The deadline that ends a case before it starts
The law gives you a limited time to bring a claim. Once it has passed the court will not decide the merits, however good your evidence, and nothing can undo it afterwards.
Insights
Notes on Thai law for the people who have to deal with it, in plain language.
What you are owed when you are dismissed
The law fixes a minimum severance based on how long you worked, and there is a second payment on top that many people never claim.
Setting up a company in Thailand as a foreigner
The order of the steps matters more than people expect, and one common shareholding arrangement is an offence for the foreign national and for the Thai shareholders alike.
When a customer will not pay: what to do, and by when
A trader recovering the price of goods may have only two years, not ten. And winning a judgment is not the same as being paid.
The contract they sent you: what to check before signing
A contract drafted by the other side is drafted for the other side. What causes trouble later is rarely the clause that reads oddly now.
When shareholders fall out: options, and what to agree first
Most shareholder disputes are not caused by bad faith. They are caused by never having agreed what happens in a particular situation.
Dismissing lawfully: what to do before the letter goes out
Employers usually lose not because there was no ground for dismissal, but because the ground was never stated in the letter and a different one was argued in court.
A tax assessment: what to do, and by when
Real expenses without the documents the law requires are disallowed, which makes taxable profit higher than actual profit.
Personal data law: what a small business actually has to do
A business with a customer list, a CCTV camera or employees is within scope, whatever its size.
Someone registered your brand name: what can you do?
Rights in a mark come from registration. A business that has used a name for years can be stopped from using the name it built.
How long does a civil case take, and what does it cost?
A civil case is not decided in one hearing, and the court fee is calculated on the amount claimed. People who learn both facts late often abandon the case halfway.
You have been served: what to do, and how long you have
A civil summons in Thailand gives the defendant fifteen days to file a defence. Miss it and judgment can be entered against you without your side ever being heard.
Scammed online: what to do on the first day
Money already sent can still be recovered if the receiving account is frozen in time. The bank can hold it seven days, so the first hour decides it.
Unpaid stage payments and retention: contractor options
The stage is handed over but unpaid and the retention still held. The claim has a time limit, and stopping work wrongly can put you in breach.
The contractor walked off the job: what can you do?
The contractor stopped turning up after taking the stage payment. Owners rush to bring in someone new, and done in the wrong order, the extra cost cannot be recovered.
Construction next door cracked my house: who is liable?
Piling or excavation next door has cracked walls and settled floors. Owners are unsure whether to claim from the contractor or the developer. The answer turns on whose fault the damage was.
When a building fails, how far is the engineer liable?
When a building settles, cracks or collapses, the design and supervising engineers can face civil, criminal and professional liability at once.
No will in Thailand: who inherits, and in what order
Where there is no will, Thai law sets a strict order of heirs. Anyone in a later class receives nothing, however closely they cared for the deceased.
Appointing an estate administrator in Thailand
Banks and land offices will not let heirs deal with a deceased person's property until a court has appointed an administrator. Until someone applies, the assets stay frozen.
Marital property in Thailand: whose asset is whose
Property acquired during a marriage usually belongs to both spouses, even when only one name appears on the document. Not knowing this costs people their share when the marriage ends.
Incapacity in Thailand: who manages a sick parent's assets?
When a parent can no longer decide, the children cannot withdraw money or sell property until a court appoints a guardian, and an old power of attorney is no substitute.
Suing over an inheritance in Thailand: time limits
Many heirs wait for relatives to share the estate until a year has passed, then learn the right to sue may be gone. In other cases a claim can still be brought more than ten years on.
Before you sign
Each kind of contract has its own clauses that decide who carries what. This series works through them one contract at a time: what to read first, what not to accept, and what the law supplies even where the document is silent.
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