The short answer

A good family financial planning service for expats in Thailand looks at your whole family, not one product. It works out what school and university will cost and how to fund them; makes sure life, health and income protection would hold the family together; puts wills, trusts and beneficiaries in place in every country; plans the currency of fees and savings; and keeps your retirement on track at the same time. It gives you a plan in writing, explains every cost, and reviews it at least once a year and after every big life change. JLIT's family planning is led by Lawrence — a British expat in Thailand with more than 30 years in international finance — and the first review is free.

What a family financial planning service is

A family financial planning service helps parents organise their money around their family's goals and risks. Instead of selling a single product, it starts with questions: Where will the children go to school, and then to university? What will that cost, and in which currency? What would happen if one of you died or couldn't work? Where will you retire, and will you have enough? Who inherits what, in which country, and how quickly?

From the answers, it builds a plan that connects the pieces — savings, investments, protection, wills, trusts, currency and pensions — and then helps put it in place and keep it up to date as the family grows.

What a good service should include

Education planning

A realistic cost for each child's schooling and university, with fee rises built in, and a funding plan: how much to save monthly, how to use any lump sums, which currency to save in and when to move money to cash as each stage approaches. A mid-range international school in Thailand can cost around ฿825,000 a year, with rises of 6–10% a year at some schools.

Protection

Life cover sized to the family's real needs, written in trust; health insurance for every family member; and income or critical illness cover for the main earner. As JLIT doesn't sell insurance, a good service should also be clear about who arranges the policies — we take leads and introduce specialists.

Wills, trusts and beneficiaries

Wills in each country where you hold assets, guardians named for the children, and every policy, pension and account checked so the money reaches the right people quickly.

Currency

Fees in baht, university in pounds or dollars, income in another currency: a plan for converting at good rates and fixing costs where it helps.

Retirement

Making sure saving for the children doesn't quietly cost the parents their retirement — and planning both together.

Ongoing reviews

At least once a year, and after any major change — a new baby, a move, a new job, a divorce or a child starting university.

How JLIT's family financial planning works

JLIT's family financial planning is led by Lawrence Young — a British expat who has lived in Thailand for many years, with more than 30 years in international finance. He made the move himself, and understands the questions expat parents face because he has faced them too.

1. Get in touch through the enquiry form on this page, by email at enquiries@ExpatFAA.com, WhatsApp on +66 95636 1829 or LINE (LAW007LU).
2. A free first conversation — by video call, phone or in person where possible — about your family, your plans and what worries you.
3. Your full picture — Lawrence gathers the details of your income, savings, pensions, property, policies, wills and the children's plans.
4. Clear findings — what's working, where the gaps are, and what you could gain, in plain English.
5. Your plan, in writing — if you'd like help, a written recommendation covering what to do, why, and every cost.
6. Putting it in place — Lawrence handles the paperwork with providers, introduces insurance specialists, and coordinates with lawyers and tax specialists where needed.
7. Ongoing reviews — at least once a year, and whenever your family or the rules change.
8. Always reachable — by email, WhatsApp or LINE, in your time zone.

The first review is free and carries no obligation. Many families simply come away with a clearer picture and a list of things to sort out themselves — and that's fine.

The service at each stage of family life

Couples planning a family

Getting the foundations right: health insurance, wills in both countries (in England and Wales, marriage automatically revokes an existing will), emergency savings and an early start on long-term saving.

New parents

The biggest jump in protection needs most families ever face, plus guardians, trusts and the chance to start an education plan from birth, when time does the most work. £250 a month from birth can grow to about £120,000 by 18 at 8% a year, against £54,000 paid in.

The school years

Paying fees efficiently — upfront discounts, good exchange rates — while keeping long-term savings and retirement on track, and keeping protection matched to the remaining fees.

University

Fee status, currency and timing: moving money into cash ahead of each year, fixing exchange rates, and making sure children have their own health cover.

After the children leave

Reducing cover you no longer need, catching up on retirement saving and planning how you'll pass money on — including the change that brings unused UK pensions into inheritance tax from April 2027.

Who it's for

• Families moving to Thailand who want protection, schooling and savings sorted before or soon after they arrive.
• Parents of young children who want to start saving for school and university early.
• Families with children at international school balancing fees today with savings for tomorrow.
• Mixed-nationality families — for example a British parent and a Thai parent — with assets, wills and heirs in two countries.
• Blended families who need to provide fairly for a partner and children from different relationships.
• Grandparents who want to help with education in a tax-efficient, ring-fenced way.
• Families who may move again and need plans that travel with them.
• Anyone who has never had a joined-up plan and wants to know where they stand.

Where to start

A free family review, introductions to insurance specialists, and a better rate for fees and savings.

