SINGAPORE Law and Practice Contributed by: Loh Wai Mooi, Wang Liansheng, Valerie Goh and Petrina Tan, Bih Li & Lee LLP
the concept of therapeutic justice and facilitat - ing amicable divorces by placing less focus on the “fault” of a party for the breakdown of the marriage. As Singapore presently does not recognise same-sex marriages or civil unions, the above- mentioned ground would only apply to regis - tered marriages between a man and a woman. Processes and Timelines for Divorce Parties filing for divorce would need to com - mence an action in the family justice courts of the Republic of Singapore (pursuant to Part 10 of the Women’s Charter 1961), on the basis of an irretrievable breakdown of their marriage (as detailed in the preceding subsection) in order to obtain a divorce. No mandatory periods of sepa - ration between the parties are required, prior to the commencement of the action, unless a party intends to rely on one of the three facts that stip - ulate periods in which one party has deserted the other and/or the parties have lived apart. Pursuant to Section 94A of the Women’s Char - ter 1961 and Section 3 of the Women’s Charter (Parenting Programme) Rules 2016, all parents with children under the age of 21 are required to attend the mandatory co-parenting programme before filing for divorce. This applies even to par - ties who are able to reach an agreement with their spouse on the facts to be relied on to sup - port the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage and/or all ancillary matters. Attendance of this programme has been mandatory for all parents with children under the age of 21 since 1 July 2024. Divorce proceedings formally begin when an applicant files their originating application for divorce. The originating application is to be filed
in accordance with Form 2A of the Family Jus - tice (General) Rules 2024, and may include: • a certificate of completion of the mandatory co-parenting programme (if applicable); • an affidavit of split care and control (where the parties have agreed that each will care for different children); • a draft ancillary reliefs order; • a copy of the parties’ marriage certificate (and any translations); • a copy of the children’s birth certificates (and any translations); • an agreement that the marriage has irretriev - ably broken down (for parties relying on divorce by mutual agreement); and • bankruptcy search results. The new Family Justice (General) Rules 2024 critically remove the need for a statement of claim or statement of particulars to be filed – instead, the information that was previously contained in both documents is now included in Form 2A. Form 2A, which is a combination of both multiple-choice options and open-ended questions, is intended to be more accessible and user-friendly for litigants in person. After service of the originating application (when served within Singapore), the respondent has to file the following documents: • a notice to contest (within 14 days); • a reply to the originating application for disso - lution of the marriage (if any) (within 28 days); and • a cross-application (within 28 days). Service of Divorce Proceedings The applicant is to serve the originating applica - tion personally on the respondent within 14 days after the issuance of the originating application.
274 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook