By Khun Wasan Kitbamrung (Land Doctor), Former Land Management Officer 8

            Note – In explaining the solutions, the author has included clear references from ministerial regulations and rules, which makes the text lengthy. The intention is to provide a clear reference for those applying for inheritance transfer, enabling them to cite it to officials when their requests are denied or delayed. This is mentioned because the author is aware that some officials prefer to act according to what is convenient for them rather than what is convenient for the heirs. They often overlook that the law is designed primarily to facilitate heirs in resolving their issues rather than to ease the officials' workload. Heirs have the right to choose the method that best resolves their issues, rather than having officials dictate the process. Officials can explain the pros and cons, but ultimately, the heirs must choose their own solutions. If officials still do not act according to the heirs' wishes, they should not hesitate to meet with the provincial land officer and explain their intentions and the reasons for their requests. Typically, supervisors instruct officials to strictly adhere to laws and regulations, as denying heirs gives them the right to request a written denial from the land officer, which can be used in an administrative lawsuit if they believe the officials are not acting in accordance with the law. Land officers often find it easier to instruct officials to proceed with the heirs' requests rather than face potential lawsuits, which can be easily filed without needing a lawyer.

Problem Situation

            When submitting a request for inheritance transfer at the land office, although the law does not require heirs to submit their requests together, applicants are usually advised to coordinate and submit their requests for inheritance transfer simultaneously. This allows officials to investigate and create a family tree from multiple heirs, ensuring accurate verification of various facts, which is better than having only a few present. This also facilitates joint signing for the inheritance request, providing signature samples for future verification when heirs engage in transactions related to the land, such as selling or mortgaging it. It is crucial for verifying signatures when powers of attorney are executed, as without signature samples, there is no other way to confirm whether the signature belongs to the actual grantor. Therefore, it is often required for the grantor to appear in person.

            However, in some cases, heirs cannot submit their requests together for various reasons, such as disputes among heirs, living in different provinces, or some residing abroad. Some may be unreachable due to long-term loss of contact, or even missing. Others may be mentally incapacitated and unable to comprehend like normal individuals, or some may simply not want the inheritance due to having sufficient assets or having already received other properties from the deceased.

Solutions

1. Allow some heirs to submit the request and have other eligible heirs sign to accept the inheritance together.

Brief Procedure

            One or more heirs who are ready can submit the request for inheritance transfer at the land office and must inform the deceased's relatives about who is involved, providing complete details (including addresses if notifications about the inheritance transfer need to be sent). They must disclose what they know; if they do not know, they should state the reasons, such as the deceased or heirs living abroad for a long time, making it unclear how many children or relatives the deceased had, or who has passed away and when. If there are deaths before or after the deceased, they must also know the spouse's name to allow for the inheritance to be passed on to the heirs of those who died before the deceased. If a thorough investigation is conducted, it is usually possible to ascertain who is involved. Once the family tree of eligible heirs is presented, the applicant can request that all other heirs sign to accept the inheritance alongside them without needing to be present for the joint signing of the inheritance request. However, the applicant must provide evidence proving that those who are signing are indeed heirs. Without proof of their status as heirs, they cannot jointly accept the inheritance. Acceptable evidence includes household registration, ID cards, birth certificates, or other relevant documents, such as death certificates of heirs who passed away before the deceased, allowing others to inherit in their place. The inheritance request must also specify who is signing to jointly accept the inheritance to allow for public objections. This public notification is a standard legal procedure typically required in various matters. If no objections are raised within 30 days of the announcement, the land officer will proceed with the registration as announced.

            The law (Ministerial Regulation No. 24, Clause 4 (1)) stipulates that including other heirs in the inheritance registration is based on the principle that, according to inheritance law (Section 1599), when someone dies, the inheritance belongs to the heirs from the date of the deceased's death. The rights to the inheritance are automatically conferred upon the heirs by law, and the next step is merely to register the transfer of the inheritance according to the existing rights. The land law and Ministerial Regulation No. 24 allow for this to be done either by the heirs submitting the request themselves or by other heirs submitting the request and registering the signatures of the other heirs to jointly accept the inheritance. This is a legal facilitation for heirs to receive their inheritance effectively. However, if it later appears that the registration was done incorrectly, it can be revoked according to Section 61 of the Land Code, which rarely occurs in practice because generally, no one wants non-heirs to share in the inheritance. Moreover, providing false information risks criminal penalties, with a high likelihood of prosecution. In inheritance matters, various documents must be presented, copies certified, and testimonies provided, and these documents are permanently retained at the land office, making it easy to prove wrongdoing in case of disputes. Typically, heirs prefer to coordinate and submit their requests together, but the method of having them sign to jointly accept the inheritance does exist, particularly when significant issues arise, such as the inability to present evidence of heirship that others possess. This method works best when the applicant has their own evidence readily available, such as being listed on the same household registration.

