to make sure your donee gets your ATM card and number so they can withdraw the funds until the account is depleted. You could leave a note with somebody you trust as to your ATM password and how to contact whoever it is you want to deplete the account. If you don't do something like this, I presume the bank or the Thai government will ultimately get that money (and my guess is it adds up to a fair amount annually).

I'm not sure how you couldn't find it, only took me 30 seconds. Here's your answer (lifted from the Thai Customs Office website): Currency Limitation For Thai currency, the amount of Baht 50,000 or more must be reported on departure to Customs, except those traveling to Lao PDR., Myanmar, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Vietnam are allowed to take out Thai currency not exceeding 500,000 Baht. For Foreign currency, any person who brings or takes and aggregate amount of foreign currency exceeding USD 20,000 or its equivalent out of or into the Kingdom of Thailand shall declare such amount of foreign currency to Customs. Failure to declare or make false declaration is a criminal offence. I have no clue if there is an actual limit. If/when I ever need to take out a chunk, I'll have it wired. The reason that not too many falang know this is, of course, that we falang usually don't have the problem of taking too much money OUT of Thailand...hahahaha.

Whatever you do, don't involve miscommunication which might end up with embarrassment for him and/or you. I wouldn't recommend any word play - I'm not sure how many of them would take the words "friend" or "customer." Presuming you don't think a tip is called for, just ask him that up front. If he tells you he expects a tip, then make your choice there; if not, enjoy your movie, lunch, or whatever.

Easy to pronounce - Loy (rhymes with "boy") Kra-tong (just like it looks). Loy Krathong has always been set as the day of the full moon in November....and this year it's November 21. If you check the moon cycles any year for November, you'll know when the holiday is celebrated.

I think they're just trying to be accommodating because of prior experiences with most falang. So maybe it'd help you to not be disappointing by making it clear up front that you like it spicy ("Ao ahaan pet" or "Pom chawp ahaan pet" might do it for you).

My favorites, rather simple dishes, include kao man gai and kao pat gai/moo/goong. And kao man gai just doesn't taste right without a little (or more than a little) of the somewhat spicy brown sauce you slather over the chicken and rice. I like a little spiciness but not a lot. If I ever have somtam salad, it's specifically ordered with one chili only. But every year I seem to be able to handle and actually want a little more spiciness. I have this thing for Thai chicken and pork as, in my opinion, it has more taste than the chicken and pork sold here in the states. I'm guessing that the Thais do not feed the chicken and pigs all the growth additives/hormones which, while turning a chicken or a pig into a whale in 12 minutes, ends up drying out the meat and leaving it rather tasteless. Thai bacon, for example, tastes to me like the bacon I used to eat 5+ decades ago.

No problem. A lot of what I believe is based on what I've heard from other Thais, what I've read in Thai newspapers for more than a decade, and from books. Again - and I'm not trying to change your mind here - you ought to read Wyatt's history of Thailand, one of the most authoritive tomes out there on the subject (at least in English). It's rather tedious reading and it actually covers events only up to 1983, the year it was published, but it does offer a lot of background that helps me make sense of the last few decades of Thai politics. Hadley's book will add to that. I've read both multiple times and I'm always amazed when I read a passage describing something that happened 30 years ago or 100 years ago that seems to add to my sense of deja vu (i.e., the passage seemingly describes something I read in the Post or Nation just weeks ago).

I have no doubt that some of the redshirt protestors received some payments on occasion; however, I don't believe that most of them were regularly paid nor do I believe that the payments accounted for the presence of the majority of the protestors. Just my beliefs based on what I've read and what I've been told. I've also known some Thais that were paid to vote - and some of them were paid by both sides! And every one of them, when asked, told me they voted the way they wanted to vote once they went behind the curtain. When I asked if it wouldn't have been better not to have taken either side's payments, I've always gotten the "what are you nuts!?!" look in return. In other words, payments by political parties have been endemic for years but, based on what I've seen and heard, it doesn't follow (at least to me) that this means that all or even a majority of the protestors aren't true believers.

I'm sure you're a fine cook but squid, however it's cooked, is definitely off my list. Reminds me a bit of how people have always tried to get me to eat liver - saying "oh, but it's delicious if cooked right!" No matter how they cook it, I gag.