Recently, the proposed amendments to the Women’s Charter were put up for public consultation by the Ministry of Social and Family Development. The most controversial proposed amendment is that disabled husbands or ex-husbands can claim maintenance from their wives if they are unable to earn a livelihood. The term “husband or ex-husbands”…
Category: Family and Community
A New Rehabilitative Regime for Bankrupts
The Bankruptcy Amendment Bill that was passed in July is an important step in the reform of the bankruptcy regime in Singapore. Currently, bankrupts face an uncertain future, as there are no fixed rules for discharge. Discharge is done generally on a case-by-case basis, either on agreement of the creditors, by…
Interview with a Lawyer: Lim Chong Boon
Mr Lim Chong Boon is an experienced litigation lawyer with more than 25 years of experience in probate, family and divorce law. A prominent lawyer, he was appointed by the Chief Justice to the Inquiry Panel of the Law Society of Singapore, and was also previously a Council Member of…
Divorce lawyer fees: How much does it actually cost to get a divorce in Singapore?
By Lim Chong Boon Senior Divorce Lawyer at PKWA Law Tel: 6854-5336 | 6854-5331 | 6854-3100 Divorce is a painful process, and is very draining on the client. That is why I will let my clients know about the fee structure at the very beginning, so that they can prepare for it…
New tribunal to settle neighbour disputes
The Current Situation In a densely-packed community like Singapore, it is easy for differences with neighbours to escalate into disputes. Common complaints include excessive noise, smoke, or littering caused by neighbours. Right now, the most common form of resolution is mediation at the Community Mediation Centre. However, according to statistics…
More to benefit from family law reforms and criminal legal aid
Enhancement of Criminal Legal Aid Scheme The government has announced in Parliament that it will enhance criminal legal aid by providing funding to the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme (“CLAS”), which is administered by the Law Society. This is a shift in government policy as it did not fund defendants in criminal…
All you need to know about the Protection From Harassment Act
On 5 February 2015, well-known local blogger Xiaxue obtained a court order against the satirical SMRT Ltd (Feedback) Facebook page after being at the receiving end of malicious posts since 2012. This court order was obtained pursuant to the Protection From Harassment Act which came into force in November 2014. This Act was enacted…
The Ex-Tour Guide and the Widow: The LPA and other things you need to know
If you are Singaporean, chances are, you have heard of the recent high-profile legal tussle over an elderly widow’s (Mdm Chung Khin Chun) assets worth about 40 million, between her niece (Mdm Hedy Mok) and her ex-tour guide (Yang Yin). While this case mainly involves issues surrounding a legal instrument…
More accessible family justice lies ahead
Earlier this month, the Committee for Family Justice, and inter-agency committee, delivered its recommendations on a new framework for the family justice system to the Government. The Committee had four main goals: Protect and support the family as the basic unit of our society; Ensure that the interests of the child…