Estate Planning

[forcebwithu]

For those with investment accounts, I would strongly advise looking into what is required of your beneficiaries for them to inherit your account on your passing. It's something I wish my parents had considered as one particular requirement has, and still is proving to be a right PITA eight months after my mom's passing. That is the requirement to obtain a Medallion Signature Guarantee in order for the investment company to transfer the inherited account funds.

I've detailed my problems with Schwab on obtaining an MSG for one my mom's mutual funds in this post (link). They caused me enough grief that I have now moved all my investments, brokerage and IRA, from Schwab to JP Morgan Chase. And on a positive note, do to the ongoing problems I've obtained from the mutual fund an exception to the MSG in that they will now accept a notarized signature.

As it is, I learned even JP Morgan would requires an MSG from my children before transferring the inherited accounts to another investment company. The exception to the MSG requirement would be if they had accounts at JP Morgan. So to forestall any problems with an MSG I had my children open investment accounts with JP Morgan. It'll be up to them how much they wish to keep in those accounts, but at least they'll have the accounts in place when my time to leave this dimension arrives.

Another thing I would advise, consolidate your accounts to as few investment/bank companies as possible. My mom left behind accounts scattered across 12 different financial institutions. That meant 12 sets of different forms, some requiring an MSG and others a notarized signature to complete the transfer on death process. Multiply that by the 3 beneficiaries and that's quite a pile of paperwork that had to be processed.

I hope this heads up helps others. It's info I wish I had in hand years ago so I could have advised my parents to perhaps consider doing things differently.

 

 

[fforest]

I have a account with JP Morgan because my family does but its not my main bank.....

And unless you keep a big amount of money there (I forget how much) They will charge you 35 dollars a month....And Yep I get charged 35 a month....

[forcebwithu]

2 minutes ago, fforest said:

I have a account with JP Morgan because my family does but its not my main bank.....

And unless you keep a big amount of money there (I forget how much) They will charge you 35 dollars a month....And Yep I get charged 35 a month....

What type of account do you have that gets hit with a $35/month charge?

I know my savings account gets hit with a $5 charge if my savings balance falls below $500. $35/month seems like a pretty steep fee to be paying.

[biggles]

For Australians with a Superannuation account. I found out, in time fortunately, that super companies are not allowed to transfer monies to a beneficiary bank account outside Australia. Even if it is a beneficiary nominated in your super account and your will.

I couldn't even transfer my own monies to a Philippine account. Fortunately I kept my OZ bank account when I left.

[fforest]

3 minutes ago, forcebwithu said:

What type of account do you have that gets hit with a $35/month charge?

I know my savings account gets hit with a $5 charge if my savings balance falls below $500. $35/month seems like a pretty steep fee to be paying.

 

My account at JP Morgan is tied in with my Dads account...I am not exactly sure what my account is called....There was no charge for the longest time the 35 dollar fee started about 4 years ago because I did not have XXXXXX dollars in the account...

[forcebwithu]

13 minutes ago, fforest said:

My account at JP Morgan is tied in with my Dads account...I am not exactly sure what my account is called....There was no charge for the longest time the 35 dollar fee started about 4 years ago because I did not have XXXXXX dollars in the account...

I know their wealth management/private client service accounts have a minimum balance requirement.

If you haven't already done so, I would suggest looking to changing to a different account type at JP Morgan that has a lower, or no fee.

[Toy Boy]

I was worried about this stuff in the past, because the bulk of my money is in Barclays Jersey and the executor of my estate would have to arrange probate through the courts there, and it didn't sound terribly fast or easy. The problem was that HMRC only gave your estate a limited span of time, six months max I think, to cough up what was owed to them or they'd start charging their usurious interest rate on the balance. Given that my affairs are spread across three countries, the poor executor was going to have her work cut out. After the major changes to UK IHT last April, though, my estate as it stands will be free of UK IHT, have to pay 1% tax to Jersey to release the funds, and will also be IHT-free in Thailand. The executor can sort out the rest, I've done my part. 

[coxyhog]

9 hours ago, forcebwithu said:

For those with investment accounts, I would strongly advise looking into what is required of your beneficiaries for them to inherit your account on your passing. It's something I wish my parents had considered as one particular requirement has, and still is proving to be a right PITA eight months after my mom's passing. That is the requirement to obtain a Medallion Signature Guarantee in order for the investment company to transfer the inherited account funds.

I've detailed my problems with Schwab on obtaining an MSG for one my mom's mutual funds in this post (link). They caused me enough grief that I have now moved all my investments, brokerage and IRA, from Schwab to JP Morgan Chase. And on a positive note, do to the ongoing problems I've obtained from the mutual fund an exception to the MSG in that they will now accept a notarized signature.

