Divorce court cannot determine asset claims by third parties
Singapore's highest court has ruled that a Family Justice Court does not have the power to hear or determine claims made by a third party on property involved in divorce proceedings. The ruling comes in a landmark judgement yesterday by a five-judge Court of Appeal.
The matter centres on a dispute over the ownership of a divorcing couple's matrimonial home. The wife's mother claims that the property, which is now valued at more than $5 million, belongs to her.
But the apex court ruled that under the Women's Charter - the law that provides for marriage and divorce - a Family Justice Court has power only to divide assets in the specific context of matrimonial proceedings involving the two spouses.
A separate civil suit has to be started to determine the ownership of the disputed property before proceedings to divide matrimonial assets can continue before a Family Justice Court.
The Court of Appeal recognised that there have been past cases in which judges dealing with the division of matrimonial assets have determined the ownership of assets claimed by third parties.
These cases were "wrongly decided," it said.
The decision arose out of a case from 2008 when the husband, a foreigner in his 50s, filed for divorce from his Singaporean wife, who is in her 40s.
In July 2015, the wife's mother applied to intervene in the divorce proceedings. She wanted to dispute the husband's claim that a house that was in her name can be counted as a matrimonial asset as she was holding it in trust for the couple.
Then Judicial Commissioner Debbie Ong ruled that the matrimonial proceedings should be stayed to allow the husband to pursue a civil action to determine the ownership of the disputed property.
The wife's mother appealed. In February, the Court of Appeal dismissed her appeal, upholding the lower court's decision. The court's grounds, penned by Judge of Appeal Judith Prakash, were released yesterday.
The husband has filed a civil suit.
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now