I suspect the proper answer to this is to see a thai lawyer,but worth running by forum members first as it will have some interesting issues.

Before I met my girlfriend she was "married",albeit not an amphur proceeding. After about 9 years of marriage and three kids,the mother in law gave the husband the chanote to land. This was large enough to build three houses on,70 wah? (I feel this is relevant as there are three kids). A few months later husband died in a car accident. Girlfriend had never signed anything about the chanote,land or anything.

For reasons which are still a little hazy,the chanote is now in the hands of girlfriend's brother in law. He is the elder brother of deceased husband,not the eldest child or indeed the youngest. The mother who gave the chanote initially is alive,deaf and in her nineties being cared for by a daughter (not by the son who now has the chanote).
This has been the position for the last 8 years. I believe 10 years may be a relevant limitation period.

Basically girlfriend wants the chanote and land,not for herself,but for the three kids,now aged 11,13 and 16. This one could argue was the original intention of the donor.
She has contact with the donor mother in law and sees her when she returns to Buriram to slip her a few hundred baht.
She has not been able to speak to the son who has the chanote and so his attitude is unknown.

So the issues are these
1-Should/could girlfriend have succeeded to the chanote of her deceased partner?
2-In the absence of a will what is the position on intestacy-does the land revert to the mother donor?
3-Can the chanote be held in trust for the kids until they obtain majority?

The means brother in law obtained the chanote are unclear,but he seems to have acquired land from his sister who died of cancer in the same way and has a large amount of land and no real need of this parcel.
Girlfriend herself doesn't "need" the land herself,as she owns land in both Buriram and Pattaya,but wants to secure something for the kids.

I have suggested she speaks to the mother donor and thereafter to the brother in law.
I don't think it is merely a question of baht.

Any views,info or opinion welcomed.

Hi Rolyshark,

That's a tricky one, but I think the first question would be if your GF was legally married to her deceased husband. If so I am sure she would have legal rights to it, although a lawyer would I guess be possibly required.

If it was just a village Buddha type ceremony, well I think personally she is on a sticky wicket.

If your GF was married legally and if you are in Pattaya at the moment, try a visit to Khun Wecharon in Treppasit Road. His office is clearly signposted and is located in the office buildings where they hold the Treppasit weekend market (directly opposite the Bangkok Bank). He specialises in Land Rights and many expat's use him. For a nominal fee he will give you an initial analysis of the situation.

Hope this helps........RayBan

Steve,
I haven't got a clue about succession rights in Thailand however my first thoughts were that you mentioned the size of land being 70 Wah which is less than a quarter of one Rai. I'm presuming that this land is in rural Buriram so wouldn't imagine that it's value would be very high. It might be cheaper to offer Noi's brother in law a sum of cash for the chanote rather than pay for the services of a Thai lawyer.

Conrad

Thanks so far.
No amphur proceedings,so no legal marriage.

I'm not sure about the size of the parcel of land,save that it is definitely big enough for three houses and think is in Buriram town rather than the boonies. Girlfriend is quite specific about the size being capable of the houses,but of course may be vaguer about wahs/rais

Looks as if the court hearing date to finalise the transfer by court order will be set in October. No apparant objection by deceased's brother (yet) and better still,no baht have changed hands.
Statements filed by girlfriend and eldest daughter seem to have sufficed to support the application.
However,I havn't had definitive answers to the questions I posed,as I've left the lawyer contact with Noi to avoid farang rates (even with fellow-lawyer mates' rates dicount ).