RE: In the next year or so...
Dr. Bruce, you and I have much in common being married to an Indonesian woman who is the mother of your children. You, like me, want to see the efforts of our many years of work here in Indonesia become the heritage of our children and our lands passed down to them.
You also know that as a foreigner “man” married to an Indonesian woman, your children fall under your citizenship until majority age…now 18 in Indonesia. The only way around that is for an Indonesian wife married to a foreigner to declare their offspring as “bastard” child, not “knowing” who the father is. I know one expat very well who took this approach just to avoid the kitas fees, etc, but how that turns out is many years ahead to be seen.
At that time, (age 18 ), your children, as well as mine (assuming Indonesian law does not change) will have to decide their citizenship. Indonesia does not allow dual citizenship…period. So, they (your kids) either elect to be Indonesian (mom) or whatever (dad).
The land issue here becomes very vital at this point. If either of your children, or mine, elects your (my) citizenship, then their claims to your (my) land (meaning your wife’s land) becomes as hollow as your own claim would be should your wife pass on before you.
BUT! Even if they claim Indonesian citizenship, their claim to mom’s land is not decisively clear as in fact (hypothetically) their Indonesian mom died before they reached majority age…18.
Doc, you should ask your own lawyer about this, but my lawyer, who is as good as they get, devised a lease from my wife Eri to me, wherein my sons are all co-leasees with me to Eri. As I wrote before, this lease would only become effective when and if my wife, their mom died before me. Please, nobody ask me to share a copy of this legal document as I am sworn not to do so, as it is not only a legal contract, but in the mind of my attorney, a legal brief that should not be copied by other attorneys.
Will it work? Who knows???? I damn well hope it is never put to the test of the courts. But I surely rest easier knowing that anything, and everything I could do to assure my families’ security and rights to the land Eri and I purchased and developed together has been done. Hopefully in the future some of archaic Indonesian laws concerning marriage and marriage rights will be revised.
It’s when the kids come that all of this land issue crap changes, and changes radically, especially if we want our kids to be able to call Indonesia home as we did.
Dr. Bruce, you and I have much in common being married to an Indonesian woman who is the mother of your children. You, like me, want to see the efforts of our many years of work here in Indonesia become the heritage of our children and our lands passed down to them.
You also know that as a foreigner “man” married to an Indonesian woman, your children fall under your citizenship until majority age…now 18 in Indonesia. The only way around that is for an Indonesian wife married to a foreigner to declare their offspring as “bastard” child, not “knowing” who the father is. I know one expat very well who took this approach just to avoid the kitas fees, etc, but how that turns out is many years ahead to be seen.
At that time, (age 18 ), your children, as well as mine (assuming Indonesian law does not change) will have to decide their citizenship. Indonesia does not allow dual citizenship…period. So, they (your kids) either elect to be Indonesian (mom) or whatever (dad).
The land issue here becomes very vital at this point. If either of your children, or mine, elects your (my) citizenship, then their claims to your (my) land (meaning your wife’s land) becomes as hollow as your own claim would be should your wife pass on before you.
BUT! Even if they claim Indonesian citizenship, their claim to mom’s land is not decisively clear as in fact (hypothetically) their Indonesian mom died before they reached majority age…18.
Doc, you should ask your own lawyer about this, but my lawyer, who is as good as they get, devised a lease from my wife Eri to me, wherein my sons are all co-leasees with me to Eri. As I wrote before, this lease would only become effective when and if my wife, their mom died before me. Please, nobody ask me to share a copy of this legal document as I am sworn not to do so, as it is not only a legal contract, but in the mind of my attorney, a legal brief that should not be copied by other attorneys.
Will it work? Who knows???? I damn well hope it is never put to the test of the courts. But I surely rest easier knowing that anything, and everything I could do to assure my families’ security and rights to the land Eri and I purchased and developed together has been done. Hopefully in the future some of archaic Indonesian laws concerning marriage and marriage rights will be revised.
It’s when the kids come that all of this land issue crap changes, and changes radically, especially if we want our kids to be able to call Indonesia home as we did.