The aforementioned methods can be executed according to Ministerial Regulation No. 24, Clause 4, which states:

            Clause 4: Registration of rights concerning real estate acquired through inheritance without a will, where there are multiple heirs entitled to the inheritance, must follow Clause 3 and the officials must also proceed as follows:

               (1) In cases where some heirs request to register the inheritance according to their rights or
request the signatures of all other heirs entitled to the inheritance as shown in the family tree provided by the applicant, when there are no objections within the time frame of the announcement, the officials shall register as per the applicant's presentation of legal entitlement evidence.

               The Department of Lands' regulations regarding the registration of rights concerning real estate acquired through inheritance, B.E. 2548 (amended to the present, version 4) has clearly outlined the operational guidelines in Clause 11.

               Clause 11: The investigation and recording of the deceased's family tree should be noted at the back of the investigation record (Form T.D. 8). The applicant must list the names of heirs entitled to the inheritance in order and according to the legal hierarchy, such as the names of parents, children, or representatives. When writing the names of the deceased's heirs, below the deceased's name, write "The deceased died on..." and write "Applicant" below the applicant's name. In cases where the applicant requests the signatures of other heirs entitled to the inheritance to jointly accept the inheritance, write the phrase "The applicant requests the signatures of" below the names of those heirs. If any heir is a minor, incapacitated, or deceased, note the age of the minor or the incapacitated status or the date of death below that heir's name.
              In cases where the applicant does not know the complete family tree of the deceased, they should present the family tree as far as they know and clearly record the reasons for any unknowns, such as a parent living abroad or possibly having a spouse and children abroad. The applicant should not know.
               Once the family tree is completed, the applicant must sign or fingerprint to certify the provided family tree, and the officials must also sign it (according to sample number 6). In cases where officials need to send notifications to heirs, they should prepare a list of names and addresses of the heirs presented by the applicant along with the inheritance request (according to sample number 7).
              In cases where the applicant is the beneficiary of a will, they are not required to disclose the family tree, and officials do not need to send notifications to other heirs regarding the inheritance.
            
             In the sample investigation record for the inheritance transfer request (Form T.D. 8), only the applicant needs to sign; there is no requirement for those who are signing to jointly accept the inheritance to sign as well (see sample number 6 below).


1.2 Some heirs can submit a request for inheritance transfer, and those who do not wish to inherit can provide a written statement of non-acceptance to the officials. They do not need to come to the land office themselves, but can have the applicant deliver it or send it by mail.
 
Problem Situation
           
            In submitting a request for inheritance transfer, sometimes some heirs do not wish to accept the inheritance for various reasons and have agreed with others not to accept that property. Those who do not wish to inherit can express their non-acceptance at the land office in two ways: either by signing a non-acceptance statement in person at the land office, which is usually preferred because it allows officials to verify the identity of the individual, preventing impersonation or forgery of the non-acceptance document. The second option is to create a non-acceptance letter and have the applicant deliver it to the officials or send it by mail, which is used when the non-accepting heir cannot travel or has other commitments.
 
            In practice, the land office allows the applicant to certify that the non-acceptance letter is indeed from the non-accepting individual. This is a shared responsibility because, in reality, the applicant and the non-accepting heir know each other and must communicate about how to proceed. It is unlikely that the other heirs would assume that the non-accepting heirs would provide their non-acceptance letters on their own. If no non-acceptance letter is submitted to the officials within the 30-day announcement period for the inheritance transfer, the application will be rendered void, as stipulated by Ministerial Regulation No. 24. The inheritor will waste time on the process unnecessarily.
       
