Marriage, divorce and family law

Thai family law is codified in the Civil and Commercial Code, and a few of its rules — especially around prenups and marital property — work differently from what many foreigners expect.

Getting married

• A legal marriage is one registered at the district office (amphur). A ceremony alone has no legal effect on its own.
• Foreigners typically need an affirmation of freedom to marry from their embassy, translated and legalised, before the amphur will register the marriage — see notarisation & documents.
• Same-sex marriage became legal in Thailand in 2025, registered through the same system.

Prenuptial agreements

A Thai prenup is only valid if it is in writing, signed before two witnesses, and registered at the amphur at the same time as the marriage. It cannot be added later — changes after the wedding need court approval. A well-drafted prenup lists each side’s pre-marriage property and sets rules for property acquired afterwards.

Marital property, broadly

Thai law distinguishes personal property (what each spouse owned before marriage, personal effects, and gifts or inheritances received personally) from marital property (broadly, what is earned or acquired during the marriage), which is divided between the spouses on divorce.

Divorce: two routes

1. Administrative divorce at the amphur — both spouses agree and appear together, with a settlement on property and children. Fast, but only works with genuine agreement.
2. Judicial divorce — one spouse sues in the Family Court on statutory grounds. The court also decides property division, custody and support.

Children

• A child born to an unmarried mother is in her sole custody by default; an unmarried father gains legal rights through legitimation (amphur registration with consent, or a court order).
• Custody after divorce can be sole or shared; courts decide by the child’s best interests.
• Child support agreements registered at the amphur, or ordered by a court, are enforceable — see debt & civil claims for what enforcement generally looks like.

Cross-border marriages and divorces

A marriage validly performed abroad is generally recognised in Thailand once recorded with a Thai embassy or the amphur. A divorce obtained abroad between a Thai national and a foreigner generally needs to be recorded through the same channel before Thai records — the marriage register, land documents, sometimes a passport — reflect the change. Skipping this step is a common cause of stalled property transfers or remarriage plans years later; see property & land.

Living together without marrying

Thai law does not automatically share property built up by an unmarried couple, and an unmarried partner is not a statutory heir on death unless named in a will — see wills & inheritance. Couples who are not married can still protect each other with ordinary contract tools: a cohabitation or property agreement, documented joint ownership, and a will.

Legitimation, in a bit more detail

An unmarried father has no automatic legal status toward his child under Thai law until he legitimates the child, either by registering the legitimation at the amphur with the mother’s and child’s consent, or through a court order where consent is withheld or a dispute exists. Legitimation is what unlocks parental rights such as custody and access — it is not just a formality, and it can matter later for nationality, inheritance and consent to travel documents. This is a deep enough topic on its own that it has its own guide: see child custody & legitimation.

Domestic violence and protective measures

Thailand has a specific domestic-violence law alongside the ordinary criminal offences that already cover assault. It allows for protective orders and a somewhat different, more victim-focused procedure than an ordinary criminal case. Anyone in immediate danger should treat this as an emergency — contact the police and, if a foreign national, your embassy — rather than trying to resolve it through a civil family-law process alone.

Cross-border custody disputes

When parents live in different countries, or one parent wants to relocate a child abroad, the legal questions multiply: which country’s courts have authority, how a Thai custody order is treated elsewhere, and vice versa. These cases are genuinely complex and fact-specific, and international considerations that do not arise in a purely domestic dispute can apply. Do not assume a custody or travel-consent arrangement that works in one country will automatically be honoured in the other — get advice from a lawyer qualified in both jurisdictions, or two lawyers who coordinate, before a child crosses a border in a way either parent might later contest.

Adoption, briefly

Thailand allows both domestic and, in defined circumstances, intercountry adoption, each with its own approval process running through the Department of Children and Youth and, for intercountry cases, additional central-authority steps. Adoption procedures are involved and time-consuming by design; treat any promise of a fast or simplified process with real caution.