To apply for a divorce in Singapore, one of the parties filing for divorce must fulfil the following, residing in Singapore for at least three years and having been married for a minimum of 3 years. If you haven’t been married for 3 years, special consideration is required.

If you meet the above requirements, the Singapore courts will deal with the termination of the marriage. The person who files for the divorce is referred to as the “plaintiff” and their spouse is referred to as “defendant”.

In Singapore law, a valid reason for the ground for divorce is the breakdown of marriage due to the following reasons:

• Adultery
• Separation of up to 3 years
• Inappropriate behaviour

These reasons must be proven with evidence in Court and trial if the other party wishes to challenge the evidence. The trial will consist of witnesses and written affidavits etc. It is important to know that there will be no advantage gained by the plaintiff if they prove that the other party has wronged in the marriage.

Certain documents need to be submitted to the court which can be done with the help of a lawyer

• Filing for the writ of divorce
• Statement of claim (must specify the reason you are relying on to ask the Court to grant you a divorce)
• Statement of particulars (give details of the fact that you are relying on)
• Proposed parenting plan (You and your spouse can come to a mutual agreement regarding your children)
• Proposed Matrimonial Property Plan
• Acknowledgement of Service
• Memorandum of Appearance

Once the court has agreed to the basis of the divorce application, the divorce papers will be posted to the defendant’s address. If you do not have the address of your spouse, or there are difficulties finding for them you will have to file the papers by other modes depending on the court. The defendant must decide whether to contest the writ or the ancillary matters.

If your spouse mutually agrees to the divorce, then this is referred to as “uncontested divorce”. Your next court date will be the uncontested divorce hearing date.

The next stage is ancillary matters in which questions of maintenance, custody, division of assets and costs come into play. This process may be adjourned to be heard in the Chambers at a date to be fixed by the Registrar. Thereafter, the final judgement order.

If your spouse does not agree to the terms and conditions of the divorce, they may proceed to contest the divorce which means both parties will have to go for trial. The date of hearing will be given depending on the family court’s calendar. This is when the evidence, witnesses, and ancillary matters will be discussed. Depending on the number of witnesses and the complexity of the case, the whole process may require from one day to
several days.

3-12 months depending on whether it is contested or uncontested.

• Singapore citizen
• Residing in Singapore for at least three years
• If you haven’t been married for three years, special consideration is required.

To file for an application under Muslim Law, a married husband or wife must apply with
the Syariah Court. The following documents needed for application:

• Marriage certificate
• Both husband and wife identification cards
• Children’s birth certificates

The courts in Singapore are pro-marriage and do not just simply grant a divorce. It is mandatory in Singapore for both spouses to attend Marriage Counselling Programme before they can move forward with the divorce proceedings. The main aim of counselling is to find ways to salvage the marriage, however, if counselling cannot help, the Syariah Court will permit the party who wants a divorce to proceed with the application.

• Marriage certificate
• Both husband and wife identification cards
• Children’s birth certificates

• Case statement which will include maintenance-related matters
• A completed case statement by the plaintiff (this document contains the amount of
  mutaah (maintenance-related) requested by the plaintiff.
• A blank memorandum of defence (Defendant needs to complete this section)
• A matrimonial property plan
• Acknowledgement of Service for (To be completed by the defendant)

In some cases, when children are under 21, both parents are required to attend a parenting programme to help prepare both parents and their little ones for the transition, this programme will cover the topics on living arrangements and parent’s responsibilities.

Both spouses may agree at this stage, on child custody, matrimonial assets and mutaah
(maintenance), the court will grant a divorce according to the agreed terms. However, if
both spouses do not agree on certain matters, the court will schedule a pre-trial
conference in which spouses will be further assisted.

The court will make its final decision at this stage considering both parties.

The court will make its final decision at this stage considering both parties.

If the husband does not want a divorce, the wife may have to pay him compensation.

A married woman is entitled to a divorce if the husband breached the contract of marriage. In the application for a divorce, the wife must show evidence that the husband has breached the Taklik.

If Taklik is not applicable then the married woman can apply for divorce for the reasons as follows:

• Her husband neglected her
• Her husband was sentenced to imprisonment of up to 3 years
• Her husband is mentally unstable
• Her husband is impotent

If the wife can show valid evidence, the court will proceed with the divorce.