The method of creating a letter without needing to appear in person is allowed under Ministerial Regulation No. 24, Clause 4 (2), which states:

              Clause 4: Registration of rights concerning real estate acquired through inheritance without a will, where there are multiple heirs entitled to the inheritance, must follow Clause 3 and the officials must also proceed as follows:
             (1) In cases where some heirs request to register the inheritance according to their rights or request the signatures of all other heirs entitled to the inheritance as shown in the family tree provided by the applicant, when there are no objections within the time frame of the announcement, the officials shall register as per the applicant's presentation of legal entitlement evidence.
               (2) In cases where some heirs request to register the entire inheritance, if the applicant can bring all the heirs listed in the family tree to provide consent or present evidence of non-acceptance from those heirs within the time frame of the announcement, the officials shall register according to the applicant's presentation of legal entitlement evidence. However, if the applicant cannot bring all the heirs listed in the family tree to provide consent or cannot present evidence of non-acceptance from those heirs within the time frame of the announcement, the officials shall dismiss the application.

            Furthermore, according to the Department of Lands' regulations regarding the registration of rights concerning real estate acquired through inheritance, B.E. 2548 (amended to the present, version 4), Clause 12 states:

            Clause 12 If the applicant brings all the heirs listed in the family tree to provide consent or presents evidence of non-acceptance from those heirs after the announcement period has expired, the officials cannot proceed further. This is because the application is deemed dismissed by law from the moment the announcement period expires. This is in accordance with the Ministerial Regulation regarding inheritance transfer under Section 81 of the Land Code. However, if the applicant still wishes to apply for inheritance, the officials should advise the applicant to submit a new request without needing to cancel the original application, but should note that the application was dismissed with the remark: “This application was dismissed because the applicant could not bring all the heirs listed in the family tree to provide consent or could not present evidence of non-acceptance from those heirs within the announcement period.” The officials should sign and date this note and explain to the applicant the reasons why the application may have been dismissed in writing at the time the applicant submits their request.

            (Note - The text in Regulation 12 stating “If the applicant brings all the heirs listed in the family tree to provide consent or presents evidence of non-acceptance from those heirs after the announcement period has expired, the officials cannot proceed further.” must be interpreted in reverse, meaning if the evidence of non-acceptance is submitted within the 30-day announcement period, it is valid. However, if submitted after the 30-day announcement period, it is invalid. Please understand this point.)
 
            There is also a guideline from the Department of Lands stating that creating a non-acceptance letter is not the same as renouncing the inheritance, which must be done at the district office, and it is considered valid in this context...


And importantly, there is Supreme Court Judgment No. 4921/2552 ruling that such a letter can be considered a form of compromise agreement.
 
            Renouncing an inheritance is governed by the Civil and Commercial Code, Section 1612, which allows for two methods: a clear written declaration submitted to the officials or creating a compromise agreement. The term “officials” in Section 1612 refers to the district director, district chief, or head of the sub-district, and includes individuals acting on their behalf. Therefore, when all seven children of the deceased provide testimony and create a written record clearly stating that they do not wish to accept the transfer of the land inheritance to the land management officer, who is the head of the local land office, this is considered an expression of intent to the officials under the law. However, the statement by the seven children that they do not wish to accept the land inheritance and consent to the defendant receiving the inheritance alone is not a renunciation of the inheritance under Section 1612 because it is a conditional renunciation, which is prohibited under Section 1613. Nevertheless, the aforementioned record has the characteristics of a compromise agreement that binds all seven children to the defendant according to Sections 850, 852, and 1750 of the Civil and Commercial Code.
 
https://deka-by-mrt.blogspot.com/2012/04/49212552.html
https://deka.in.th/view-493988.html
 
Example of a Non-Acceptance Letter
 
            The law does not specify a format for the non-acceptance letter, so in practice, it can be written in any format as long as it states that the non-accepting individual does not wish to accept the inheritance of a specific piece of land. It should reference the inheritance transfer request, indicating who submitted the request and on what date, and that they are aware of the request but do not wish to accept the inheritance of that property, allowing the applicant to inherit as stated in the request. It is also advisable to clearly state that they will not file any claims regarding the inheritance of that land.
 
Sample Non-Acceptance Letter (drafted by the article's author)


                                          Non-Acceptance Letter

                                                    Made at house number.................................................

                                  Date......Month.................................. Year............................

