What happened
A foreign client had been married to his Thai wife for more than five years when she suffered a serious traffic accident and became permanently disabled. She received a substantial insurance payment for her injuries and medical treatment, but died not long afterwards.
Her younger brother became the estate administrator and took control of the assets, including the insurance funds. The husband disputed the handling of those funds and sought recognition of his share of the marital property.
What we did
We examined the source and nature of the assets and brought a claim against the estate administrator in the Phuket Provincial Court. The argument advanced for the husband in this case was that the relevant assets, particularly the insurance proceeds, formed part of the marital property.
We prepared evidence about the funds and continued discussions during the proceedings. The matter then went to court-supervised mediation.
The outcome in this case
The estate administrator agreed to return the husband's share of the marital assets, and the client withdrew the lawsuit. The dispute therefore ended through a mediated agreement rather than a judgment after a full trial. The treatment of the insurance proceeds described here was the position advanced in this particular dispute.