Filling in a Matrimonial Property Plan for a Singapore Divorce

Last updated on October 14, 2020

If you and your spouse own a HDB flat together, you must file a Matrimonial Property Plan (MPP) with the Family Justice Courts. This must be filed together with the writ for divorce during the first stage of divorce, which involves the dissolution of the marriage.

If you own private property, you will not have to file an MPP.

This article will discuss in detail:

What is a Matrimonial Property Plan and its types
What are the possible options for dealing with property under the Matrimonial Property Plan
How to prepare a Matrimonial Property Plan
How to obtain your CPF statements for filing with the Matrimonial Property Plan
What happens after both parties have filed their Matrimonial Property Plans

Note: In this article, “Plaintiff” refers to the spouse filing for divorce, and “Defendant” refers to the other spouse who is defending against the divorce.

What is a Matrimonial Property Plan and Its Types

An MPP is a document about how you intend to deal with your HDB flat after your divorce.

There are two types of MPPs:

The agreed MPP (AMPP); and
The proposed MPP (PMPP).

Both the AMPP and the PMPP require parties to state information on their HDB flat, and how they want to deal with their flat (see below for some possible options).

However, an AMPP is filed when both parties can agree on how to split their HDB flat. Both the Plaintiff and the Defendant will file their own copies of the AMPP, but both copies should state the same option of dealing with the flat.

On the other hand, PMPPs are filed by each party when they cannot agree on how to deal with their HDB flat after the divorce. Each party’s PMPP should specify their own desired options on how the HDB flat should be dealt with.

Note: The AMPP and PMPP are collectively referred to as “MPP” in this article.

What are the Possible Options for Dealing with Property under the Matrimonial Property Plan?

There are various ways of dealing with a HDB flat after a divorce. These include:

Surrendering the flat to the HDB
Terminating your lease with the HDB (if the flat is being leased from HDB)
Selling your flat in the open market
Selling/transferring your share in the flat to:
- Your spouse
- Your spouse and another party
- A third-party
Selling/transferring your spouse’s share in the flat to:
- Yourself
- You and another party
- A third-party

Apart from the above options, you can also state brief details of your own preferred option in the MPP.

How Do You Prepare the Matrimonial Property Plan?

Procedure for preparing an AMPP

Procedure for preparing a PMPP

You will need to fill in the relevant MPP form as found on the Family Justice Courts’ website. The MPP must also be filed with the particulars of arrangements for housing in Form 13.

If you are the Plaintiff, the relevant AMPP form (Form 12) can be downloaded here.

If you are the Defendant, the relevant AMPP form (Form 25) can be downloaded here.

If you are the Plaintiff, the relevant PMPP form (Form 14) can be downloaded here.

If you are the Defendant, the relevant PMPP form (Form 26) can be downloaded here.

These forms require parties to fill in information on their flat, which can be accessed via “MyHDBPage” on the HDB website.

After filling in the AMPP with information on the HDB flat and agreement on how to deal with the flat, the Plaintiff will have to serve a copy of his or her AMPP on the HDB.

The Defendant also has to sign the Plaintiff’s AMPP in the presence of a Commissioner for Oaths, or have his or her solicitor sign the Plaintiff’s AMPP confirming the Defendant’s agreement with its terms.

Service of the AMPP can be done personally or through registered mail to the Branch Office in charge of the estate where the HDB flat is located. If the HDB matrimonial asset is not an HDB flat, but an Agreement for the Lease of an HDB flat, the Plaintiff will have to serve the copy of his or her AMPP at the Sales Section at HDB Centre.

The Plaintiff must also obtain his or her relevant CPF statement and additional CPF statement (if applicable) for submitting to the HDB. Please see the section below for more details on CPF statements.

After the Plaintiff has filled in the PMPP with information on his or her HDB flat, the Plaintiff has to obtain his or her relevant CPF statement and additional CPF statement (if applicable) for submitting to the HDB. Please see the section below for more details on CPF statements.

