Considering Divorce? When to Seek Legal Advice and What to Know Before You Decide

Do You Need a Divorce Lawyer in Singapore?

No. You are not legally required to engage a lawyer to get divorced in Singapore. You may represent yourself and, where eligible, use the Singapore Courts’ Divorce eService.

But whether you can proceed without a lawyer and whether you should obtain legal advice before making important decisions are two different questions.

Divorce does more than legally end a marriage. Depending on your circumstances, decisions may also need to be made about your children, matrimonial home, CPF monies, maintenance and other assets.

If you are uncertain about your legal position, the consequences of a proposed agreement, or what you should agree to before filing for divorce, obtaining legal advice may help you understand your options before committing to terms.

Can I Divorce Without a Lawyer in Singapore?

Yes.

The Singapore Courts state that you do not need to have a lawyer in a divorce case. A person may file personally or engage a lawyer to handle the proceedings.

The Courts also provide a Divorce eService for eligible divorces proceeding on the simplified track.

A lawyer is not required to use the Divorce eService. However, the Singapore Courts also advise people who are uncertain about their rights and obligations to consult a qualified lawyer.

Importantly, representing yourself does not remove the need to comply with the legal, procedural and formal requirements applicable to your divorce.

When might handling a divorce yourself be more realistic?

Self-representation may be more manageable where, for example:

• both spouses understand and agree on the divorce;
• the financial arrangements are straightforward;
• there are no significant assets;
• there is agreement concerning the children;
• both parties understand what they are agreeing to;
• there are no significant disputes over matrimonial assets or maintenance; and
• neither party requires advice about a potentially complicated legal issue.

The important question is therefore not simply: “Can I divorce without a lawyer?”

It is also: “Do I understand the consequences of what I am agreeing to?”

When Does a Straightforward Divorce Become More Complicated?

For current applications, the Singapore Courts distinguish between the simplified track and normal track.

Where spouses can agree on the divorce before the matrimonial application is filed, proceedings may commence on the simplified track.

Where they cannot agree on the divorce before filing, the matter proceeds on the normal track.

However, agreement on the divorce itself does not necessarily mean every other issue has been resolved.

There may still be important decisions concerning:

• children;
• maintenance; and
• division of matrimonial assets.

A divorce that initially appears straightforward can therefore become more complicated once the practical consequences of separation are considered.

In our experience, this is something parties can underestimate. Some couples assume that because they both agree the marriage should end, they can simply proceed with an “uncontested divorce”. Agreement alone, however, does not mean that all the requirements for proceeding with the divorce have been addressed, nor that the wider consequences have been fully considered.

The impact can extend beyond the divorce itself. Depending on the circumstances, there may be implications for matters such as immigration or residency status, housing, CPF arrangements and a party’s broader financial position.

It is often when the proposed terms are put into writing, documents are ready to be signed, or one party obtains independent legal advice that the full significance of the arrangements becomes clearer. Questions that were not considered at the outset may then emerge, and proposed terms may need to be reconsidered or renegotiated. In some cases, a party may decide that they are not yet ready to proceed with the divorce.

This is why agreeing that a marriage should end is only one part of the process. Understanding what the divorce and the proposed arrangements will mean in practice is equally important.

When Should I Consider Speaking to a Divorce Lawyer?

There is no single stage at which everybody must obtain legal advice.

However, there are circumstances in which understanding your legal position before making decisions may be particularly important.

1. You Have Children

Divorce involving children may require decisions concerning matters such as:

• custody;
• care and control;
• access;
• schooling;
• living arrangements;
• overseas relocation; and
• child maintenance.

Parents may broadly agree that they want to “share their time the children equally” without necessarily understanding how the different legal concepts operate.

Legal advice can help you understand what a proposed parenting arrangement means legally and how it may operate in practice.

For example, an arrangement involving joint custody does not automatically mean that the children will spend equal time with each parent.

Custody generally concerns responsibility for major decisions affecting the children, whereas care and control concerns which parent is primarily responsible for their day-to-day care. Access concerns the time that the other parent spends with the children.

