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DIVORCE, GROUNDS FOR DIVORCE

To commence divorce
proceedings, you have to

SINGAPORE
prove that there has been an
Although adultery ‘irretrievable breakdown’ of
is a primary driver the marriage by showing to the
Court that one or more of the
of divorce, it is not following facts is true:

STYLE
usually listed as
grounds for divorce. 1. Adultery
2. Desertion for at least
two years
3. Unreasonable behaviour
(acting in a manner that
you cannot be reasonably
IF YOU ARE CONSIDERING ENDING YOUR expected to tolerate)
MARRIAGE, YOU WILL NEED TO FULFIL 4. Three years’ separation if
your spouse agrees to the
CERTAIN CONDITIONS. READ ON TO FIND
divorce
OUT IF YOU ARE ELIGIBLE. 5. Four years’ separation if
BY JASMINE CHUNG your spouse does not agree
to the divorce

Pursuing a divorce breaks Figures from Singstat show

the sacred ‘for better or for that more than half (53.7%) of
worse’ vow. According to the all divorces cited ‘unreasonable
Department of Statistics behaviour’, while 42.6%
(Singstat), the highest cited ‘having lived apart or
proportion of civil divorces in separated for three years or
2015 were filed by couples who more’ However, Bernard Chung,
were married for five to nine Managing Director of Clearwater
years. Singstat’s latest annual Law Corporation, Advocate
report on marriage and divorce & Solicitor for the Supreme
statistics in Singapore states Court of Singapore, has a
that divorce and annulment different view of this data. “In
rates increased by about 3% my experience and that of other
from the previous year. lawyers, adultery is the primary

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When does one become factor in around one in four
eligible for divorce? What are divorces here,” he says.
the usual grounds for such a However, although adultery
decision? Read on to learn more is a primary driver of divorce, it
about the divorce process in is not usually listed as grounds
Singapore. for divorce.
For Gloria James-Civetta,
Head Lawyer of Gloria James-
Civetta & Co, unreasonable
behaviour, adultery, lack of
respect and trust between
parties, different parenting
styles and in-law issues are the
top causes of divorce that she
has observed among her clients.
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WHEN DO YOU NEED
A LAWYER?
You should resort to divorce
only when all possible avenues
to resolve the marriage have
been exhausted. Over 60%
of divorces were initiated by
the woman, who decided that
leaving was the right thing to do.
Chung says, “In the early
stages of your marriage, it is
common to have disagreements
and to consider divorce, but
we would normally advise that
counselling and mediation be
first explored. However, if you
are certain you would like a
divorce and would like to know
how to go about doing it, then
that would be the appropriate
time to see a lawyer for advice.”
While it is possible to file
for divorce without engaging
a lawyer, an individual who
chooses to self-represent will
be held to the same standards
as a specialised legal counsel in
all court proceedings. James-
Civetta strongly advises against
acting in person. “Such people
make mistakes and end up
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spending more money to rectify
the errors,” she observes.
James-Civetta recommends
an alternative: both parties can
use the services provided by the
Singapore Mediation Centre to
resolve their dispute amicably
rather than head for the divorce
court. This will inevitably help to
save money and time, and better
manage emotions.
STAGES OF DIVORCE
PROCEEDINGS
Under Singapore law, there
are two stages of divorce
proceedings:
In the first stage, you will be
handed an Interim Judgement of
Divorce as an acknowledgement
that the judge is in agreement
that your marriage has
irretrievably broken down.
Next, the ‘ancillary matters’
stage decides issues including
division of assets and affairs
relating to their children, such
as maintenance. Only after
these matters have been
adjudicated will a final judgment
be rendered by the court.
Examples of
Unreasonable
Behaviour:
• Violence
• Constant late nights
• Refusal to socialise
• Drug addiction
• Compulsive gambling
habits
• Deprivation of sex
• Working too many hours
SOURCE:
WWW.SINGAPORELEGALADVICE.COM
Documents
Required for
Divorce
1 A Writ for Divorce, which
will be served to the
other party
2 Awhich
Statement of Claim,
specifies the
grounds of divorce
3 AParticulars,
Statement of
which sets
out the full details of
the Statement of Claim
Chung advises, “There are
complex legal, procedural
and formal requirements of
initiating a divorce action.
For example, you must
ensure that the documents
you file in court are in the
correct format and that you
have paid the correct filing
fees; doing it on your own
will usually result in delays
and frustration. I have had
quite a number of clients
spend months trying to do
it themselves before finally
giving up and coming to us.”
MISCONCEPTIONS
DEBUNKED
For James-Civetta, one
misconception stands out from
the rest: “That the parties need
to be separated for three years
before they can file for divorce.”
When couples have agreed to
a divorce, they may begin the
proceedings by applying for a
deed of separation, a precursor
to divorce, to officially define
the terms of separation. In
addition, desertion, sometimes
referred to as abandonment,
for two years is also grounds for
filing for divorce.
Chung adds, “One of the most
common misconceptions about
divorce is that there is a dramatic
court hearing in front of a judge,
where parties hurl insults at
each other like in Hollywood
movies. In fact, most divorces go
uncontested; increasingly, the
In the early stages of your marriage, it is common
to have disagreements and to consider divorce,
but we would normally advise that counselling and
mediation be first explored.
two parties agree to the reasons
for the divorce, to the custody
of the children, to the division of
property, and the parties do not
have to attend court.”
Another common misconception,
he reveals, is that adultery is
commonly used as grounds
for divorce. In fact, it is rarely
relied upon as proof of an
irretrievable breakdown of
the marriage because of the
costs and difficulty in proving
it. The main challenge with
proving adultery is that, in many
cases, the person committing
adultery may not admit to it. The
person trying to prove adultery
must usually hire a private
investigator, who will charge
fees to conduct surveillance
and prepare a report. In addition,
the investigator may need to
appear in court, for which he will
also charge fees.
Case Study
A 50-year-old working
British father and a
42-year-old Australian
homemaker mother living
in Singapore had been
married for 10 years when
they filed for divorce
based on irretrievable
breakdown of the marriage
from unreasonable
behaviour. Both sought
custody, care and control
of the children (a daughter,
10, and a son, seven).
The mother was
granted interim custody,
but lost it due to self-
injurious behaviour with
no suicide attempt, and
was diagnosed to be
suffering from major
depressive disorder. Over
time, the court ruled
for joint custody as the
paramount consideration
is the children. The court
also encouraged the
parents to be flexible as
their children’s needs will
change as they grow up.
Division of matrimonial
assets included a 60:40
assessment of indirect
contributions in favour
of the mother as primary
caregiver, who gave up her
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employment to assist with
the subsequent relocation
to Singapore, while each
party retained all assets in
their respective names.
Maintenance was a
periodic sum from the
father that covered
general expenses, to be
replaced by a reduced sum
when the mother returned
to the workforce.
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