Thailand's aging society and single-family households: problems and solutions.

Introduction

Thailand is currently rapidly entering an aging society. By 2567, Thailand will have approximately 14 million people aged 60 and above, representing about 20 percent of the total population. Furthermore, the Bank of Thailand estimates that Thailand is moving towards a “fully aging society” in the next decade, given Thailand’s demographic structure with low birth rates and increasing life expectancy.

The campaign for longevity and a high quality of life is increasing. This trend reflects structural challenges to the economic, social, and legal systems, which must prepare to support the high quality of life in the later years of the large elderly population, ensuring they do not become a burden on families and the government, especially middle-class and lower-income families.

Important information

When considering household data, the situation of elderly people living alone and elderly people living with their spouses without children in Thailand becomes clearer from the 2567 Elderly Survey, which found that:

These figures reflect the transition from extended families to nuclear families and living alone. The old “assumption” that elderly Thais would be cared for by their children and grandchildren according to tradition is no longer applicable.

Income structure of Thai senior citizens.

The primary sources of income for elderly Thais still rely heavily on government pensions or allowances and income from employment, as follows:

This situation reflects the fragility of financial status in later life, particularly among single elderly individuals and childless married couples, or nuclear families, who lack a network of descendants to provide income and care during their old age. It also includes cases of elderly individuals who may have savings or assets but are incapacitated or deemed incapacitated, potentially lacking caregivers in their final years.

Related legal framework

Thailand's primary law governing elderly care is the Elderly Persons Act of 2003 and its amendments, which aims to promote and protect the rights of the elderly in terms of welfare, access to services, and social participation. The Department of Elderly Affairs has developed the Third National Elderly Plan (2023-2037) to elevate the focus from individualized assistance to designing a systematic environment and service system to support an aging society. However, this law focuses more on policy promotion than on preventative and corrective measures. Nevertheless, there are important laws concerning the long-term lives of the elderly, which can be categorized as follows:

1. Civil and Commercial Code concerning the capacity of persons

Thai law defines two types of persons as "quasi-incapacitated" and "incapacitated persons" due to physical or mental illness. The law allows parents, heirs, spouses, or the public prosecutor to file a petition for the court to order the person to be placed in such status and/or to appoint a guardian or conservator to protect and manage their assets.

This system has a significant limitation: it can only be initiated when an individual has a disability or impairment, requiring a time-consuming and resource-intensive judicial process. As a result, asset management and custody often fall into the hands of relatives or close associates by court order, with the individual having minimal involvement in decision-making, even if they desire someone else to manage their assets.

2. Expressing advance wishes regarding medical care and end-of-life arrangements.

According to the National Health Act of 2550, Section 12 allows individuals to create a written document expressing their intention to refuse medical treatments that merely prolong life in the final stages, thereby avoiding unnecessary suffering. This is known as a Living Will. Currently, health agencies have begun developing an e-Living Will system, but it is not yet complete.

However, the scope of Section 12 is focused on medical care and “letting someone go with dignity,” and does not cover the appointment of a decision-maker or the management of assets during a period of declining ability or in the final stages of life.

Improving and promoting measures for living wills and the entire end-of-life care process is certainly better than proposing legislation on the right to choose death, which would allow patients to choose assisted death, known as "euthanasia," as is the case in some countries.

3. The Civil and Commercial Code concerning Family and Inheritance Law

According to the Civil and Commercial Code regarding inheritance, legal heirs are defined in a hierarchical order, including children, parents, siblings, and spouses. In cases where a spouse has no children, the spouse must share the inheritance jointly with the deceased's parents or siblings according to the proportions stipulated by law, unless specifically stated in a will. Given that spouses are often co-creators of assets and primary caregivers in later life under family law, and where marriage is not legally registered, the current structure of legal heirs may lead to outcomes that do not reflect the deceased's true intentions, particularly in families with estranged blood relatives. Therefore, making a will is crucial.

Problems faced: Elderly single individuals and married couples without children.

The vulnerable issues faced by single elderly people and childless married couples can be clearly divided into three main areas:

1. Making decisions on behalf of others when their abilities are diminished.

When an elderly, single person or childless married couple experiences dementia or a disease that impairs their decision-making ability, it becomes crucial to appoint someone to manage their assets, bank accounts, investments, or insurance. While there is no law allowing for the pre-appointment of a guardian or conservator, obtaining one requires filing a court petition, a lengthy and costly process, and carries the risk of conflict between relatives or caregivers who are not direct heirs.