I, Mr./Mrs./Miss......................................Surname........................Age.......years  
ID card number.......................................being an heir of Mr./Mrs./Miss...............
.......................................the deceased landholder of title deed number..........................land number..............
Survey page......................Sub-district..................................District.....................................
Province....................................... as (state the relationship to the deceased, e.g., father, mother, child, grandchild) of the deceased 

As Mr./Mrs./Miss............................................. has submitted a request for the transfer of the inheritance of the aforementioned land according to the inheritance request dated.........................., I am aware of this and do not wish to accept the inheritance of the aforementioned land in any way. I request that the officials proceed with the transfer of the inheritance to the applicant according to the details stated in the inheritance transfer request. I will not file any claims regarding the rights to this land concerning the inheritance transfer request.
 
I have read the above text and confirm that it is correct according to my intentions, and I have signed it as a record in the presence of witnesses.
 
                          Signature............................Non-Accepting Heir
                                  (..........................)

                          Signature............................Witness
                                  (..........................)

                          Signature............................Witness
                                  (..........................)
          
I, Mr./Mrs./Miss............................the applicant for the inheritance transfer, certify that this non-acceptance letter belongs to Mr./Mrs./Miss............................ and has been provided to me for submission to the officials. If this is false, I consent to this document being used as evidence in a criminal case.
              
                                      Signature............................Applicant for Inheritance
                                      (..........................)

Note – In cases where the applicant for the inheritance transfer personally delivers the non-acceptance letter to the officials, the inheritor should sign to certify that this letter was created by the non-accepting heir and provided to them for submission to the officials.

            1.3 Some heirs can submit a request for inheritance transfer based solely on their rights to the inheritance of the deceased in that land parcel, without involving other heirs.
 
Example
 
            Mr. Dam is the owner of a piece of land and has passed away, leaving three heirs entitled to inherit: Mr. Daeng, Mr. Kiew, and Ms. Khao, with Ms. Khao holding the land title deed. These three heirs, Mr. Daeng and Mr. Kiew, are in conflict and do not speak to each other, while Ms. Khao maintains good relations with everyone. In this case, if Ms. Khao wishes to resolve the issue for everyone, she can do so by going to the land office alone and submitting a request for inheritance transfer. She can then have the land officer register Mr. Daeng and Mr. Kiew as co-inheritors alongside her, provided she brings evidence (such as copies of household registration and ID cards) to verify that Mr. Kiew and Mr. Daeng are indeed heirs (which is essentially the method of inheritance transfer mentioned in method 1).
 
            However, if Mr. Daeng wishes to expedite the inheritance transfer without waiting for Ms. Khao and Mr. Kiew, he can go to the land office alone and submit a request for inheritance transfer in his name only, without touching the shares of the other two. In this case, Mr. Daeng does not need to obtain consent from the other two heirs because he is not interfering with their rights. Once the announcement period for the inheritance request has passed without objections, the land officer will register the partial inheritance transfer to Mr. Daeng, who will then own one-third of the land since there are three heirs, and all are children of the deceased. Therefore, they will each inherit one-third. After registration, both Mr. Daeng's name and the deceased's name will appear on the title deed simultaneously, as the inheritance of Mr. Dam has not been fully transferred; Mr. Daeng has not received the entire parcel. Thus, Mr. Dam's name must remain on the deed. Later, when Mr. Kiew and Ms. Khao come to inherit the remaining portion of Mr. Dam's estate, Mr. Dam's name will be removed from the deed, leaving only Mr. Daeng, Mr. Kiew, and Ms. Khao as co-owners of the land.
 
            The request for inheritance transfer categorized as “partial inheritance transfer” serves to resolve situations where heirs do not cooperate at all, are in conflict, and refuse to sign any consent. This method of application can be used even if Mr. Daeng does not have the title deed, as he can request the land officer to retrieve the title deed from Ms. Khao for registration according to Section 81 of the Land Code. If Ms. Khao fails to deliver it without valid reason, she may face legal action for violating the official's order issued under the authority of the law. This situation is governed by Section 81 of the Land Code, and Regulation No. 17 of the Department of Lands clearly states that land officers must report to investigators to take action against those who violate official orders.

          Clause 17: The request for the return of the land title must be made when the registration request is ready to be processed. The officials must send a notification by mail to the holder of the land title, requesting them to present the title deed to the officials at their office on the specified date, but no later than fifteen days from the date of receipt of the notification.
         Once the deadline for submitting the land title has passed and there is evidence of receipt of the notification by the holder, but the holder fails to submit the land title to the officials and does not provide a valid reason within the specified time, the officials shall report to investigators to take action against the holder for violating the official's order.

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