What Are The Laws Governing Divorce In Singapore?
Getting a divorce often burdens a person with a social stigma that make it hard for married people who are trapped in an unstable marriage to step out of such a state. These stigmas cannot be avoided but they can be conquered, especially if the spouse seeking to get out of such a dilemma seeks the help of one of the many competent family lawyers in Singapore.
Professional family lawyers in Singapore can help couples end their marriage without suffering from a lot of bitterness, distress and humiliation and can nullify their marital contracts with fairness through proper legal counsel. Marriages are contracts that bind two people to fulfill certain responsibilities they have to each other and to children they create in the marriage. When one or both party neglect these duties, a petition for divorce can be filed to terminate such a 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 decide to divorce, Muslim Law Court, or the Shariah Court, handles these. Like in non-Muslim courts, petitions for divorce are subject to legal proceedings which can be granted or rejected through the power of the chief of Supreme Court or in this case the power of the president of the Shariah Court.
The Women’s Charter Act is an act of Parliament that keeps track and monitors monogamous marriages, the privileges of wives and children children, the duties and the rights of married people, the protection of women and divorce. This law allows either partner to file for a petition for divorce on the following grounds: cruelty, adultery, seven years of living apart from each other, three years after desertion, and mental illness. Women can also file for divorce if their husbands committed bigamy, sodomy, rape and bestiality in the course of their union.
A person can petition for divorce as long as they have been married for at least three years and the parties involved should be residents of Singapore. Exceptions to these rules are made for those who have been married for under the required period of time. This is when the petitioner complains of exceptional hardship or the extreme depravity of their partner.
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