All you need to know about "Marriage/Divorce" under the SG Law

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you can find the updated information here


The Family Court deals with marital disputes between couples who are married under civil law. To assist couples to resolve their marital disputes, the Family Justice Centre runs a free mediation and counselling programme. If parties wish to dissolve their marriage, they may file a Divorce Petition under Part X of the Women's Charter. This section deals with the legal principles applicable when the Family Court hears divorce cases. Marital disputes involving Muslim parties or persons who are married under the Muslim law are handled by the Syariah Court under the Administration of Muslim Law Act. This Part applies only to persons married under the civil law.

correct as of 28 July 2005.. All updates are welcome

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What are the reasons ("grounds") on which I can get a divorce?

The court will only grant you a divorce if it is satisfied that your marriage has "irretrievably broken down". In order to prove that your marriage has "irretrievably broken down", you must be able to show the existence of at least one of the following facts ("grounds"):


(a) That your spouse has committed adultery (i.e. had consensual sexual relations with a person other than yourself), and that you find it intolerable to live with him/her; and/or

(b) That your spouse has behaved in such a way that you cannot reasonably be expected to live with him/her (for example, your spouse has committed family violence against you); and/or

(c) That your spouse has deserted you for a continuous period of at least 2 years just before you start your divorce proceedings; and/or

(d) That you and your spouse have lived apart for a continuous period of at least 3 years just before you start divorce proceedings, and your spouse agrees to the divorce; and/or

(e) That you and your spouse have lived apart for a continuous period of at least 4 years just before you start divorce proceedings. In this case, your spouse does not need to agree to the divorce.

Note that for a) above, if you continue to live with your spouse for more than 6 months after you discover the adultery, you may not be able to rely on adultery to petition for a divorce.
For c) above, desertion means leaving you without your agreement and without any reasonable cause. In exceptional cases, where your spouse has without reasonable cause driven you out of the home and continues to exclude you from the house for a period of two years, that can also constitute desertion by your spouse.

For d) and e) above, "living apart" requires the intention of staying apart from each other with the view of ending the marriage, as well as the physical act of staying apart. However, you may still be considered as staying apart even if you and your spouse are staying at the same address, if you and your spouse have led completely separate lives and have separate households (i.e. not staying in the same bedroom, not having sexual relations, not doing any household chores such as cooking, washing, cleaning, ironing, etc. together, or for each other; not having meals together as a family; not going out together as a family, etc.) for the required length of time, for the purposes of obtaining a divorce based on three or four years' separation.

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Can I get an "instant" divorce if my spouse agrees to a divorce? Must I still satisfy one of the 5 grounds if my spouse agrees to a divorce?


Even if your spouse agrees to a divorce, you cannot get an "instant" divorce based on your agreement. You must still satisfy one of the 5 grounds (see 2(a)-(e) above) in order to get divorced.

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We have not been married for 3 years yet, but I really want to get divorced. What can I do?

You can apply to court for a special permission to apply for a divorce before you have been married 3 years. The court will grant the permission if you can prove that you have suffered "exceptional hardship" or that your spouse has behaved with "exceptional depravity" (i.e. behaved extraordinarily badly). In deciding whether to grant you the permission, the court will also consider whether there is any possibility of a reconciliation between you and your spouse, and the interest of any child of your marriage.

[Big Sexy]

Do I have to sign any agreement first before being able to get divorced?

You do not have to sign any agreement first before being able to apply for a divorce. However, if you are applying for a divorce based on the ground of 3 years' separation, then your spouse must sign a Consent, to indicate that he agrees to a divorce on this ground.
Often, couples who intend to divorce based on separation will sign a document known as a Deed of Separation before starting divorce proceedings. In the Deed of Separation, they will usually agree:


(a) That the parties will live separately for a certain length of time (usually 3 years); and

(b) At the end of that time period, either one of the parties can start divorce proceedings on the ground of 3 years' separation with consent, and the other party will give their consent to the divorce.

(c) On matters such as the children, the property, and maintenance, both before and after the divorce.

While it is not compulsory to have a Deed of Separation before applying for a divorce, signing a Deed of Separation provides both parties with some certainty as to their living and financial arrangements before and after the divorce. However, it should be noted that the court is not bound by the terms of the Deed of Separation.

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Aside from getting divorced, how can I get out of a marriage?

You may apply for your marriage to be declared a "nullity", rather than for a divorce. Alternatively, you may apply for judicial separation.


What is "nullity" and when can I apply to declare my marriage a nullity?

When the court makes an order for nullity, it is declaring that the marriage is invalid. You can only apply for your marriage to be declared a nullity in the following circumstances:

(a) You have not had sexual relations with your spouse after marriage because either you or your spouse is physically not capable of having sex, and this physical incapacity cannot be medically treated.

(b) You and your spouse have not had sexual relations after marriage because your spouse has wilfully (i.e. intentionally) refused to have sex with you without a valid reason.

(c) That you or your spouse did not validly consent to the marriage (for example, because of mental illness, mistake, or duress. (Duress is when a person is in fear caused by the threat of immediate danger, such as being beaten up, if he/she does not agree to the marriage)).

(d) You or your spouse was suffering from mental illness at the time of the marriage, such that you/your spouse were/was unfit for marriage

(e) Your spouse had a communicable venereal disease at the time of your marriage and you did not know this at that time

(f) Your spouse was pregnant with someone else's child at the time of your marriage and you did not know this at that time.