2. Inheritance issues for spouses without children.

In childless couples who jointly own assets such as a house or condominium as their primary residence, if there is no will and no clear separation of marital and personal property, upon the death of one spouse (including cases of cohabitation without a registered marriage), the assets may be divided among the deceased's parents or siblings according to the order of legal heirs. This can leave the surviving spouse facing housing insecurity and financial instability.

3. Issues with long-term care.

Single elderly individuals and elderly married couples without children are more likely to rely on public and private long-term care services than households with children. The lack of a comprehensive national long-term care insurance system and specific financial products designed to cover care costs means that becoming dependent on such services often comes with the risk of financial ruin, the need to sell primary assets to cover end-of-life expenses, or the possibility of having children/relatives with mental disabilities who cannot care for themselves after the death of their parents or guardians.

Lessons from other countries: Linking law, competence, and care.

Case studies from other countries reflect approaches to designing systems that integrate legal, financial, and long-term care dimensions, which Thailand can use as a model for legal reform.

Important lessons from abroad.

A key lesson from these countries is the need to create a "link" between normal functioning and decreased ability to cope, and the need for long-term care. This could involve legislation allowing for the pre-appointment of guardians or conservators, linked to retirement income systems and long-term care insurance, in order to reduce family burdens and empower individuals to plan their lives and finances systematically.

Policy and legal proposals for the Thai context.

Based on the above analysis, the following policy and legal reforms can be proposed for Thailand to accommodate single elderly people and childless married couples:

The offer 1: Amend the law on capacity in the Civil and Commercial Code.

Amend the Civil and Commercial Code regarding capacity to make decisions, establishing the principle of appointing a conservator or guardian in advance in case of decreased capacity. This would allow older individuals to designate persons to care for and manage their assets, and make health decisions on their behalf in advance, or to grant long-term power of attorney that can be revoked only when necessary, similar to the system in England, France, and Singapore.

Exclusive offer

• Amend the law to allow for the appointment of a guardian or conservator in advance, or to enact a "Lasting Power of Attendant" (LPA) or "long-term delegation of authority" that remains effective even if the delegator becomes incapacitated.
• Two types of authority are defined: (a) decision-making power regarding health and welfare, and (b) authority to manage assets and finances.
• A system for verifying voluntary consent by a lawyer or certifying officer, or a designated government agency such as the district office, should be in place to prevent coercion or fraud.
• It is linked to a central digital registry, allowing hospitals, courts, and financial institutions to verify it.
• I have previously written in detail about the proposed amendments to the law in the Financial and Banking Journal.

The offer 2: Establish a central registration agency for retirement planning.

A central registry system should be in place to collect documents related to declarations of intent under Section 12, long-term power of attorney documents, or orders appointing guardians or conservators in advance (in case of amendments to the Civil and Commercial Code), as well as court orders concerning decision-making capacity and guardians. This would allow relevant agencies such as hospitals, courts, local administrative organizations, and financial institutions to accurately and promptly verify documents within the framework of personal data protection.

Expected Benefits

• Reduce the burden of proving intent and decrease the opportunity for document forgery.
• Strengthening the confidence of older adults in using these legal tools.
• Enhance the efficiency of collaborative operations between hospitals and financial institutions.
• Supporting digital systems for easy access throughout the country.

The offer 3: Amend family and inheritance laws to reflect the context of childless couples.

In the context of increasingly childless households, reviewing the legal heir structure to reflect the roles of spouses in jointly creating assets and caring for each other throughout their lives is an issue that unregistered couples should consider, both in terms of adjusting inheritance proportions and promoting the normalization of wills in Thai society.

Exclusive offer

• Consider amending the order of legal heirs to give spouses a larger share in cases where there are no children and no will.
• Consider the issues of separate property and marital property of spouses who live together but are not legally married.
• The state and professional organizations, such as the Bar Association, could play a role in campaigning for and providing low-cost or free legal counseling and will drafting services for seniors, particularly single individuals and childless couples.
• The law allows simplified wills for senior citizens to be processed and stored in a central digital system, and to be used as evidence.

The offer 4: Push for the trust law to come into effect as soon as possible.

Trust laws allow individuals flexibility in determining the management of their assets from a lifetime and designating beneficiaries. This is particularly beneficial for single seniors and childless couples seeking long-term asset management planning, as well as for individuals at risk of disability or loss of ability.

Trust law can be helpful in the following cases:

• Elderly individuals with moderate assets may want to specify more detailed terms of use for their assets than in a typical will, in order to care for heirs who are disabled or require special care.
• Effective tax planning and wealth transfer across generations.
• Reduce family conflicts arising from the interpretation of wills.