Similarly, in some cases, one parent may seek sole custody to exclude the other parent from the child’s life because of anger over that parent’s conduct, a belief that the child does not wish to spend time with the other parent, or misconceptions about how custody operates under Singapore law. However, custody is not intended to punish a parent for the breakdown of the marriage.

Legal advice can guide parents in understanding what a proposed parenting arrangement means legally and how it may operate in practice. In particular, parents may need to consider:

• where the children will ordinarily live;
• how weekdays, weekends, school holidays and public holidays will be divided;
• how birthdays, festivals, father’s day, mothers’ day and other important family or religious occasions will be handled;
• who will be responsible for transporting the children between households;
• will the other parent require support to supervise and care for the children during access;
• how decisions concerning education, medical treatment, counselling and extracurricular activities will be made;
• whether either parent may travel overseas with the children and what notice or consent will be required;
• who will retain the children’s passports and other important documents;
• how the parents will communicate with each other about the children;
• whether there should be arrangements for telephone or video contact when the children are with the other parent;
• whether and how new partners should be introduced to the children;
• how the children’s views, age, routines and emotional needs should be taken into account; and
• what should happen if either parent wishes to relocate or vary the parenting arrangements in the future.

Parents should also consider whether the proposed arrangement is realistic. For example, equal-sharing arrangement may sound fair in principle but may not be workable if the parents live far apart, have demanding work schedules, are unable to communicate effectively, or if the arrangement would disrupt the children’s schooling and routines.

In addition, parents may also require advice on child maintenance, including what expenses should be covered, how those expenses should be divided, and whether particular costs, such as school fees, tuition, medical treatment, therapy, childcare, extracurricular activities, travel or university expenses, should be dealt with separately and how it should be dealt with.

A general agreement that both parents will “share the children’s expenses” may lead to disagreement if it does not specify what expenses are included, the proportion to be paid by each parent, and the procedure for reimbursement.

The benefit of legal advice is that parents may be guided to identify issues which they may not initially have considered and in recording their agreement clearly. A carefully structured parenting arrangement can reduce uncertainty, minimise future disputes and provide the children with greater stability during and after the divorce.

2. You Own an HDB Flat or Other Property

The matrimonial home is frequently one of the most significant financial issues in a divorce.

Questions may include:

• Who will retain the property?
• Can either spouse afford to retain it?
• Will it need to be sold?
• What happens to the sale proceeds?
• How are CPF monies dealt with?
• What other matrimonial assets need to be considered?

An agreement that sounds simple — such as “you keep the flat and I keep my savings” — should not necessarily be accepted without first understanding the financial consequences.

3. There Are Significant Matrimonial Assets

The matrimonial pool can potentially include considerably more than the family home.

Depending on the circumstances, there may be:

• bank accounts;
• investments;
• shares;
• businesses;
• overseas property;
• insurance policies;
• CPF monies; and
• other financial interests.

Determining what belongs within the matrimonial pool can itself become an important issue.

For example, a parent may have added an adult child’s name to a property. If the parent later divorces, important questions may arise: Does the child genuinely own a share of the property? What was the intention when the child’s name was added? What contributions, if any, did the child make? And what portion of the property’s value, if any, should be considered when determining the matrimonial assets available for division?

Similar issues can arise with jointly held property, family businesses, assets involving relatives, overseas property, investments or assets acquired before the marriage.

These are important matters to identify early. The name appearing on a title or account does not necessarily, by itself, answer how an asset will be treated in divorce proceedings. Legal advice may help identify which assets require closer examination and what evidence may be relevant before positions are taken or settlement terms are agreed.

4. You Believe Assets May Not Have Been Fully Disclosed

Financial disclosure can become important where there are concerns that money, investments or other assets have not been fully identified.

Obtaining advice early may help you understand what information and documentation may become relevant and what steps may be available.

In more complex cases, specialist financial investigators may assist with asset tracing, source-of-wealth analysis and other financial enquiries where there are concerns about undisclosed or difficult-to-identify assets.

The important point is to identify these concerns early, before financial positions or settlement terms have been agreed.

5. Spousal Maintenance Is an Issue

Spousal maintenance can involve more uncertainty than simply comparing the parties’ current salaries or deciding whether maintenance is needed today.

