Danish man wins lawsuit against Thai wife for not sharing property

A Buriram provincial court on Wednesday brokered a settlement between a Danish man and his former Thai girlfriend, who had refused to return some 5 million baht he had invested in a house they built together and a car they bought in her name.

The court ruled that the Thai woman should transfer the car, a Honda CRV bought for 1.7 million baht, to the Dane.

The woman initially claimed that the car was a gift of affection, as was the house, and that as everything was in her name and they were not married, he had no right to any of her property.

This is not how the judge saw it.

Tuesday's court hearing made it clear that the couple had entered into a common law marriage and were living together as husband and wife - but not for very long.

The Dane had transferred the funds to his bank account in stages corresponding to the payment stages of the car and the construction phases of the house.

The judge also explained that since the house had been built on land owned by the Thai woman's mother, the only alternative to a compromise would be to demolish the house and sell the building materials used, then sell the car and share the money - since the Danish man was entitled to 50 % of the joint assets of the relationship.

That would give him half of about 900,000 baht.

The judge left no doubt that if the Thai woman decided not to accept his proposal, she would rule in favour of the Danish man.

Leaving the car with him and keeping the house was a better alternative for both of them, she suggested.

It took the defendant - the former partner - a surprisingly long time to decide whether she would rather continue to fight for her claim, that it was all a gift, or accept the deal on offer.

Finally, she tearfully declared that if the Dane did not come back to live with her, as she had hoped, then it was only right that he should have the car.

The court ruling - which was negotiated before becoming a court decision - represents a significant break with the popular belief, among both Thai women and foreigners in Thailand, that if the marriage has not been properly registered, the Thai woman can withdraw as owner of all the couple's property registered in her name should the relationship break down.

The relationship began in December 2018, when the Danish man visited Thailand for the first time after his wife died.

He met the Thai woman in Hua Hinwhich he visited with another Dane and his Thai wife.

She worked in a bar there and he liked her.

After seeing her every day for a few days, he took her home from the bar for a whole week and they went together to Kanchanaburi where his friend went to play golf.

After that, he returned to Denmark and came back a month and a half later.

This time his girlfriend took him to visit her mother in Buriram and he stayed there for three months.

Between spring 2019 and February 2020, when the relationship ended, Dane transferred a total of 5.7 million baht from his bank account to hers, thinking they would live together as he saw his friend do with his Thai wife.

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The car cost 1.7 million baht.

The house costs about 3 million baht.

To prevent her from returning to the bar, he sent her 25,000 baht a month.

And then there was the 200,000 baht debt of the Thai woman's mother, which he also agreed to help pay.

The bank statements left no doubt about the amount of money, but the Thai woman's lawyer insisted it was paid as a gift of affection; even the court was given evidence of payment of expenses that matched the money transferred.

The break-up occurred after a lavish housewarming party, the necessity of which the Dane had questioned.

The party lasted one day, with a stage with live music and dancers, and was attended by about 250-300 guests.

In the days that followed, he had his back to the wall.

He then noticed that all the remaining building materials were being transferred to his wife's mother's house and used there to build a wall.

When he asked who had paid for it, the thin ice broke.

He was told he could just move out because it was his wife's house.

And he couldn't take the car, because it was his.

At first he called his friend who lived about 50 km away and asked him if he could come and stay with them for a few days.

They helped him with the practicalities and took him to the provincial police to lodge a complaint against the Thai woman.

The first court case, which his friend's and wife's lawyer presented to him, was to claim the car as his own.

When the woman's lawyer denied her this opportunity, the Dane's lawyer withdrew his complaint and started a new lawsuit to claim full separation of the home, asking for 50 % of the 5.7 million baht.

The baht that the Dane had transferred over time, plus the interest since the break-up.

Winning this case could set an important precedent for similar cases where the judge accepts that the intention of the foreign payer was to live as husband and wife with the Thai person and could therefore reasonably claim to have been deceived into purchasing the joint property and registering it in the Thai national's name.