Family
Civil and Commercial Code family rules, with marriage equality from January 2025
Book V of the Civil and Commercial Code governs marriage, divorce and children. The Marriage Equality Act, effective 22 January 2025, replaced gendered terms with neutral ones, making Thailand the first Southeast Asian state with full same-sex marriage.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Juvenile and Family Courts hear family matters. Uncontested divorce can be registered administratively at a district office without any court involvement.
Governing law
- Civil and Commercial Code, Book VFamily
- Marriage Equality Act B.E. 25672024
- Child Protection Act B.E. 25462003
In practice
Divorce by mutual consent is registered at the amphur with two witnesses, which makes it unusually quick; contested divorce requires a statutory ground such as adultery, desertion for over a year, serious harm or three years' separation. Property acquired during marriage is sin somros and split equally, while pre-marital and inherited property remains sin suan tua. Parental power is shared, and courts decide custody on the child's welfare with no formal maternal presumption. The 2025 Act equalised adoption and inheritance rights for same-sex spouses; surrogacy remains restricted to Thai married couples under the 2015 protection statute.