Where planning makes the biggest difference

Starting education savings early

Time is the most valuable ingredient. Saving £366 a month for 13 years at 8% a year builds a £100,000 fund, with more than 40% coming from growth. Starting late means paying far more of the bill yourself.

Compare schools on our international school finder, covering 178 schools across Thailand.

Closing protection gaps

Many families have savings plans with no protection behind them — or life cover sized for a UK mortgage, not international school fees. Only around one in four customers of one UK broker set up a trust with their life cover in 2025, so many payouts would wait for probate.

Getting wills right in two countries

Thai bank accounts are frozen on death until a Thai court appoints an administrator. A Thai will typically gets the family to that point in four to six months; relying on a UK will alone takes much longer.

Paying fees in the right currency

Converting school and university fees through a bank can cost thousands over a child's education. A specialist FX provider and a plan for timing transfers can save real money.

Charges

Over 18 years, one percentage point more in charges can turn £120,000 into about £107,700. A good service will show you every cost and why it's worth paying.

Protection: the part most family plans miss

Families often put real effort into saving for school fees and very little into protecting the plan. Yet an education fund only works if someone keeps paying into it, and the school still sends its invoices if a parent dies, falls seriously ill or loses their job.

A family plan should answer three questions. If one of us died, would there be enough to clear debts, pay the remaining school and university fees and give the family an income — paid quickly, through a trust? If one of us couldn't work for a year, how would the bills and the savings plan be paid? And if one of us needed hospital treatment tomorrow, is every family member covered in Thailand?

JLIT doesn't sell insurance. We take leads and introduce you to specialists who arrange life, health, critical illness and income cover for expat families, and Lawrence makes sure the cover fits the rest of your plan. Our international life protection providers directory compares the main providers.

Balancing the children's future with your own

Many expat parents put their children first — and quietly sacrifice their own retirement to do it. School fees take priority, pension contributions stop, and the gap only becomes clear when retirement is close and there's little time to fix it.

A good family plan treats both as goals. Children can borrow for university in some countries, win scholarships or work part-time; parents can't borrow for retirement. Often the best answer is a balance: a realistic education budget, steady retirement saving, and protection that covers both. Our guide to balancing education savings and retirement goals explains how.

Planning for a family move to Thailand

The months around a move are when a family plan matters most — and when it's easiest to let things slip. A move switches off many protections the family relied on at home: a UK health policy is no longer valid once you live abroad, employer cover may end with the old job, and the NHS depends on where you live, not your passport.

A good service helps you plan the move in the right order:

1. Before you go — international health cover from the day you arrive, life cover that works abroad, and a review of every existing policy.
2. Money and currency — how to move savings, deposits and school fees at a good rate, and how to keep UK accounts working.
3. Schools — realistic fee budgets including one-off registration costs, and a plan to fund them.
4. Wills and guardians — updated for life in two countries.
5. The first year — a Thai will once you have Thai assets, and a full review once you've settled.

Our guide to family financial protection when relocating covers the move step by step.

British-Thai and mixed-nationality families

Many expat families in Thailand include a Thai spouse or partner, and children with dual nationality. Their finances often need extra care, because the rules in each country can pull in different directions.

• Inheritance — a married Thai spouse is a statutory heir in Thailand and usually owns half of the marital property; an unmarried partner isn't an heir at all.
• Property — land is usually held in the Thai partner's name, and foreign heirs who inherit land must usually sell it within a set period. Planning matters if the foreign partner has paid for it.
• Wills — a Thai will for Thai assets and a UK will for UK assets, made so that neither revokes the other.
• Protection — life cover that pays the family in the currency they'll need, wherever they live.
• Education — children may study in Thailand, the UK or elsewhere, so savings may need to be in more than one currency.
• Pensions — check that a Thai spouse qualifies for spouse's benefits, and that nominations name them.

Our guide to what happens to your estate if you die overseas explains Thai inheritance rules in detail.

Currency planning for families

An expat family can easily be earning in one currency, paying school fees in a second and saving for university in a third. Without a plan, exchange rates decide how much things really cost.

A family plan usually matches each pot of money to the currency of the bill it will pay: baht for Thai school fees, pounds for a UK university, dollars for a US one. It also plans how and when to convert. Regular fee payments can be spread over the year; a large payment — a year's fees upfront, a university deposit — can be fixed in advance with a forward contract, so a sudden currency move doesn't add thousands to the bill. Using a specialist FX provider rather than a bank for these transfers is one of the simplest savings a family can make.

Our guide to education cost inflation and currency risk explains the numbers.

