Inheritance Rights Following Invalid Second Marriage and Divorce
On April 1, A.D. 1974, subsequently on May 15, A.D. 1974, Mr. Metta had a child with Ms. Kanute, one child. Thereafter, on July 20, A.D. 1978, Mr. Metta also married Ms. Ari, this being done with the knowledge of Ms. Kanute and Ms. Ari not knowing that Mr. Metta was with another woman before as usual. Mr. Metta continued to live with Ms. Pannee, and visited Ms. Kanute only as opportunities allowed. Subsequently, Mr. Metta and Ms. Pannee desired to obtain a marriage certificate to present to the authorities for the purpose of purchasing a building, but were unable to find it. Mr. Metta and Ms. Pannee took turns registering their marriage a second time, obtaining certificate number 2521. Mr. Metta’s second marriage was then presented to the authorities, and they observed that it was registered. A divorce document bearing the signatures of two witnesses was presented to the authorities for registration, and it was intended to render this registration null and void. Thereafter, Mr. Metta and Ms. Pannee lived together as before until January 1, A.D. 1999, when Mr. Metta passed away. The aforementioned parties had the right to inherit the estate of Mr. Metta to what extent? The Court finds that the marriage registration between Mr. Metta and Ms. Pannee the second time was invalid. There was no compelling reason to register the divorce, therefore, when a divorce occurred between Mr. Metta and Ms. Pannee, it ended according to Section 14 of the Thai Civil and Commercial Code. The right to inherit Mr. Metta’s estate, the child born from Ms. Pannee and Mr. Metta, is the heir of Mr. Metta according to Section 1629(1) of the Thai Civil and Commercial Code. Ms. Kanute and Ms. Ari, even though they registered their marriage without the knowledge of the other party, the marriage remains valid as the court has not yet ruled it void according to Section 1456, 1469 of the Thai Civil and Commercial Code. Ms. Kanute and Ms. Ari therefore have the right to inherit the estate of Mr. Metta according to Section 1495, 1629(final paragraph). The division of Mr. Metta’s estate, the child, receives one-half, and Ms. Kanute and Ms. Ari receive one-half each of the portion they receive, according to Section 1635(1) of the Thai Civil and Commercial Code. Considering all of this, according to Section 4(final paragraph) and Section 1636 of the Thai Civil and Commercial Code.