The offer 5: Upgrade the long-term care system to a long-term financial structure.

The long-term community healthcare system under the National Health Security Office should be upgraded from a year-by-year budget program to a predictable long-term financial structure. This could include establishing a dedicated long-term care fund, designing a public-private partnership (PPP) contribution model, and linking it to existing retirement savings systems.

Funding guidelines

• The National Savings Fund (NSF) is expanding its role to include long-term care.
• Provident funds allow withdrawals to cover maintenance costs without incurring any additional taxes.
• A life insurance product with annuity benefits linked to long-term care coverage.
• Public-Private Partnership (PPP) project

The offer 6: Support integrated life and property planning services.

Services and knowledge base for "senior planning packages" that integrate legal and financial dimensions should be developed. This includes advice on dividing marital and separate property, drafting wills, preparing declarations of intent under Section 12, preparing long-term power of attorney documents (if legally required), as well as planning for retirement income and long-term care expenses. Furthermore, it is important to establish communities or organizations providing quality senior care that is inaccessible to others, and to assist seniors in preparing final life documents to manage matters upon their passing, through both government and community channels.

Recommended service channels

• Hospitals and community health centers integrate legal consultation with healthcare.
• Local authorities (sub-district administrative organizations/municipalities) provide free consultation services for senior citizens in their areas, including the establishment of community-based senior care facilities with private sector participation.
• Professional organizations (Lawyers' Council, Accountancy's Council) provide teams to offer legal and financial advice.
• Digital systems develop applications and websites that are easily accessible and learnable by the elderly.

The offer 7: Promote financial innovations for senior citizens.

Thailand should consider developing specific financial products for single seniors and childless married couples, drawing lessons from other countries as follows:

Preparation: What single seniors and childless married couples should do.

Beyond systemic proposals, individual actions should be taken for single elderly and childless married couples:

1. Inspect and organize assets: Clearly distinguish between separate and marital property. Compile a complete inventory of assets and liabilities, and examine the rules for transferring or appointing beneficiaries for each item, to ensure clarity in will preparation and asset planning.

2. Preparing a will and a living will: Although the law on legal heirs already specifies the order of inheritance, making a will is still essential, especially for childless spouses and elderly single individuals who share assets with close relatives. A living will, as per Section 12, should also be considered. This could include a "Peaceful Death" notebook produced by the Peaceful Death group or a "Living & Leaving Note" notebook created by Chivamitr.

3. Plan for multi-layered income and set aside funds for long-term care: Seniors should plan to have income from multiple sources, including government benefits, employer savings, voluntary savings, and long-term products such as retirement mutual funds and annuity life insurance.

4. Create a community care network: Senior citizens within the same group can help and care for each other with support from the government, educational institutions, and the community, or the private sector, to care for vulnerable individuals who lack access to care. This includes building knowledge and long-term resilience, and promoting and facilitating the creation of wills, care books, or companionship journals.

5. Consult legal and financial experts. You should consult a lawyer for estate planning and wills, and a financial advisor for retirement income planning and suitable insurance products.

Summary and Conclusion

The aging of single and childless married couples in Thailand is not merely an individual issue, but a result of widespread demographic changes, including trends in singlehood, lower birth rates, and shifts in family structures. This occurs under a retirement income structure heavily reliant on government welfare and work income. The absence of children or grandchildren significantly increases the vulnerability of this elderly group in terms of financial support, care, and asset management.

At the structural level, Thailand needs legal reforms in four main areas:

• Legislation allowing for the appointment of a guardian or conservator in advance, or providing a long-term power of attorney to enable an individual to designate a caregiver beforehand.
• Establishing a central registry system for retirement planning documents, particularly living wills, for the appointment of conservators and guardians (including pre-appointed appointments if amendments are made).
• The amendments to family and inheritance law should reflect the context of nuclear families and childless married couples.
• Pushing for trust legislation and a national long-term care insurance system.

At the individual level, comprehensive life and asset planning, making full use of available legal and financial tools, and building a trustworthy care network to facilitate informed decision-making can help single seniors and childless married couples live dignified and fulfilling lives in their later years, reducing the risk gaps that could lead to unnecessary disputes and difficulties in the future.

Finally, I might summarize briefly that the life framework for living well and dying happily is as follows: LIFE คือ

L = Legacy Planning the assets, estate, and specifying the will of the deceased.

I = Income Have a stable and consistent income to take care of yourself.

F = Family Talk Communication within the family.

E = End of Life Plan End-of-life plans for illness and death.

Therefore, I propose that the government and members of parliament seriously consider this matter so that amending the law will benefit the Thai people in the long term.