Thai Law | Child Custody Revised

Thai Law | Child Custody Revised

Thai Law

           Thai Law |  This week’s I will share with you a coming change in Thailand’s child custody laws. For many years Thailand has suffered by not having a law that punishes a parent who shares custody of a child for improper care or not meeting the conditions of the custody agreement. Previously any parent that neglected their duties as a guardian was not subjected to any punishments by a court of law. This new provision of the Thai law which will come into effect on the twenty second of this month is aimed at ensuring the proper care of a child by insuring the parent meets the conditions set by the court or face the consequences.

Thailand Law

           If one side does not follow the court order with regards to the conditions of child care, then the new law will require that parent to proceed to a family court whereby a judge will ask them if they want to follow the courts order in regards to child custody or to ignore them. If the parent in question chooses to ignore their responsibilities as a parent and guardian then the judge will issue a jail term of fifteen days to the offending party. If after fifteen days the offender still chooses not to heed the court order then he will be returned to jail to serve a longer sentence. This enforcement of child custody law did not exist in years past and the Thai court hope that it will compel parents who share custody to fulfill their responsibilities to their children.

Thai Law

           As in our previous article regarding child custody there are requirements bestowed on each parent regarding a fifty-fifty custody split of a child. In Thailand the care and education of a child is considered paramount by the family court and as such the parent that takes care of the child’s education will have custody of the child on working days from Monday to Friday while the other parent will have custody weekends, school holidays will be split fifty-fifty between the two. A monthly payment of expenses is also required by the court with age being the factor that determines the amount necessary. For a child that is 1 – 10 years old 10,000 Baht is required, 10 – 15 years old 15,000 Baht and 15 – 20 years old 20,000 Baht, all of these payments will be split evenly between the two parents. Also when a child is in your custody you have to care for them personally, you cannot leave them in the care of a nanny or relative.

          Our comment: Any violation of the above conditions will bring the new law into action and the appropriate measures to be taken. This kind of law is present in western law systems for a long time already; it is good luck that this law is coming to pass here in Thailand as we have many problems enforcing the conditions of shared custody. Now we can use this law to enforce the judgment of the court and can resolve future disputes. If you have your own case or any questions regarding Thai law please feel free to write to us and we will answer any questions or concerns in this column.