Guardianship and curatorship in Thailand
Not sure where to start? Start here
Written by Greg Berryman. Sources last checked 8 August 2026.
Thai law's answer to incapacity is a court process somebody else has to run after it has happened.
If this is happening now and the person is in hospital, start with what to do when someone is hospitalised in Thailand.
What is the difference between guardianship and curatorship in Thailand?
Two levels, depending on how much capacity has gone.
Guardianship. If someone is of unsound mind, the court can declare them incompetent and put them under a guardian, who then acts for them. That is section 28 of the Civil and Commercial Code.
Curatorship. Section 32 covers someone whose body or mind leaves them unable to manage their own affairs but who is not that far gone. The court declares them quasi-incompetent and appoints a curator instead. The same section covers persistent reckless spending and habitual drunkenness. It is the lighter of the two.
Orders under both sections are published in the Government Gazette.
Who can apply to a Thai court to be appointed guardian?
Under section 28: a spouse, a parent or grandparent, a child or grandchild, an existing guardian or curator, a person looking after the individual, or the public prosecutor.
That list is wider than the inheritance rules. A person looking after the individual is on it, which on the face of it lets a live-in partner apply. The inheritance rules never do that.
Being allowed to apply is not the same as being chosen. Whether a Thai court would appoint a long-term partner rather than a blood relative living abroad is unresolved, and it is with a Thai lawyer.
How long does a Thai guardianship application take?
Two applications and two hearings. The first proves the person is incompetent and needs somebody appointed. The second looks at who that should be and appoints them.
The reported timings start at three months, and run longer if a court will not treat it as urgent.
Meanwhile the bank account is frozen and the bills keep arriving. That gap, and who ends up paying, is on if you lose capacity rather than die. The reason no power of attorney bridges it is on power of attorney in Thailand.
What does a guardianship application cost in Thailand?
Nobody publishes a reliable figure.
The application is a court proceeding with two hearings, and in practice it is run by a Thai lawyer, so the cost is that lawyer's fee plus court fees. No government publishes a figure and the law firm commentary that quotes one does not agree with itself. Ask two or three Thai firms for a written quote rather than relying on a number from a website.
Worth asking at the same time whether an interim or emergency order is available, and on what grounds, because that is the question that matters when the bills are already arriving.
What can a guardian do once appointed?
- Make legal and medical decisions for the person.
- Handle their property and money, and make sure the bills get paid.
- Decide where they live.
- Decide who is allowed to see them.
So a court-appointed guardian can control who has access, including where the guardian is a relative abroad and the person shut out is a partner here.
Can a foreigner be appointed guardian in Thailand?
Reported as possible, with conditions that no source sets out in full. The court decides on what is best for the person rather than following a fixed order, and it generally picks close relatives: parents, brothers and sisters, grandparents.
What conditions apply to a foreign guardian, and whether living outside Thailand counts against an applicant, is not established. Both are questions for a Thai lawyer.
Can you choose your own guardian in advance?
No. There is no Thai version of naming an attorney while you are well. You cannot appoint your own guardian and neither can anyone else. Only a court can, and only once you can no longer do it yourself.
You can leave evidence. A written, dated and witnessed statement saying who you would want and why does not bind a court, but it is something the court can take into account when it decides what is best for you. How much weight it carries is a question for a Thai lawyer.
If you write one, have it witnessed by a Thai notarial services attorney, a lawyer registered to do notarial work here. Your own embassy may not be allowed to witness a document meant for use in Thailand. See who can legally act.
Alongside that: a living will for refusing treatment at the end of life, marriage if it is open to you and something you want, and a list of what you own and where the paperwork is, which cuts down the document hunt the court will put somebody through.
What happens to a guardianship when the person dies?
The guardianship ends with them, and a different court process starts. A guardian has no authority over an estate. Somebody has to be appointed estate administrator, which is a separate application under a separate part of the Code.
See the court order that unfreezes a Thai bank account and what an estate administrator has to do in Thailand.
What is in the guide?
This page covers the court process that follows. The guide contains an asset and document inventory, the next of kin authorisation letter in the wording the embassies ask for, and separate modules for British, American, Australian, Canadian, New Zealand and Irish citizens, because the six governments define next of kin differently.
Sources
- Thai Civil and Commercial Code, sections 28 to 36. Section 28 sets out who may apply for a person to be adjudged incompetent and placed under guardianship. Section 32 covers quasi-incompetence and curatorship. Orders under both are published in the Government Gazette.
- Notarial Services, Australian Consulate-General Phuket, on the limits of consular witnessing for documents intended for use in Thailand.
- The three-month figure, the scope of a guardian's powers once appointed, and the position of a foreign guardian are drawn from published Thai law firm commentary rather than from statute or a government source. They are reported ranges and descriptions, not official published figures.
- The cost of the application, the availability of an interim or emergency order, the conditions attaching to a foreign guardian, and the weight a court gives to a statement naming a preferred guardian are all open questions with a Thai lawyer. None of them is answered on this page.
- Code sections are cited from published English translations. No official English text of Thai legislation exists. Only the Thai text as published in the Royal Gazette has legal force. Thai legal review of these sections is under way. Section numbers are given so the provisions can be checked directly. See about this site.