SINGAPORE Law and Practice Contributed by: Loh Wai Mooi, Wang Liansheng, Petrina Tan and Vaithieiswariy Kumar, Bih Li & Lee LLP
Ancillary Matters Process The first ancillary affidavit (FAA) is a sworn statement to be filed and served by each party 28 days after the interim judgment of divorce or judgment of judicial separation has been granted. The FAA was previously referred to as an “affidavit of assets and means” under the Family Justice Rules 2014. The new Family Justice (General) Rules 2024 also specify a default four-week timeline for the filing and exchange of FAAs, whereas previously timelines were left to the court’s discretion. The FAA is to set out each party’s claim for ancillary relief and the particulars of the claim, as well as all relevant supporting evidence. Following the filing of the parties’ respective FAAs, a second ancillary affidavit in response to the matters raised in the FAA may be filed and served. This is also to be filed 28 days after the filing of the FAAs (assum ‑ ing that both parties file their FAAs on the same day), unless one party files an application for disclosure against the other party. This application for the discovery of documents or to administer interrogatories following the filing of the FAA may be made with the underlying objective of unearthing documents and information that may lead to assets previously undisclosed in the FAA. 2.3 Division of Assets Approach to Division The court’s approach to the division of matrimonial assets will largely depend on the nature and type of marriage. The two key criteria are whether it was a dual-income or single-income marriage and the length of the marriage. The court also considers the direct financial contributions and indirect contributions (both financial and non-financial) of the parties in ascertain ‑ ing a just and equitable division. In dual-income marriages, the leading case is that of ANJ v ANK (2015) 4 SLR 1043, which sets out the following steps. • Ascribe a ratio that represents each party’s direct contributions (ie, monetary contributions) to the acquisition or improvement of the matrimonial assets, relative to the other party.
• Ascribe a second ratio which represents each party’s indirect contribution (counting both indirect financial and indirect non-financial contributions) to the well-being of the family, relative to the other party. • Using both ratios, the court derives each party’s average percentage contribution to the family, which will form the basis to dividing the matri ‑ monial assets (subject to any further adjustments depending on the circumstances of the case). In long, single-income marriages, the division of mat ‑ rimonial assets would tend towards equality ( TNL v TNK and another appeal, and another matter (2017) 1 SLR 609). Financial Orders The courts are afforded a wide range of options when deciding the financial orders to be made in regulating or reallocating marital assets. A non-exhaustive list of options includes: • the sale of immovable property and division of net sale proceeds; • the transfer of one spouse’s share in an immovable property to another upon payment of a specified sum; • the transfer of financial assets (eg, shares) to the other spouse; • the payment of a lump sum; and • orders for maintenance (as discussed in 2.4 Spousal Maintenance ). The factors listed in Section 112 (2) of the Women’s Charter 1961 are key considerations when deciding what orders should be made with respect to the divi ‑ sion of matrimonial assets. These factors are: • the contributions of each party in money, prop ‑ erty or work done towards acquiring, improving or maintaining the matrimonial assets; • any debts or obligations incurred by either party for the parties’ joint benefit or for the benefit of a child of the marriage; • the needs of any children of the marriage; • the contributions of each party to the welfare of the family;
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