If the buyer or seller dies before the transfer: does the purchase contract survive?

You have signed a contract to buy a Koh Phangan plot, or to sell one, and one party dies before the Land Office transfer. Does the deal die too? Generally not automatically. CCC Section 1599 says the estate devolves on the heirs at death, and Section 1600 says the estate includes the deceased's rights, duties and liabilities, except those purely personal. A sale contract is ordinarily a transferable property obligation, though the specific contract and facts matter.

What the Code says

• Section 1599 — when a person dies, the estate devolves on the heirs.
• Section 1600 — the estate includes properties of every kind and rights, duties and liabilities, except those purely personal by law or nature.
• Section 1601 — an heir is not liable beyond the property devolving on them.

If the seller dies

• The buyer's claim continues against the estate, so the heirs may be bound to complete. In practice an estate administrator or the heirs must be in place to sign; see estate administration and probate.
• Expect delay. Probate and heir identification can take months, so the SPA completion date may pass; check what the contract says about delay.
• Keep paying into the agreed channel. Do not pay a family member informally; get written confirmation of who is authorised to receive money.

If the buyer dies

• The buyer's heirs may inherit the contract, including the duty to pay the balance, limited by Section 1601 to the inherited assets.
• A foreign heir cannot hold land. If the heir is a foreigner, the land cannot simply be registered to them; see foreign heirs and Land Code Section 93. The heir may need to assign the contract, see assigning purchase contract rights, or sell on.
• Who inherits depends on a will or statutory heirs; see statutory heirs.

What to put in the contract

• An express death clause — state whether the contract binds heirs, and who may complete on a party's behalf.
• A Thai will covering Thai assets, including contractual rights under pending purchases.
• Escrow or lawyer-held funds so a deposit is not stranded.

Whether a particular contract survives death is a question for a Thai lawyer, because a clause or a purely personal element can change the outcome. The default rule, though, is that death does not wipe the deal out.