Circumstances can change after divorce. A party’s income, employment, health, financial needs or ability to support themselves may not remain the same, and the terms agreed at the time of divorce can become important if circumstances change later.

Before agreeing to pay, receive, waive or otherwise deal with spousal maintenance, it is therefore important to understand what the proposed arrangement means, whether future claims or variations may be possible, and what consequences could arise down the line.

A maintenance arrangement that appears straightforward today may have implications that only become apparent years later.

6. Your Spouse Wants You to Sign Something

You should understand a document before signing it.

This is particularly important where proposed divorce terms deal with:

• property;
• CPF;
• maintenance;
• children;
• financial claims; or
• division of assets.

The fact that both spouses presently have an amicable relationship does not make the legal or financial consequences of an agreement less significant.

Problems can arise later when a party realises that the agreement has left them in a substantially different position from what they expected. By that stage, changing the outcome may not be straightforward. An application to set aside an order may require grounds such as deception or material non-disclosure, while an application to vary an order may require evidence of a material change in circumstances or that the existing order is no longer workable.

Such applications are costly and involve further legal proceedings that might have been avoided had the implications of the proposed terms been properly considered at the outset. This is one reason why it can be important to understand what you are signing and its longer-term consequences before the agreement becomes an order of court.

7. Your Spouse Has Already Engaged a Lawyer

Your spouse’s lawyer acts for your spouse.

They do not become a neutral lawyer for both parties simply because the divorce is amicable.

If documents or settlement terms are being proposed by your spouse’s lawyer, you may wish to obtain independent advice about what those terms mean for you before agreeing to them.

8. There Is an International Element

Additional considerations can arise where:

• one spouse lives overseas;
• children may be relocated;
• assets are located in another country;
• one spouse intends to leave Singapore;
• the marriage or divorce involves another jurisdiction; or
• enforcement may eventually be required overseas.

Jurisdiction and cross-border family law issues can become complicated, making early advice particularly useful.

Do I Need a Lawyer If We Agree on Everything?

Not necessarily.

An agreed divorce may be considerably more straightforward than one involving substantial disagreement.

But there is an important distinction between:

agreeing on something and understanding what you are agreeing to.

Consider a couple who say: We have agreed that my spouse keeps the flat and I keep my savings.”

That sounds straightforward.

Before formalising that agreement, however, relevant questions might include:

• What is the net value of the flat?
• What CPF monies were used?
• What other assets exist?
• What is the value of each spouse’s overall position?
• Has each spouse properly understood the financial consequences?
• Are there issues that have not yet been considered?

Where parties remain on good terms and are willing to work towards an agreed outcome, they may also wish to consider evaluative mediation. This allows a neutral mediator to assess the parties’ respective positions and provide a realistic perspective on potential legal outcomes. It can help identify issues that may have been overlooked, narrow areas of disagreement and facilitate a more informed settlement without proceeding to contested litigation.

The purpose of obtaining legal advice is not necessarily to disrupt an agreement.

Sometimes it is simply to understand it before making it final.

For more information on the process and potential benefits, see our guide to evaluative mediation in Singapore.

Should I Speak to a Lawyer Before Talking to My Spouse About Divorce?

There is no rule requiring you to do so.

For some couples, discussing matters openly before obtaining legal advice may be entirely appropriate.

In other circumstances, obtaining preliminary advice first can help you understand:

• your legal position;
• what information you should gather;
• which issues need to be discussed;
• what you should avoid agreeing to prematurely; and
• the available ways of proceeding.

This may be particularly useful where you are uncertain about assets, children, maintenance or your spouse’s likely response.

Speaking to a lawyer does not oblige you to commence divorce proceedings.

It can simply be an information-gathering step before deciding what to do.

Do My Spouse and I Need Separate Divorce Lawyers?

You do not necessarily both need lawyers.

However, one divorce lawyer cannot independently advise two spouses whose interests may differ.

Even where spouses are cooperative and have reached an agreement, each person may have different legal and financial interests.

If one spouse’s lawyer prepares the divorce documents, the other spouse should understand that the lawyer represents their client, not both spouses.

The other spouse may choose to obtain independent legal advice before agreeing to the proposed terms.

What If My Spouse Already Has a Divorce Lawyer?

