Greg and Ed interview Dave Lawrence of Pegleg Legal about the technicalities of divorce in Thailand. Although Ed previously discussed his big ‘D’ on an earlier show, his situation was so simple that it’s probably not representative of the typical divorce. Dave begins with his process for new clients. First, he asks if the marriage was registered in Thailand. Many ‘couples’ actually never get legally married in Thailand, which of course changes your legal rights. Second, he asks if the couple has any children. As one would expect, kids tend to significantly complicate matters. However, Dave makes clear if a couple is not legally married, then the mother automatically becomes the sole custodian of the child, and the biological father has no automatic rights.

Next, Ed asks Dave about ‘common law’ marriage, the idea that a couple can be deemed legally married just by living together for a certain number of years, but it turns out that concept doesn’t exist under Thai law. If it ain’t on paper, it ain’t real, at least in Thailand. The guys continue peppering Dave with various marriage and divorce scenarios, including what property is considered ‘marital property’ subject to division and how child custody is handled by biological fathers who have a properly registered marriage.

The topic isn’t exactly rosy, but the big ‘D’ is something that we are all better off knowing something about.

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