Saturday, December 31, 2011

Divorce In Singapore Basics

By Kaye Bord


Getting a divorce often burdens a person with a social stigma that make it hard for men and women who are trapped in an unstable marriage to get themselves out of such a state. These stigmas cannot be avoided but they can be gotten over, especially if the couple seeking to get out of such a dilemma asks for the help of one of the many competent family lawyers in Singapore.

Competent family lawyers in Singapore can help in getting the couple to amicably nullify their marriage contract with the least amount of bitterness and humiliations and with fairness and little distress by giving them proper legal counsel. Marriages are contracts that partners enter into and as such, duties to each other and to children they have need to be fulfilled. When these obligations are neglected, the contract was essentially dishonored and this can be grounds for a divorce or termination of the marriage contract.

Singapore has two kinds of laws that govern divorce proceedings. One is in line with the Muslim belief and the other, the Women's Charter, is for non-Muslims. When Muslim couples want a divorce, Muslim Law Court, or the Shariah Court, handles these. The procedure is somewhat similar with non-Muslim divorce proceedings, with petitions for divorce going through the usual legal processes and can be either rejected or granted through the power of their highest officer in the court, which is the president of the Shariah Court.

The Women's Charter Act, on the other hand, is an act of Parliament which takes charge of monogamous marriages, the rights and duties of married people, divorces, the rights and privileges of wives and children, and the protection of women. Under this Law, either spouse may file a petition for divorce on any of the following grounds: adultery, desertion after three years, cruelty, living separately for seven years, and mental illness. A wife may also file a petition on the ground that her husband has committed sodomy, bigamy, rape, and bestiality during their marriage.

To qualify for a divorce petition, the involved parties must be into their third year of marriage and are both residents of Singapore. But when there are extreme circumstances, an exception to the three-year marriage rule is made. For example, if the petitioner is the victim of extreme hardship or exceptional depravity of their spouse, they can be considered for the exception.




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1 comment:

Unknown said...

Great post!!Thanks for sharing it with us....really needed. Family law encompasses a wide variety of domestic matters including, but not limited to, divorce, custody, child support, spousal support (commonly known as alimony), and adoption. Because no two domestic matters are exactly alike, the family law process may be very stressful for some, and rewarding for others...tucson divorce attorney