Frequently Asked Questions

If both parties to a marriage are muslims, Singapore law recognises that because of their religion, they have adopted muslim law as their "personal legal system". The Women's Charter which is the law on divorces and related matters is not applicable to them.

A divorce is the legal termination of your marriage. Divorces are never pleasant with traumatic effect on yourself and your children, if any. You may want to consider the possibility of reconciliation before making a final decision.

The law has several requirements that must be satisfied before you can apply (lawyers call this "petitioning") for a divorce. They are:-

• You have have been married for at least 3 years before your petition. You can do so earlier only if you can satisfy the court that you have suffered exceptional hardship or your spouse has been exceptionally unreasonable and cruel.


• You or your spouse must either be citizens or permanent residents of Singapore. If neither of you are citizens or permanent residents of Singapore, you can still petition if either of you have resided continuously in Singapore for 3 years immediately before the petition is filed.


• Your marriage must have taken place either in Singapore and registered with the Registry of Marriages here or have taken place in a country which does not allow either spouse to have a second marriage while the first is valid (legal talk calls this "monogomous").


• the marriage must have broken down irretrievably.

The court will only consider a marriage to have broken down irretrievably on the following facts:

• The person being sued for divorce (called the "Respondent") has committed Adultery with another person (called the "Co-Respondent") and that you (called the "Petitioner" if you petition for the divorce) finds it intolerable to live with the Respondent. Whether it is or is not intolerable is for the Court to decide although it will take into consideration your feelings.


• The Respondent has behaved in such a way that you, the Petitioner, cannot reasonably be expected to live with him/her (what lawyers call "Unreasonable Behaviour"). Again, whether it is or is not "reasonable" is for the Court to decide.


• The Respondent has left you without any good reason (what lawyers call "Desertion") for a continuous period of at least 2 years.


• The parties have lived apart for a continuous period of at least 3 years and that the Respondent agrees to a divorce (what lawyers call "3-Years Separation").


• The parties have lived apart for a continuous period of at least 4 years. No consent of the Respondent is required (what lawyers call "4-Years Separation").

In situations were your circumstances do not satisfy any of the above, you may wish to be separated from you spouse for a period of time before the divorce. If so, you may wish to have clearly spelt out in a contract called a "Deed of Separation" the terms and conditions governing the relationship between you and your spouse during this period of separation.

This is a some what tricky question to answer. The Court has a general discretion to refuse a petition for divorce when it is just to do so. However the law does recognise that parties may not want a trial re-conciliation if it adversely affects any subsequent divorce. To encourage such trial re-conciliation, the law allows for the following situations:-

• In adultery, the Petitioner cannot rely on this if the parties live together for more than 6 months after the Petitioner knows of the adultery.


• In unreasonable behaviour, if parties lived together after the final incident for more than 6 months, the Court will take this fact into account when deciding the question of "reasonableness".


• In desertion and separation, if the parties resume living together for a period or aggregate period of more than 6 months, the period of desertion or separation shall not be considered as "continuous".

Put simply, so long as the trial period is not more than 6 months, it should be alright.

In 14 April 2003, new procedures were put in place to simplify divorce proceedings. Llegal documents for divorces will have to be prepared and filed electronically to the Courts. Special Courts have been designated as the Family Courts for this. The documents are usually done for you by a lawyer. The important documents are:

• the Petition and the affidavit verifying its facts;


• the Parenting Plan (if there are children);


• the Matrimonial Property Plan (if there is a HDB flat);


• the Notice of Proceedings; and


• the Consent of the Respondent (if the petition is on 3-Years Separation).

Once the documents have been filed and copies for service on the Respondent are returned by the Courts, these documents have to be served personally on the Respondent. It is only after these documents have been served and certain other procedures have been completed that a hearing date for the petition will be given by the Courts.

Lawyers call such matters ancillary issues. You can ask the court to make the necessary orders on such ancillary issues in your petition.

Yes. In appropriate cases, the court is willing to do so.

Yes you can. However you will have to know how to prepare the required documents, where to file them, what documents are to be served the Respondent and how to serve them. You will also have to know the proper procedure. In addition, you have to know what ancillary issues have to be resolved and the required orders to be made by the courts.

And what will happen if the Respondent instructs lawyers? You may be placed at a disadvantagous position because of your lack of knowledge of the law. I have the greatest respect of any person who can do this properly without the assistance of lawyers.

If the Respondent is not contesting the petition, on the hearing date several petitions have been fixed before the judge. The Petitioner's name and petition number will be called to inform people when it is their turn. The Petitioner will be have to go into the witness' box. However do not be frightened as your lawyer will guide you through the questions that he will be asking. The judge also understands that you will probably be unfamiliar with court procedures and etiquette. Once the judge is satisfied that the statements in your petition are true and if he/she considers that there are no circumstances that prevents the granting the divorce, a Decree Nisi will be granted. This is an interim "divorce order". The Respondent is normally not required to attend.