As it is, I learned even JP Morgan would requires an MSG from my children before transferring the inherited accounts to another investment company. The exception to the MSG requirement would be if they had accounts at JP Morgan. So to forestall any problems with an MSG I had my children open investment accounts with JP Morgan. It'll be up to them how much they wish to keep in those accounts, but at least they'll have the accounts in place when my time to leave this dimension arrives.

Another thing I would advise, consolidate your accounts to as few investment/bank companies as possible. My mom left behind accounts scattered across 12 different financial institutions. That meant 12 sets of different forms, some requiring an MSG and others a notarized signature to complete the transfer on death process. Multiply that by the 3 beneficiaries and that's quite a pile of paperwork that had to be processed.

I hope this heads up helps others. It's info I wish I had in hand years ago so I could have advised my parents to perhaps consider doing things differently.

 

 

My mum had 3 investment bonds which are linked to life assurance,her life & mine so do not pay out until I snuff it.

But as soon as I get probate I'll be cashing them in.

[coxyhog]

As soon as I get probate on my mother's estate we'll be selling our house & relocating to Korat.

All of my dosh will be going offshore but into joint accounts with wifey.

[richy65]

3 hours ago, coxyhog said:

As soon as I get probate on my mother's estate we'll be selling our house & relocating to Korat.

All of my dosh will be going offshore but into joint accounts with wifey.

Good luck with everything coxy. Will be very interesting to hear how the big move goes 

[coxyhog]

1 hour ago, richy65 said:

Good luck with everything coxy. Will be very interesting to hear how the big move goes 

Thanks mate.

Seems that probate can take 3 - 6 months so a trip to Thailand may be in order.

[coxyhog]

4 hours ago, coxyhog said:

All of my dosh will be going offshore but into joint accounts with wifey.

Most has been in joint accounts for a while now - she doesn't get the full state pension so if she gets half the interest then the less HMRC gets.

[Butch]

3 hours ago, coxyhog said:

Most has been in joint accounts for a while now - she doesn't get the full state pension so if she gets half the interest then the less HMRC gets.

Is a spouse entitled to a widow's state pension in the event of him passing do you know mate?. I know the rules changed in 2016, I'm currently trying to chase up and find out on behalf of someone (Thai National) who lost her husband recently and is asking if she's got any claim.

Edited January 10 by Butch

[coxyhog]

56 minutes ago, Butch said:

Is a spouse entitled to a widow's state pension in the event of him passing do you know mate?. I know the rules changed in 2016, I'm currently trying to chase up and find out on behalf of someone (Thai National) who lost her husband recently and is asking if she's got any claim.

Sorry no idea mate

[Pumpuynarak]

My mum gifted me her apartment way back in 2007 and i duly took a 140K interest only mortgage out on it when it was in my name, no tax to pay when my mum passed away as she had survived for at least 7 years.

When she passed away i then gifted it to my son who took over the 140K mortgage and now rents it out for future investment, its currently worth 250K.

[Stillearly]

20 minutes ago, Pumpuynarak said:

My mum gifted me her apartment way back in 2007 and i duly took a 140K interest only mortgage out on it when it was in my name, no tax to pay when my mum passed away as she had survived for at least 7 years.

When she passed away i then gifted it to my son who took over the 140K mortgage and now rents it out for future investment, its currently worth 250K.

What's the advantage of taking out an interest only mortgage against the property .. ? 

[Pumpuynarak]

10 minutes ago, Stillearly said:

What's the advantage of taking out an interest only mortgage against the property .. ? 

Monthly cost, i knew i was going to gift it to my son when my mum passed away and he arranged a normal repayment mortgage for the 140K mortgage i had on it. It was his decision to retain the apartment and rent it out instead of selling it, he's doing very well considering the mortgage costs compared to the monthly rental income and the future investment the property could and probaly will produce for him.

[Yesitisdakid]

I stopped in and talked to my banker the last time I was in the United States we took a look at my accounts and he told me based on the balance I have they would most likely just give the money to anybody that came in with a note from me saying it was okay 😁

[forcebwithu]

12 hours ago, coxyhog said:

As soon as I get probate on my mother's estate we'll be selling our house & relocating to Korat.

All of my dosh will be going offshore but into joint accounts with wifey.

I'm not married, so a joint account with the lady I've been with for 13 years would still have to go through Thai probate.

What I've done instead is had her open a Bangkok Bank account in her name with online access. I have the logon credentials for her account, so I keep the bulk of my cash in her account and move money to my account as needed.

Doing it that way she has a clear path to the money on my passing, plus if I should become incapacitated she has access to funds to get me medical help before my insurance kicks in.

As an aside, one thing my parents did right by us kids is sell off their house a couple years before their passing. That allowed us to skip having to go through probate as the remaining cash assets listed us beneficiaries. It made inheritance much simpler.

