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Spousal and Children Maintenance
When you are going through divorce, you might wonder how you can receive maintenance to support yourself and/or your children in the midst of your divorce and after your divorce. It is possible to apply for spousal and/or children maintenance even without undergoing divorce.
Under Section 113 of Women’s Charter, the Court may order your husband to pay maintenance to his spouse or ex- spouse and his children during the divorce proceedings or after a divorce, judicial separation or nullity of marriage is finalised. It is also possible for the husband to apply for maintenance under the Women’s Charter. Ill or incapacitated husbands or ex-husbands can apply for maintenance if he is unable to work and support himself.
As a spouse seeking for maintenance, you have to be reasonable in your expenses and not inflate your expenses unreasonably. This will give the Court an impression that you are reasonable in your application for maintenance. While applying for spousal maintenance, you still have an obligation to reasonably seek employment to meet your own needs.
Maintenance Mediation
Nominal Spousal Maintenance at $1
If you are gainfully employed or have a higher income than your ex-spouse, you should still ask for a nominal spousal of $1 instead of closing off any prospects of maintenance indefinitely.
Manner of maintenance payment
You can apply for your ex-spouse to pay into your designated bank account on a monthly basis via bank transfer and GIRO. In cases where your ex-spouse is late for payment or refuses to pay maintenance, you can apply for enforcement and seek an order for direct debiting from his salary account to your designated account on a monthly basis.
Mode of maintenance
You can ask for spousal maintenance either on a monthly basis or as a lumpsum payment. A lumpsum payment is also known as a “clean break†arrangement which can be ordered in cases where your ex-spouse is uncooperative.
Backdating Maintenance
It is possible to seek for maintenance to be backdated for a reasonable period of time to when the divorce started or the period of time your ex-spouse stopped giving you regular maintenance. This is entirely up to the discretion of the Court to decide the backdate of maintenance.
Determining the Amount of Maintenance
In Singapore, under Section 114 of the Women’s Charter, the factors that the Court will consider in determining the spousal and children maintenance are:
- Earning power of parties
- Assets owned by parties
- Financial needs, obligations and responsibilities of both parties in the future
- Standard of living enjoyed by the family before marriage broke down
- Age of parties and duration of marriage
- Physical or mental disability suffered by parties
- Contributions made by parties to the welfare of the family
- Any loss in value you will lose the chance of acquiring due to the divorce.
What if my ex-spouse refuses to pay maintenance despite the Order of Court?
ACF lawyers can assist you to enforce the maintenance order via an application to the Family Justice Court.
How can I increase or decrease the maintenance payment?
If there is already a maintenance order made, you have to make an application to vary the maintenance order. You must show that there has been a material change in circumstances. ACF lawyers can assist you in making this application.