Thai law stipulates that all marital property or sin somros, will be divided equally on divorce. In the end, a Thai prenuptial agreement is like any other contractual arrangement and is based on the relative bargaining power of each partner.
Property of Husband and Wife
Prior to the revision of the Civil and Commercial Code, Book 5 (Family) which become effective on October 16, 1976, the law provided that:
“The husband is the head of the conjugal union. He chooses the place of residence and directs what is to be done for maintenance and support.” According to the old family law a married woman had no right to manage the common property without the consent of her husband. This provision has now been abolished. The husband and wife have equal rights to manage the property which they earn together during marriage.
Property of the husband and wife can be classified into two categories according to the present family law i.e. private property and common property.
Private Property (“Sin Suan Tua”)
Private property consists of:
(1) property belonging to either spouse before marriage;
(2) property for personal use, clothing or dress, bodily decoration according to the status of life, tools or instruments necessary for carrying on the occupation or the profession of either spouse;
(3) Property acquired by either spouse during marriages through a will or a gratuitous gift;
(4) “Khongman” i.e. property given at the engagement ceremony by the man to the woman as evidence to marry.
Common Property “Sin Somros”
Common Property consists of:
(1) all property acquired by either spouse during marriage;
(2) property acquired by either spouse during marriage through a will or gift in writing if it is declared in such will or document of gift that the property will be owned jointly by both husband and wife.
(3) fruits of private property.
In case of doubt as to whether a property is private property or common property, the law presumes that property to be common property