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What is the difference between Nullity and Divorce?

You may start proceedings for nullity immediately after marriage, before you have been married for 3 years whereas you can only start divorce proceedings after you have been married for 3 years. Divorce is the dissolution (ending) of a valid marriage. Nullity is the declaration that a marriage is invalid. Once your marriage is annulled, your status is that of a spinster or bachelor, whereas in the case of a divorce, your status is that of a divorcee.

You and your spouse will have the same rights to apply for maintenance, and the division of matrimonial assets, as if you had applied for a divorce

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What is Judicial Separation?

You can apply for Judicial Separation for the same reasons that you can apply for a divorce. If the court grants your application for Judicial Separation:

(a) You no longer have the duty to live together and have sexual relations with your spouse.

(b) Neither you nor your spouse can inherit the property of the other person if he/she dies without making a will. (If the husband and wife are still married, and there is no decree of judicial separation, and one of them dies without making a will, the survivor would get a share of the deceased's property.)

(c) You and your spouse will have the same rights to apply for custody of children, maintenance, and the division of matrimonial assets as if you had applied for a divorce.

Either you or your spouse can still apply for a divorce after obtaining a decree of Judicial Separation.

[Big Sexy]

I want to live separately from my spouse without a divorce. Must I enter into a Deed of Separation with my spouse or apply for any court order on the children or maintenance etc?

It is not compulsory to enter into a deed of separation. You may simply live separately. There is no legal requirement to get a court order on the separation arrangements. However, if you and your spouse have agreed on the issues of children, maintenance or division of matrimonial assets, you may formalise the agreement by signing a Deed of Separation and/or Settlement. If you want to deal with division of matrimonial assets as if you are divorced, but you do not want a divorce, you may have to apply for a decree of judicial separation and ask the court to divide the assets.

[Big Sexy]

How can I start divorce proceedings?

In order to start divorce proceedings, you have to file a Divorce Petition in the Family Court, which states the grounds (reasons) why you want a divorce. This Divorce Petition must be served on (that is given to) your spouse, to let your spouse know that you would like to get a divorce

the divorce procedures is very long....but u can check it out from here...


http://www.familycourtofsingapore.go...ce_Dec2003.htm

or

Divorce procedures

[Big Sexy]

My spouse is overseas/I don't know where my spouse is living. Can I still start divorce proceedings?

You can start divorce proceedings against a spouse who is living overseas. However, you should note that you will still be required to serve the divorce papers on your spouse and additional costs may have to be incurred to effect service. For example, a foreign lawyer may have to be engaged to serve papers on your spouse, or you may have to advertise in a foreign newspaper to give notice of the divorce proceedings to your spouse.


Can I still get a divorce if my spouse refuses to "sign" the divorce papers?

The answer to this question depends on which papers your spouse refuses to sign. If your application for divorce is on the ground (reason) of 3 years' separation, then your spouse must sign the Consent indicating that he agrees to a divorce on this ground. If he does not sign this, then you will not be able to get a divorce based on 3 years' separation. But if your application for divorce is on a ground other than that of 3 years' separation, then there is no paper which your spouse has to sign in respect of your divorce application.

[Big Sexy]

What if my spouse decides to "fight" (i.e. contest) the divorce after being served with the divorce petition? What if he does not want to "fight" the divorce? And how will I know whether he intends to "fight" or not?

First of all, you must check whether your spouse is "fighting" the divorce itself (that is, whether and how the marriage should be dissolved), or the ancillary matters (that is, the questions to be decided after the divorce is approved, such as, the custody of the children, maintenance and division of matrimonial property). If your spouse chooses to fight the divorce case, the court will conduct a trial or contested hearing, which is generally more expensive and time-consuming. Your spouse will have to file a document called the Memorandum of Appearance, which will give you an indication of whether he is contesting the divorce or ancillary matters.

[Big Sexy]

Do I have to attend court in order to get a divorce? Can't I just sign some papers in a lawyer's office?

No. In order to get a divorce, even on an uncontested basis (i.e. even if your spouse agrees to "give" you the divorce), and even if you have a lawyer, you must attend court on the day of the divorce hearing if you are the Petitioner (the one who started divorce proceedings). Your spouse (the Respondent) need only attend if he/she wants to be heard by the court. If you have a lawyer, you need not attend court for the ancillary matters hearing. Your lawyer may represent you.

[Big Sexy]

What will the divorce process be like?

The divorce process is a two-stage process: the court will first deal with the divorce issue (that is, whether the marriage should be dissolved and on what facts) and if the divorce petition is granted, the court will then deal with the ancillary matters (that is, the issues that are consequential upon a divorce such as custody, maintenance and the division of matrimonial property). More details on the process and procedure can be found here.

[Big Sexy]

How long will the whole divorce process take?

The length of the divorce process depends on whether your divorce proceedings and ancillary matters are contested or uncontested. The average length of time involved is

Divorce matters Status conference is fixed within 3 weeks (where agreed parenting plan is filed), 5 weeks (where proposed parenting plan is filed) and 6 weeks (where no parenting plan is filed).

Pre-trial conference is fixed within 3 weeks from the date of the setting down of the petition or date of the hearing of the petition.

Hearing of a divorce petition on an uncontested basis is fixed within 2-3 weeks from the date of the setting down or date of the final pre-trial conference;

Hearing of a divorce petition on a contested basis is fixed within 1 month from the date of the final pre-trial conference.