Child Support Law in Thailand
Use of Child Support
Child support money must be used for child expenses, including food, shelter, clothing, medical expenses, and educational needs, but must not be spent for the custodial parent's own needs.
Court-ordered child support
Court-ordered child support when parents divorce
When parents divorce and the issue of child support cannot be settled by agreement, the court often orders the non-custodial parent to pay the custodial parent an amount set as financial support. Similarly, child support may also be ordered to be paid by one parent to the other if both parents have jointly assumed custody or shared child-rearing responsibilities. The court will determine the amount of child support, considering the child's condition and the parent's financial ability to pay for the support.
Child support outside of marriage
When a child is born outside of marriage, the child's biological father is not legally required to pay for financial support unless the issue of legitimacy in Thailand goes to court; the court will then decide issues regarding legitimacy, child custody, and child support in the same case.
Consensual Child Support
Child Support when parents divorce
The parents can decide the issue of child support in a divorce agreement. The amount of child support and payment method may be established per the parents' agreement. Once a divorce agreement containing child custody and child support is signed in the presence of two witnesses, the agreement must be recorded at the district office at the time of the divorce registration for confirmation. If the non-custodial parent does not pay child support as agreed, the custodian has the right to petition the court for enforcement.
Custodial Child Support
Generally, the biological father of a child is not required to pay child support. However, the father is not prohibited from entering into a child support agreement with the child's mother. Such an agreement becomes effective once it is registered with the district office.