Doomsday List

[traveller2]

As far as notifying others of my death, I use facebook daily, to communicate with friends and family around the world. If/when I die, my wife simply puts a public announcement on my homepage to notify everyone.
Where account numbers, passwords and other personal information is concerned, perhaps putting them on a memory stick or other type of electronic storage for access by your other half, or solicitors might help?
Just a thought.

T2

[Stargeezer]

Note to self. Get cremated locally. Have family pickup urn, or what ever container the ashes are in
to transport to the final spot. Advantage of cremation, it removes the fingerprints so my past sins are
harder to track or follow, as well an urn is easier to transport than a coffin.
Also try to drink a nice glass of Hennessy before expiring, makes the cremation process better.
If I do pass on, I hope it is in Thailand or somewhere warm to hot.
Stargeezer

[Big Boy]

Bump - any more contributions?

[Nereus]

The statutory procedure is surely going to depend on the circumstances of your demise?
If you pass away in a hospital of natural causes it would be straight forward, where as if you are executed because of murdering a poster on HHAD, it will be complicated!

For the rest of it, a list attached to your will maybe the best option. You do have a will, don`t you?
One thing that I experienced regarding a will, is that you had better have an administrator / executor appointed. It does not have to be a Thai, but if in any doubt then you should appoint a lawyer, providing you can find one you can trust! The will should also show how the executor is to be reimbursed!

But the ins and out of a will have been abused on here previously, so not really relevant.

It is always going to be the small things that have been overlooked, that are going to cause the most grief to those trying to sort it out. As HHADFan has pointed out, the simple lack of a password was a concern.

A worthwhile, but thankless, effort is needed here.

[Riversider]

An excellent idea by BB. It is hard enough in your own country to sort these things out, in another country with different language and laws an absolute nightmare. It is a pity the topic has attracted so many negative comments.

[dundrillin]

A will for each country of residence is essential. Keep it in a safe in your house and also write a list of all your assets with account numbers ,broker details etc. passwords maybe best kept in a sealed letter to executor or lawyer. It may turn out to be illegal if your account is accessed after your death ( assuming it is not a joint one) . Investment firms etc will require sight of death certificates before transfer of funds. Also remember the good causes and helpful people you have come across and finally enjoy the proceeds of your hard work while you can!

[BOZ]

Sorry for the late response, I think this is an awesome topic and great idea!!!

I have been on the executor side of this as well as the power of attorney for my stepmother who has full blown Alzheimer's... My father and I had done a lot of planning on the what if, sad part is he died quite rapidly with cancer, so I got to test out our hard work.. The will and POA were the key to getting started, he had added me to his bank accounts and made me his beneficiary of his investment accounts to expedite the process of securing and consolidating his assets, again key to my success.. My 7 siblings were onboard quickly, had my dad do a recording to them to set the rules... Again they were all fine with what I had to do. This could have been a horror show if anyone of them started causing problems... The will was key here with their wishes spelled out... Being in the USA each state has their own laws on what can be done and how to proceed...

I am sure with the local Thai laws it will make things a challenge more for me if something happens to my wife. For her I made sure to get her US citizenship before we relocate here... This will give her protections under US laws, on such things as Social Security, our funds in US banks, investments and alike. I really have worried about her after I pass... Of course she doesn't want to discuss this and I have had to insist to get the ball rolling on wills, POA for each of us, medical proxy, having her joint on bank accounts solves that problem. Sole beneficiary on all other accounts and investments secures those assets for her... We have a serious password keeper that keeps all our accounts, logins, passwords, SSN info and along with phone list on my phone and in the iCloud for easy access... This Keeper is an apple app that is worth researching for your use. We both share a single account so every update goes to all devices real time and it is encrypted. Keeping the embassy advised of our residence is a big part for USA citizens as they can get info validated on death...

Death certificates become a must have and 5 would be minimal with 10 a good idea for safety sake.. I had to send real hard copies to only a few agencies in the USA, most accepted a scanned copy of all documents, POA, incapacitation letter, death cert and what ever form they required for each dealing I had to deal with.. I created a "standard packet" to attach to a cover letter and their form... Worked well and can be done remotely...

Guys I have put some facts here I am sure I will think of others as I go forward, we still need to do a Thai will to protect me in the event of her death and the house here being in her name... But we are in decent shape from a USA standpoint... Each country will have their own rules and regulations on the topics, children will add to the equation again a good will or living trust are priceless in times of need, hard to get a document signed after the fact...


Sorry for the long post but this is important if we really care about our spouse and families after we are gone, the stress will be overwhelming trust me, taking the emotion out of it now is the best thing we can do... Ok off soapbox now... Thanks BB for getting this off the ground!!!

[Dannie Boy]

Almost certainly, assuming you die here in Thailand, the death certificate will be in Thai, so you will need to get it translated into your home country language and have it attested at your relevant Embassy as a true copy.

[Big Boy]

A final bump on this. I will start to work on it tomorrow, all being well.

[Khundon1975]

Another thing to consider is, what if the Thai wife dies first leaving the farang in Thailand?

A rock solid will (Thai) would be vital in that situation or it could get very messy.

[Big Boy]

Sorry guys, but an unexpected trip to Cha-Am today and a Birthday Party tonight means I won't be able to start on this until tomorrow.

[Big Boy]

Well guys, I've been puzzling over this for a couple of days now. Unfortunately it looks as though the naysayers were right. There isn't enough information here to put together a useful guide - even providing the most basic of information, let alone the complexities of various nationalities etc.

Unfortunately, this lack of basic information doesn't bode well for those we leave behind, and we'll all have to rely upon the sort of support network that Sarge's widow had is available for us.

I will build on what I have for my own use, but I wouldn't to publish it, even as a general guide.

I will leave the thread open for a further week in case more information comes to light. Else, I'll close the thread, and we'll have to put it down to a good idea that went nowhere.

[dundrillin]

I think you are being a bit hard on yourself. I feel the thread brought up many good points. I sure most of us have learned something. Probably would benefit from listing the salient points and each individual can adapt to their own personal circumstances.

[dundrillin]

Damm typo ! Must mean senility is setting in, better get that Power of Attoreny revised.

[Big Boy]

Yes, it brought up many good points, but not enough to produce the desired guide to help people when they need it. Its not what would be there, its vital information that might be missed. I wouldn't want to be the person responsible for somebody using the document and missing something because it wasn't there.

Such a list needs to be as complete as possible. Now that I've spent a couple of days looking at it, I can understand why the British Embassy site has a lot of pages telling me nothing.