Financial Questions to Ask before a Divorce in Singapore

If you and your spouse have gone through countless marriage counselling services that don’t seem to work, perhaps you’re ready to see divorce lawyers in Singapore.

However, it’s wise to ask yourself some financial questions before getting a divorce. After all, this legal procedure won’t just end your marriage but also significantly impact your finances.

What are matrimonial assets?

Matrimonial assets or properties can include all assets acquired by one or both parties during the marriage. These can come in the form of the marital home or property, cars, insurance policies, jewellery, cash savings, and other assets.

Some exemptions to matrimonial assets include inheritance or gifts to one of the parties. However, this could be contested if the gift was improved upon by the other party in any way.

A party who filed for bankruptcy can still undergo divorce proceedings, provided the bankrupt party’s lawyer notifies the official assignee of the estate about the divorce in a timely manner.

How will we divide our matrimonial property?

Division of matrimonial assets often makes it to divorce law myths in Singapore that need to be debunked. For starters, the divorced couple’s assets will likely not be equally divided.

Instead, the division will be based on the needs of the couple’s children (if any), each party’s financial contribution to the marriage or the family, and other considerations under Section 112 of the Women’s Charter.

If the division is contested in any way, private investigators could be hired to come up with evidence of the true nature of the other party’s finances, assets, debts, and reasons for non-contribution.

What factors does the Court consider for the division of matrimonial property?

As previously mentioned, the Court will consider if the divorcing parties have previously agreed on the division of an asset. This could come in the form of prenuptial agreements or other binding contracts overseen by the Singapore legal system.

The best family lawyers will also tell you that it’s the children’s needs that are always the focus of how the matrimonial assets will be divided. This also includes any debt incurred by either party for the benefit of their children.

The Court will also not order a gender-based division of assets. So it’s another myth that only the husband’s assets will be divided during divorce proceedings.

What’s involved in divorce maintenance?

There are child and spousal maintenance fees to consider during a divorce too. Aside from earning and income capacity, the duration of the marriage and the age of each party will be considered as well.

And it’s a family law myth in Singapore that the mother automatically gets custody of the children, especially since joint custody is always possible between civil ex-spouses. With amendments done to the Women Charter, it means that incapacitated husbands can also apply for divorce maintenance.

But overall, each parent’s financial capabilities will be assessed as well as the standard of living that the couple or family have grown accustomed to before the marriage broke down. All of these will contribute to the maintenance amount that the Court decides on.