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Plain answers to the questions you’re probably already asking. Read at your own pace. Nothing here asks you to decide anything today.
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Each guide is general information only, not legal advice about your situation.
If you’re still deciding: your options, including counselling, and what a divorce actually involves.
Read the guide → Thinking about itIdeas for telling your spouse: choosing a calm moment, being clear and kind, and listening to how they react.
Read the guide → FilingHow uncontested and contested divorces differ, where mediation fits in, and what the process usually looks like.
Read the guide → Children & custodyHow custody, care and control, and access are generally decided, and what to think about before anything changes.
Read the guide → MaintenanceGeneral information on maintenance for children and for a wife (or an incapacitated husband), and what the court usually looks at.
Read the guide → Matrimonial assetsHow the home, CPF and other matrimonial assets are generally looked at when a marriage ends.
Read the guide →These are common general questions people ask about divorce in Singapore. They are not quotes from clients.
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A simple overview of the usual path. General information only. Every situation is different.
Generally, you need to have been married for at least 3 years (the court allows earlier filing only in cases of exceptional hardship or exceptional depravity). At least one of you must be domiciled in Singapore, or have been habitually resident here for the 3 years immediately before filing.
If you have a child under 21, you will generally need to complete the Mandatory Co-Parenting Programme (CPP) run by MSF before filing, even if you agree on everything.
The case is filed at the Family Justice Courts. If the court is satisfied the marriage has irretrievably broken down, and that granting the divorce is just and reasonable, it grants an Interim Judgment.
Children, maintenance and matrimonial assets (“ancillary matters”) are agreed between you, worked out through mediation, or decided by the court. If you have a child under 21, the court will generally direct you to mediation and counselling at the Family Justice Courts.
Final Judgment can generally be applied for 3 months after Interim Judgment, or once all ancillary matters are resolved, whichever is later. Final Judgment is what formally ends the marriage.
Myth vs fact
Someone has to be blamed for the divorce.
Since 1 July 2024, couples can divorce by mutual agreement: both spouses agree in writing that the marriage has irretrievably broken down, without either having to prove fault.
General information, not legal advice · divorcelawyersingapore.com
The children always go to the mother.
When deciding custody or care and control, the court’s paramount consideration is the welfare of the child. There is no rule that children go to the mother.
General information, not legal advice · divorcelawyersingapore.com
If your name isn’t on the flat, you get nothing.
Assets acquired during the marriage by either spouse can be matrimonial assets, whoever’s name they’re in. They are divided in a just and equitable way, considering financial contributions and contributions to the family, such as looking after the home and caring for the family.
General information, not legal advice · divorcelawyersingapore.com
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