Lawyers in Singapore
Situations of divorce in Singapore
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The law of divorce in Singapore is adjudicated by the Family Court in Singapore.
The sole ground for divorce is the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage.
The issue of the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage is in turn, supported by one of five facts which are :-
(a) that the defendant has committed adultery and the plaintiff finds it intolerable to live with the defendant;
(b) that the defendant has behaved in such a way that the plaintiff cannot reasonably be expected to live with the defendant;
(c) that the defendant has deserted the plaintiff for a continuous period of at least 2 years immediately preceding the filing of the writ;
(d) that the parties to the marriage have lived apart for a continuous period of at least 3 years immediately preceding the filing of the writ and the defendant consents to a judgment being granted;
(e) that the parties to the marriage have lived apart for a continuous period of at least 4 years immediately preceding the filing of the writ. However, not infrequently in Singapore, however, applicants choose the unreasonable behaviour of their spouses as a supporting fact in praying for a divorce.
Unreasonable behaviour can range from a wide range of socially unacceptable traits of the Respondent such as excessive gambling, drinking violence and/or abuse and/or threats and assault towards the Respondent to seemingly trivial conduct which when persisted over an appreciable period of time, builds up and such an extent whereby the Applicant cannot be reasonably expected to live with the Respondent.
In considering whether the Applicant in such situations can reasonably expected to live with the Respondent, the Court has regard whether the conduct of the Respondent is reasonable, both objectively speaking as well as taking into account the personality traits of the Applicant.
Nonetheless, there is a considerable proportion of married couples who choose not to air their marital problems in public, and so they opt for three year separation with the Respondent’s consent, or four year separation without consent of the Respondent.
It is to be noted that separation does not necessarily mean physical separation. In many situations, married couples do not have finances to live separately. Therefore, they would reside under one roof, however, both parties will operate different households within the residence.
For instance, parties will do their own laundry separately, they eat separately, they cater for their own finances towards the housekeeping, and each party is responsible for his or her own household chores.
Nonetheless, even with divorce on the rise in Singapore, that divorce should only be applied for as a last resort, for example, when the physical and mental wellbeing of the parties and/or their children would be best served by such a measure, yet allowing for parties to cooperate to raise the children of the marriage by way of enforcement of court orders.
Contributed by: Suzanne Tan
Suzanne Tan is an Advocate & Solicitor at Ascentsia Law Corporation. She graduated from University of Buckingham and is a Barrister of England and Wales. She has had over 10 years of experience, and she specialises in divorce work, including maintenance and/or custody issues, and also in accidents and personal injury involving both road accident as well as work injury matters, as well as some criminal work. In addition, she has had experience in a variety of contractual disputes involving leasing and hire purchase agreements. Contact her through Business Directory.