Our Practice
A practice built around patient counsel
Phaen Din Counsel was established to give families in Thailand a calm and thorough way to think through how their land and property will continue.
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The story of Phaen Din Counsel
Phaen Din Counsel came into being because a gap existed — and the people working here had seen it clearly. Families with land and property in Thailand were navigating succession arrangements with very little written guidance to hold onto. Conversations happened in offices or over the phone, and when those conversations were finished, there was often no document to take away and think about.
The practice was formed to change that. Every piece of advice we give is written. Every option we describe is written. The client has something to read quietly, to share with the members of the family who need to be involved, and to keep on file as the situation develops over time.
The name — Phaen Din, meaning the land itself in Thai — reflects our focus. Our work concerns what sits in the soil: the parcels, the titles, the arrangements that will carry a family's holdings forward from one generation to the next. We deal in land, and we deal in the time it takes to think carefully about land.
We are based at Soi Yen Akat in Yan Nawa, Bangkok, which places us within reach of the Land Department offices and the court precincts relevant to our work. We serve clients from across Thailand and welcome enquiries by email from families who are not based in Bangkok.
Our mission
To give families in Thailand a clear, written picture of how their land and property currently stands, and to help them consider — calmly and at their own pace — what they would like the future to look like.
Our values
- Patience. We do not rush. Families take the time they need, and we move at their pace.
- Clarity. Every significant point is put in writing, in language the family can follow without a legal background.
- Respect. Decisions about substance remain with the family. Our role is to inform and document, not to direct.
- Discretion. Family property arrangements are private. We handle them accordingly.
The people
Who you will work with
Each matter is handled by a qualified member of the practice. We are a small team by design — it means the person you correspond with is the person who reads your documents and writes your note.
Somchai Kritsanavanich
Principal Counsel
Called to the Lawyers Council of Thailand with over eighteen years in property and succession law. Somchai leads on Land Title Inheritance Reviews and Family Estate Restructuring matters.
Patcharee Wongphattharakul
Senior Associate
Specialises in agricultural land law and the particular considerations that apply to Nor Sor Sam and Nor Sor Sam Gor title documents. Leads on Agricultural Succession Planning engagements.
Nathida Tangwattanakul
Legal Associate & Client Liaison
Handles document coordination and client correspondence. Nathida is typically the first point of contact for enquiries and manages the written note drafting process from initial receipt to final delivery.
How we work
Professional standards
A set of commitments that governs how every matter at the practice is handled — from the first enquiry to the final written note.
Lawyers Council membership
All legal work is conducted by members of the Lawyers Council of Thailand, bound by the professional conduct rules and ethical obligations of the Council.
Written record at every stage
No significant step is taken without written communication to the client in advance. You will not be surprised by a development you were not told about in writing first.
PDPA-compliant data handling
Client information is held and processed in accordance with Thailand's Personal Data Protection Act. We do not share information with parties outside the engagement without written instruction.
Land Code and Civil Code literacy
Our practice maintains current working knowledge of the Land Code, the Civil and Commercial Code, and the administrative practices of the Department of Lands as they apply to property inheritance.
Plain-language commitment
Every written note we produce is reviewed to ensure that it reads clearly in English without relying on unexplained legal terminology. If a phrase is unclear, we rephrase it.
Planned annual review
For succession and restructuring matters, we schedule a calm annual review so the arrangements can be adjusted as family circumstances change — without the need for a fresh engagement each time.
Our approach in practice
What inheritance law counsel looks like when it is done carefully
Inheritance law in Thailand is shaped by the Civil and Commercial Code, but the practical reality of how property passes between generations is often determined by documents — Chanote titles, Nor Sor Sam Gor documents, usufruct registrations, and the various instruments that record how land is held. A family that does not have a clear written picture of its current position is working without a map.
At Phaen Din Counsel, the first thing we do for any client is establish that written picture. This is what the Land Title Inheritance Review delivers. It is not a legal opinion in the traditional sense — it is a plain account of what the documents say, what would happen under the present arrangement if the titleholder were to pass, and what options the family may wish to consider. The client keeps the note. There is no obligation to take any further step.
For families with agricultural holdings, succession is a more involved matter. The continued running of farmland depends on decisions about who will manage which portions, how income will flow, and how disputes — if they arise — will be handled within the family. A written succession plan addresses all of these questions in advance, while circumstances are stable and the conversation is calm.
The Family Estate Restructuring service exists for families whose holdings have grown complex enough that a reorganisation is needed before any succession planning can begin. Multi-generational property accumulation in Thailand often produces a tangle of overlapping titles, informal arrangements, and undocumented understandings. Untangling that — in writing, with the family's full participation at every step — is work that takes time, but leaves the family with a clear record to work from for decades ahead.
We do not tell families what to decide. We give them the written material they need in order to decide well.
Ready to speak with the practice?
An enquiry carries no obligation. If you would like to describe your family's situation and ask which service might be relevant, we will respond in writing within two working days.
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