Do not assume that this automatically means the divorce will become hostile or contested.

People engage lawyers for many reasons, including to understand the process, prepare documents or obtain advice about an agreement.

However, if your spouse has a lawyer, remember: Their lawyer’s responsibility is to their client.

If you receive a proposal, correspondence or documents from that lawyer and are uncertain about their implications, you should obtain your own advice before responding.

What Can a Divorce Lawyer Actually Help With?

A divorce lawyer’s role can extend well beyond filing court documents.

Depending on your circumstances, a lawyer may help you:

• understand whether you meet the requirements for divorce;
• understand the simplified and normal tracks;
• identify the issues that need to be resolved;
• understand your position concerning children;
• identify potentially relevant matrimonial assets;
• understand maintenance issues;
• review proposed settlement terms;
• negotiate with your spouse or their lawyer;
• prepare and file court documents;
• advise on procedural requirements;
• represent you in court where necessary; and
• help convert an agreement into appropriate legal documents.

For some people, only part of this assistance may be required.

Can I Speak to a Lawyer Without Hiring Them for the Whole Divorce?

Yes.

There is an important distinction between obtaining legal advice and engaging a lawyer to conduct the entire divorce.

For example, you may initially want answers to questions such as:

• What are my options?
• What happens to our HDB flat?
• What could happen with the children?
• What should I understand about our assets?
• What does the agreement my spouse has proposed actually mean?
• What should I do before filing?

After obtaining advice, you can decide what level of legal assistance you require.

This can be particularly useful if you have not yet decided whether to divorce and simply want to understand your position before making significant decisions.

What Should I Prepare Before Speaking to a Divorce Lawyer?

You do not necessarily need to assemble every possible document before an initial discussion.

However, having some basic information available can make the conversation more productive.

Useful information may include:

• date of marriage;
• whether you and your spouse are currently living together;
• details of any children;
• approximate income of each spouse;
• details of the matrimonial home;
• approximate outstanding mortgage;
• CPF contributions used towards the property;
• significant savings and investments;
• businesses or company interests;
• overseas assets;
• existing maintenance arrangements;
• any agreement already discussed with your spouse; and
• correspondence or proposed divorce documents you have received.

It is also useful to think about what you actually want to understand before the consultation.

What Should I Ask at My First Divorce Consultation?

Useful questions might include:

• What are my options?
• What issues should I resolve before filing?
• Is there anything I should not agree to yet?
• What information or documents should I obtain?
• How might our assets be treated?
• What should I understand about arrangements for the children?
• Could this proceed as an agreed divorce?
• What happens if my spouse does not agree?
• What are the likely stages of the process?
• What legal costs should I anticipate?

What This Means in Practice

The decision to engage a divorce lawyer does not have to be an all-or-nothing decision.

At one end, a person may be comfortable handling a straightforward agreed divorce themselves.

At the other, a person facing substantial disagreement over children, property, financial disclosure or other significant issues may require continuing legal representation.

Between those situations are many people who primarily need advice before they make decisions.

The more useful first question may therefore be: “What do I need to understand before deciding how to proceed?”

rather than simply: “Do I need a lawyer?”

Understanding the legal and practical issues early can also help you distinguish between decisions that can be made relatively easily and those that deserve more careful consideration.

Not Sure Where to Start?

If you are considering divorce but are not yet sure whether you require legal representation, the first step can simply be understanding the process and identifying the issues that may affect you.

Free 20-minute Divorce Process Call

For those who want an initial explanation of the Singapore divorce process and what generally happens next.

The call is intended to provide information about the divorce process rather than legal advice on the merits of your individual circumstances.

Strategic Divorce Consultation

If you require advice about your particular circumstances, including children, matrimonial assets, maintenance, proposed settlement terms or divorce strategy; a Strategic Divorce Consultation provides an opportunity to discuss those issues with a family lawyer.

You do not necessarily need to have decided to commence divorce proceedings before seeking advice.

Understanding your position first can help you make more informed decisions about whether to proceed, how to approach discussions with your spouse and what level of legal assistance you may require.

Frequently Asked Questions

Disclaimer: This article provides general information on divorce in Singapore and does not constitute legal advice. The appropriate course of action depends on the circumstances of each case.