If the ancillary issues have been agreed between the parties, an order concerning such matters is also usually made at the same time as the decree nisi. These may however be fixed for another hearing in the judge's chambers (private room) if the judge thinks that there are further matters to be considered or if the parties have not agreed on all the ancillary issues. Normally you are not required to attend the "chambers hearing".

Unless the court gives special permission, the decree nisi will be "made absolute" usually after 3 months and after all ancillary issues have been dealt with. Parties can only marry when the Decree Absolute is issued by the Courts.

Contested divorces are usually protracted affairs and are often ugly. Both the Petitioner and the Respondent are required to produce evidence to support their respective allegations. They will have to go into the witness box and will be subject to often probing and embarassing questions by the other parties' lawyers.

After hearing the evidence, the judge will decide on the respective parties claims. If the judge is satisfied that the marriage has broken down irretrivably, a decree nisi will be granted. Otherwise he will dismiss the petition.

Normally you would have received a letter from the Petitioner's lawyers informing you of the Petitioner's intention to divorce before proceedings actually commence in court. If you are unsure of the implications you should consult lawyers to advise you. You should also do the same if the first time you hear of the divorce is when you are served with the Petition and other documents.

If you do not have lawyers and have been served with the Petition and other documents, the person who hands you the documents will usually ask you to sign the Acknowlegment of Service. It is normally alright to to so. Among the documents served is a Memorandum of Appearance which contains questions such as:

• Whether you intend to contest the divorce by filing an Answer;


• Whether you intend to ask the court to decide on any ancillary issues; and


• Whether you consent to the divorce (if it is based on 3-Years Separation).

Just state in the Memorandum of Appearance that you do not intend to contest the divorce. You may state in the Memorandum of Appearance that you intend to contest ancillary issues. If so you must file in court an Affidavit (which is a sworn statement) setting out your assets, income and expenses. The affidavit may contain statements concerning what you believe to be the assets, income and expenses of your spouse. A copy of the affidavit must be served on the Petitioner's lawyers.

You should state so in the Memorandum of Appearance. The Memorandum of Appearance must then be filed in Court and the copy with the court's seal must be served on the Petitioner's lawyers within the time period specified in the documents served on you. You must remember that all time periods stated in the documents must be followed strictly otherwise you may not be permitted to contest the divorce. An Answer (which is a court document stating your grounds why there should not be a divorce) should be filed in court and served on the Petitioner's lawyers. If you say that the marriage has broken down irretrivably but for different reasons that those stated by the Petitioner you should file a Cross-Petition.

If you also intend to contest ancillary issues, an affidavit must be filed in court giving particulars of your income, assets and expenses and particulars of what you believe to be the assets, income and expenses of your spouse.

There is no fixed costs in divorce actions. A lawyer can charge a reasonable fee according to the complexities of the case and the professional time spent on it. You may want to ask your lawyer for an estimated amount before engaging him/her. Disbursements, which are the fees paid to file documents in court and other expenses, are usually between S$300.00 to S$500.00 depending on the number, length and type of documents filed.

If any party is opposed to divorce for various reasons (eg. religion), but wish to live apart permanently, then the Court may make a Decree of Judicial Separation. Such a decree will be granted on the same facts as in a divorce petition.

A decree of judicial separation does not legally end the marriage. Thus neither party can re-marry. However all other remedies and rights consequent upon a divorce are available to parties. Judicially separated spouses are not entitled to claim on the intestacy of the other if that other person dies after 1st June 1981.

Under certain circumstances the court may find that the marriage should be set aside (treated as if it never took place) and grant a decree of nullity. Such marriages can be divided as void marriages or voidable marriages.

Under Singapore law, a marriage is considered not to have ever legally taken place (ie void) if:-

• either party is below 18 years of age and is married without the Minister's special permission;


• the spouses are closely related to one another (the types of relationship are set out in the Women's Charter) and no Minister's special permission have been obtained;


• the marriage is celebrated outside Singapore but fails to comply with the laws of that country;


• either party is already married;


• the person who solemnized the marriage does not have a valid licence to do so; or


• the parties are of the same sex (as stated in their respective documents of identity) at the time of marriage.

• if the marriage has not been consumated because one of the parties is incapable (impotent) of doing so;


• if the marriage has not been consumated because the Respondent refuses, without good reason, to do so;


• if either party did not validly consent to the marriage as a result of threats, mistake, unsoundness of mind or otherwise;


• if at the time of the marriage, either party was suffering from a mental illness which makes that person unfit for marriage;


• if at the time of the marriage, the Respondent was suffering from veneral disease; or


• if at the time of the marriage, the Respondent (who under these circumstances has to be the wife) was pregnant by a person other than the Petitioner.

A petition for nullity must be made within 3 years from the date of the marriage where the ground is invalid consent, mental illness, veneral disease or pregnancy by some other person. There are also certain other requirements that has to be satisfied before the court grants such a decree.