Planning yourself or using a service

Some families plan their own finances successfully, especially when life is simple: one country, one currency, a straightforward job. For expat families, the extra layers — currency, tax and inheritance rules in two or more countries, protection that must work abroad, schools charging in one currency and universities in another — make mistakes more likely and more expensive.

If you plan yourself, use our guides to cover each piece: school fees, education savings solutions, life insurance and beneficiaries. If you'd like someone to check your thinking, the first review with Lawrence is free.

What your written plan should contain

• A summary of where you are now — income, savings, pensions, property, policies and wills.
• Your goals — schools, university, retirement, home and anything else that matters.
• The cost of each goal, with fee rises and currency built in.
• How each goal will be funded — monthly savings, lump sums and existing assets.
• Your protection — what you have, what you need and the gaps.
• Wills, trusts and beneficiaries — what needs updating, in which country.
• Every recommendation and every cost, with the reasons for each.
• When it will be reviewed, and what would trigger an earlier review.

How to judge any family planning service

Whoever you're considering — including us — ask these questions, and expect clear answers:

1. Who will I actually deal with, and how long have they worked with expat families in Thailand?
2. Do they understand both sides — UK and Thai rules on tax, inheritance and currency?
3. How are they paid — fees, commission or both — and how much, in writing?
4. Will I get a written plan, with the reasons for each recommendation and every cost?
5. Where will my money be held — with well-known providers, in my name?
6. Will they tell me what I don't need, and when doing nothing is best?
7. How often will they review my plan, and how do I reach them?
8. Did I approach them, or did they cold-call me?

A good service welcomes these questions. Our guide to investment scams and due diligence explains the checks.

Red flags to walk away from

• Cold calls or social media messages offering "school fee plans" you didn't ask for.
• One product for every problem — a savings plan sold as life cover, or the reverse.
• Pressure to sign a long contract quickly, or "today only" offers.
• Guaranteed high returns, or exotic investments.
• Vague charges, or "the provider pays me, so it's free".
• No written plan, or recommendations without reasons.

What to have ready for your first review

You don't need everything to start — a conversation is enough — but these help Lawrence give you more useful findings sooner:

• Children's ages, current schools and any plans for future schools or universities.
• Recent statements for savings plans, investments, pensions and bank accounts.
• Policy documents for life, health, critical illness and income cover.
• Wills in any country, and any trust documents.
• Employer benefits — health, life cover, pension and school fee support.
• A rough monthly budget in baht and in your home currency.

Three real-world examples

These are illustrations, not real clients.

Daniel and Ploy — a British-Thai family in Bangkok

With a three-year-old and a baby, they had a UK will made before their marriage and no life cover beyond Daniel's employer scheme. Their plan included new UK and Thai wills naming guardians, personal life cover in trust, an education plan in pounds for university, and a baht fund for school fees.

The Robertsons — two children at international school

Fees were being paid from salary, and pension saving had stopped. Their plan restarted retirement saving at a manageable level, used a year-upfront discount on fees, set up forward contracts for the eldest child's UK university, and reduced an expensive savings plan that wasn't needed.

Paul and Sue — grandparents helping out

Wanting to help with their grandchildren's school fees, they set aside a lump sum in a trust for the grandchildren's education, keeping control over how it's used and planning for its UK inheritance tax treatment.

Your checklist for choosing a service

1. Look for a whole-family approach, not one product.
2. Check they understand expat life in Thailand — and the UK.
3. Ask how they're paid, in writing.
4. Expect a written plan with every cost explained.
5. Make sure protection is included — and who arranges it.
6. Check wills and trusts are covered in every country.
7. Agree how often you'll review.
8. Never sign under pressure.

Getting in touch

The easiest way to start is the enquiry form on this page — choose education, add a line about your family, and Lawrence will come back to you. You can also email enquiries@ExpatFAA.com, message on WhatsApp at +66 95636 1829 or on LINE at LAW007LU. Whether you're planning a move with your family or have lived in Thailand for years, the first review is free.

When you share documents, keep them safe: send statements through secure channels, never share passwords or one-time codes with anyone, and use a private, protected connection on hotel, café and condo Wi-Fi.

How we wrote this profile

This profile describes what a family financial planning service for expats in Thailand should include and how JLIT's service with Lawrence works. Figures are carried from our education, protection and estate guides and their sources: Thailand Starter Kit (August 2026) on school fees; Which? (July and October 2026) on life insurance trusts and Junior ISAs; The Gazette on marriage and wills; ThaiLawOnline (October 2026) on Thai probate; and interactive investor on pensions and inheritance tax. Growth figures are illustrations at 8% a year after charges, not guarantees. Checked 14 October 2026. JLIT takes leads for insurance and introduces specialists; it does not sell insurance. This profile is general information, not personal financial advice.