The Plaintiff should receive a written reply from the HDB on whether they approve of your AMPP within 1 month. He or she should then file the reply together with the AMPP and the writ for divorce in court.

If the Plaintiff does not receive a reply within 1 month, he or she may file your divorce writ without the AMPP. In this case, once he or she has received a reply from the HDB, he or she must file the AMPP together with the HDB’s written reply within 7 days of receiving the reply.

The Plaintiff must serve a copy of their MPP on his or her spouse. Service can be done by personally delivering the documents to his or her spouse.

After receiving the Plaintiff’s PMPP, the Defendant has to obtain his or her relevant CPF statement and additional CPF information (if applicable) within 22 days after receiving service of the divorce writ.

The Defendant will send his or her own version of the AMPP to the Plaintiff.

The Defendant’s CPF statement and additional CPF statement (if applicable) are to be attached to the Defendant’s AMPP.

The Defendant will file his or her PMPP with the CPF statement and additional CPF statement (if applicable) attached.

The Defendant also has to serve his or her PMPP on the Plaintiff within 2 working days of it being filed.

How Can You Obtain Your CPF Statements for Filing with the Matrimonial Property Plan?

To complete an MPP, you will have to obtain and submit relevant CPF statements and additional CPF information (if applicable) with a copy of your MPP to the HDB. This is so that the HDB may ensure that the value of your flat will be refunded to or deducted from your CPF account correctly, depending on how your HDB flat is to be dealt with.

The relevant CPF statement includes the following information:

The amount withdrawn from your CPF account (and any accrued interest) for the purchase of your HDB flat
The amount of CPF monies in your Ordinary, Medisave, Special and Retirement (if any) accounts respectively
The amount of your pledged Retirement Sum and the accrued interest (this is only applicable if you are 55 years or older, and had pledged the HDB flat in lieu of setting aside the Retirement Sum or any part thereof in your Retirement Account)

On the other hand, the additional CPF information includes the amount which the CPF member must set aside or top up to his CPF Retirement Account when he/she sells, transfers or otherwise disposes of his/her HDB flat (this is only applicable if you are 55 years old or older).

To retrieve your CPF statement, you may do so online at the CPF website. Please refer to this video from the CPF website if you require further guidance. Alternatively, you may request for your CPF statement at any CPF Board office either in person or through an authorised representative.

If you are the Plaintiff and are unable to retrieve your CPF statements in time for filing together with your divorce writ, you may file your divorce writ without your MPP. Then once you’ve received the CPF statements, you must file your MPP together with these statements within 7 days of receiving them.

What Will Happen After Both Parties have Filed Their Matrimonial Property Plans?

After you and your spouse have filed your MPPs, the court will consider all of the documents that have been filed for the divorce and decide whether it is satisfied that your marriage has irretrievably broken down. If the court is satisfied, it will grant you an Interim Judgment.

With the Interim Judgment, you will then move on to the second stage of divorce and decide on ancillary matters pertaining to matters such as division of matrimonial assets, child custody, and spousal or children maintenance.

In particular, during the ancillary hearings, the court will consider the Plaintiff and the Defendant’s MPPs and decide on what is to be done with the HDB flat.

3 months after receiving the Interim Judgment or after all ancillary matters have been settled, whichever happens later, parties can apply to make the Interim Judgment final. When this happens, a Certificate of Final Judgment will be issued to mark the conclusion of all divorce proceedings.

Please refer to our other article on divorce for more information on the divorce process in Singapore.

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As you can see, preparing an MPP can be a complicated process. Hence, do consider consulting a divorce lawyer if you need assistance with preparing your MPP or with other divorce-related matters.

An experienced divorce lawyer will be able to help you prepare your MPP documents properly, and advise you on how you can best deal with your flat as you undergo divorce proceedings.

You can get in touch with experienced divorce lawyers here.