Once you have confirmed that you can divorce in Singapore and have been married for at least three years, the procedure of getting a divorce is vital to understand. Together with a contested or uncontested divorce, there are two stages in the process:

• The dissolution of marriage;
• The ancillary matters stage.

In this article, we explained the first stage- the dissolution of marriage. The first step is to demonstrate to the court the irretrievable breakdown of the matrimony and grant an interim decision.

Start of procedure: Filing of documents

The person requesting the divorce in a divorce case by a best divorce lawyer singapore is known as the ‘Plaintiff,’ while their partner is known as the ‘Defendant.’ The third party will be the ‘Co-Defendant’ if the defendant committed adulteration. To begin divorce proceedings, the applicants shall submit the following documents:

• Divorce letter;
• Statement of claim: establishing the foundation for the divorce in respect of ancillary matters and what is the claimant seeks to claim;
• Statement of the specifics: to explain the irretrievable disintegration of marriage;
• Proposed or agreed to Matrimonial Property Plan if the Parties hold an HDB flat (NOTE: Standard query form must be forwarded before provision to HDB and the CPF Board to gather information on the respective payments of the Parties to the HDB flat);
• The Parenting Plan proposed or agreed where parties have children under 21;
• Service acknowledgment; and 
• Appearance Memorandum.

Documentation service:

The same documents must then be sent to Defendant or the best divorce lawyer singapore of Defendant via e-controversy directly. However, if the respondent fails to serve after two attempts. Or if the applicant does not know the exact whereabouts of the respondent in Singapore. The defendant may request that it be replaced by the court and inform the defendant by mail to the last well-known address of the defendant or even newspaper advertisements. The complainant may also request that the service, the documents of the defendant discharge. The processes will inevitably prolong substituted or delivered service by around four weeks.

Entering an appearance:  

After receiving the divorce documents, the respondent has eight days to file a request for publication and indicate whether he wants to object to the divorce and raise further questions. There are three possible outcomes:  

• If the defendant does not dispute the divorce order, the complainant can seek a court order to leave the case for trial without objection; 
•  If the respondent disputes the order, he has an additional 14 days to file a defense (Oppose the motion) or defense and counterclaim (state the respondent reasons for divorce and any questions about your refusal); and
• If the respondent does not appear in court within eight days, the appellant can make an affidavit stating that the service has been completed and leave the case for review. The court can begin to set date for the divorce hearing and approve the divorce in the defendant’s absence.

Divorce hearing:

When the divorce is uncontested, the court will issue a hearing date after filing the Request for Setting Down Action for Trial. The attendance of parties at this hearing is not usually needed. An interim judgment will then be granted if the court is satisfied with the irrevocable breakdown of the marriage.

On the contrary, if the divorce is disputed that the assistant secretary may order the parties to participate in a negotiation or mediation meeting and agree not to submit the case to court when considering the case.

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