[coxyhog]

9 hours ago, forcebwithu said:

What I've done instead is had her open a Bangkok Bank account in her name with online access. I have the logon credentials for her account, so I keep the bulk of my cash in her account and move money to my account as needed.

Now I wonder if that's the way to sidestep any Thai income tax if I stay over the 180 day mark?

[boydeste]

18 minutes ago, coxyhog said:

Now I wonder if that's the way to sidestep any Thai income tax if I stay over the 180 day mark?

As with many things, that seems to have died down.

[coxyhog]

1 hour ago, boydeste said:

As with many things, that seems to have died down.

Let's hope so....

[Toy Boy]

Going back to the changes last year in UK IHT for people living overseas for a long time, Lionel Shriver wrote a column in The Spectator a while back about how ridiculous and outdated the UK tax code is. After living in the UK for 30-odd years (she's American by birth) she left to live in Portugal in 2023, fed up with much about the UK (I know the feeling). She concluded her column with a bit about how the changes last April will now affect her, calling the UK the 'Roach Motel' now, at least for IHT purposes. This is the relevant bit:

I explained the new system and the 10-year rule previously, look up that post if you don't follow the snippet. 

As an aside, she's described in previous columns how complicated it is to actually settle full-time in Portugal, how much paperwork there is and how obstructive the authorities can be. We may moan about visa extensions and TM30's and 90-day reports here in Thailand, but it's actually all pretty simple compared with moving to live in Lisbon. Portugal was one of the places I considered moving when I retired back in 2004, but the Algarve was already largely ruined by over-development and although I fancied the idea of the Azores it seemed to remote and small, worse than a village in Isaan. In the end, I still think I made the right choice moving to Pattaya. 

[coxyhog]

5 hours ago, Toy Boy said:

Going back to the changes last year in UK IHT for people living overseas for a long time, Lionel Shriver wrote a column in The Spectator a while back about how ridiculous and outdated the UK tax code is. After living in the UK for 30-odd years (she's American by birth) she left to live in Portugal in 2023, fed up with much about the UK (I know the feeling). She concluded her column with a bit about how the changes last April will now affect her, calling the UK the 'Roach Motel' now, at least for IHT purposes. This is the relevant bit:

I explained the new system and the 10-year rule previously, look up that post if you don't follow the snippet. 

As an aside, she's described in previous columns how complicated it is to actually settle full-time in Portugal, how much paperwork there is and how obstructive the authorities can be. We may moan about visa extensions and TM30's and 90-day reports here in Thailand, but it's actually all pretty simple compared with moving to live in Lisbon. Portugal was one of the places I considered moving when I retired back in 2004, but the Algarve was already largely ruined by over-development and although I fancied the idea of the Azores it seemed to remote and small, worse than a village in Isaan. In the end, I still think I made the right choice moving to Pattaya. 

Not sure how the UK taxman can claw back if the money ain't in the UK?

[Toy Boy]

On 1/15/2026 at 5:34 PM, coxyhog said:

Not sure how the UK taxman can claw back if the money ain't in the UK?

You can be sure that it will be neither cheap nor pretty... it's why I've always been honest and open with HMRC and the DWP, in spite of being non-resident for almost 22 years now. 

Here's what Google's AI summary says:

HMRC recovers overseas tax debt by leveraging international tax treaties and mutual assistance agreements (like

MARD/OECD MAC) to ask the tax authority in the country where the person lives to collect the debt on their behalf, using their local laws; they can also use <</Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties for criminal cases or simply use UK debt collection agencies, though direct enforcement abroad is limited. 

Methods HMRC Uses

1. Mutual Assistance for Recovery (MARD/OECD MAC):
   • This is a primary tool where HMRC requests another country's tax authority to collect UK tax debt, treating it as their own local debt.
   • This relies on agreements between the UK and other nations, allowing for cross-border debt recovery.
2. Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties (MLATs):
   • Used for more serious cases, including potential criminal investigations.
   • MLATs allow HMRC to gather evidence and get assistance from foreign bodies for tax-related crimes.
3. International Debt Collection Agencies:
   • HMRC may use private agencies that specialize in international debt recovery to pursue the taxpayer.
4. Direct Contact & Warnings:
   • HMRC will first try to contact the individual via letters, texts, or even visits to their last known address in the UK.
   • They warn that failing to pay can lead to criminal proceedings and will use data from international exchanges to identify non-compliant expats. 

What Happens if You Don't Pay?

• Cooperation with Foreign Authorities: The foreign tax office acts under its own laws to collect the debt.
• Criminal Proceedings: Deliberate avoidance of tax while overseas can be classified as a criminal offence.
• Asset Freezing/Seizure (Limited): While direct UK enforcement isn't possible abroad, cooperation through treaties can lead to local asset seizure. 

Key Takeaway: Leaving the UK doesn't erase your tax liability; HMRC actively works with international partners to track and recover unpaid taxes from overseas residents.