This may be the only time you can demand maintenance for yourself and your children. Mutaah is calculated based on the following:

• Employment status of both parties
• The accumulated CPF amount of both parties
• The non-monetary contribution to the marriage
• Their matrimonial home-value

For nafkah, the court will intervene to confirm that your husband can provide for your needs within his financial capabilities.

If your husband declines to pay maintenance, ordered by the Syriah court, the court may decide on the following for your spouse:

• Fine or imprisonment
• Deduct maintenance directly from your husband’s employers
• Financial counselling for your husband
• Perform up to 40 hours of unpaid community service

Dismissal is defined as a termination of a contract of service between an employer and an employee at the initiative of the employer, with or without notice, including salary-in-lieu of notice. It also includes involuntary resignation.

• To claim that dismissal was wrongful, an employee must show evidence that it was not
  right then it can be disputed.
• The discrimination against language, race and religion, marital status, disability
  and
  family responsibilities or the deprivation of benefit is wrongful.
• The dismissal of an employee to punish him/her for exercising his or her employment
  right, e.g. filing a mediation request with TADM, or declining to work overtime is
  wrongful.

If dismissed unfairly, have the dismissal in written format.

It is also best to keep a record of your communication with your employer, so you can consult a lawyer to advise you on your rights.

• Murder
• Robbery
• Vandalism
• Theft
• Drug trafficking
• Fraud
• Drug trafficking
• Assault
• Unlawful assembly
• Driving offences
• Commerical crimes

In Singapore, to be found guilty of a crime takes several elements such as the evidence involved, to prosecute someone as guilty.

A lawyer is there to protect you and negotiate with the prosecutor. Your lawyer can help to reduce your charges, drop the charges or guide you on the investigations. Getting a lawyer will help you to know your rights.

Everyone deserves the right to a good lawyer, especially when faced with a criminal
offence. Every case is different, so the fees depend on the case’s complexity; the time
and paperwork invested by the lawyer.

In Singapore, the act of killing someone is murder or culpable homicide. Murder is
killing someone with intention; manslaughter is unintentional without malice. An act
that does not fall under murder or culpable homicide referred to as a negligent act.

A person is charged with murder for the following reasons:

• murdering with intention
• or causes bodily injury that leads to death can get life imprisonment, a death
  sentence and caning.
• Done to cause bodily injury that later results in death
• The act is imminently dangerous in that it will result in death

A person charged with attempted murder has hurt someone intentionally with hurt results
or no hurt result. The offender may be imprisoned for up to 15 years for both.

A person who commits manslaughter is referred to as such when he/she has not
intentionally committed the murder. It is manslaughter when the accused was deprived of
self-control in a grave situation or when the person is provoked by the victim. Culpable
homicide can get up to 20 years imprisonment and either fine or caning.

Yes, a lawyer can reduce the charge of murder to culpable homicide if it cannot be proven
that his/her acts fall within the 4 situations for murder mentioned above. Or if
exceptions to murder are made out in the accused’s defence.

What are acts causing death that does not lead to murder or culpable homicide?

When one rashly kills someone knowing the consequence beforehand, a driver does not
check for ongoing vehicles and this led to colliding with driver B, causing driver B’s
dead. The driver can be charged for up to 5 years or a fine.

If driver A skipped checking for oncoming vehicles that caused him/her to collide with
driver B causing driver B’s death, this is a negligent act. Driver A may get up to 2
years of imprisonment or a fine.

A notary public is appointed by the Singapore Academy of Law to administer oaths and
affirmations. Take affidavits and statutory declarations. Take acknowledgements of deeds
and other conveyances. Protest notes and bills of exchange.

The appointed person has the expertise and credibility in attesting, verifying,
witnessing, authenticating and certifying documents for use in foreign countries.

Notarising is needed when foreign companies request documents executed in Singapore as
they might not be familiar with the document. If you need to verify true copies of
marriage, birth certificates and other documents you will need a notary public.

A notary public must be a qualified lawyer with more than 15 years of experience. You may wish to visit this
Link (SAL).