There are two stages in divorce proceedings – the first is when the court decides whether the marriage should be dissolved, and we are going to discuss this in this article.
The second stage is when the court decides on ancillary matters. This will be discussed in Part 2.
If you are married under Muslim law, please read our article on Divorce under Syariah Law.
In Singapore, the Women’s Charter governs all matters surrounding marriage, divorce and the rights and duties of the people involved.
You must satisfy the following requirements to be eligible for divorce in Singapore:
· either spouse must be habitually resident in Singapore for at least 3 years before divorce proceedings begin or domiciled in Singapore when the divorce proceedings begin; and
· the parties must also have been married for at least 3 years prior to the commencement of the divorce proceedings (unless the party filing for divorce has suffered exceptional hardship or exceptionally unreasonable and cruel behaviour).
The rationale for the 3 year rule above is to promote the sanctity of marriage by ensuring newlyweds put in effort to salvage their marriage instead of looking at divorce to resolve their differences. There is no provision for immediate divorce in Singapore. In most cases, an uncontested divorce usually equates to quick divorce.
Once eligibility is established, one must prove (the only legal ground under the law) that the marriage has irretrievably broken down, as required under the Women’s Charter.
It must be demonstrated that the breakdown is due to one or more of the following five grounds. Let’s examine each of them.
1. Adultery
It must be shown that the adultery was committed after the marriage and the victimised spouse finds it intolerable to live with the offending spouse. The problem with proceeding on this basis is the difficulty in gathering evidence proving that adultery was in fact committed. Private Investigators are usually hired to ensure that there is sufficient evidence to convince the court. It must be noted that if the victimised spouse continues to live with the offending spouse for more than 6 months after knowing about the adultery incident, the victimised spouse is not be entitled to rely on that adultery incident if and when filing for divorce.
2. Unreasonable Behaviour
This is the most common ground used in the divorce process by proving that a marriage has been irretrievably broken down. It involves demonstrating that victimised spouse cannot reasonably be expected to live with the offending spouse. It is a subjective test which examines if the victimised spouse finds it intolerable to live with his/her partner.
This ground is also used in adultery situations when the victimised spouse is unable to gather sufficient evidence to prove adultery.
The issues that are typically raised under this ground includes domestic violence, drug or alcohol abuse to show how intolerable it is to live with the offending spouse. These acts, however, have to affect the marriage itself in some way. The court may also consider a series of relatively trivial acts across a significant period of time to be unreasonable when viewed as a whole.
3. Desertion
This involves proving that one spouse has deserted his/her partner for a continuous period of at least 2 years immediately preceding the filing of the writ.
The Women’s Charter provides that ‘desertion’ implies an abandonment by a spouse against the wishes of his/her partner. The offending spouse must have intended to desert without consent, and must have been living in a separate household throughout the two years of desertion.
4. 3 Year Separation (With Consent)
Under this ground, both parties must have lived apart for a continuous period of at least 3 years and consent to a judgment being granted (for the divorce). It must be noted that physical separation alone does not suffice, both parties must have the intention of being separated
5. 4 Year Separation
If both parties have lived apart for a continuous period of at least 4 years, no consent is necessary to have a judgment granted (for divorce).
As mentioned earlier, you must demonstrate the breakdown of the marriage based on one or more of the above grounds. If you are still not sure about how to file for divorce in Singapore, or if you are wondering about the divorce forms or divorce cost, get in touch with one of our lawyers for a consultation.