How to Vary a Maintenance Order After a Singapore Divorce

You or your ex-spouse may have been ordered by the judge to pay maintenance at the ancillary matters proceedings during a divorce. Maintenance may be in the form of spousal maintenance, where one spouse has the legal obligation to provide financial support to the other, or child maintenance, where the parent has to financially support the child.

It is possible to vary the amount of maintenance, for example, if your or your child’s current situation requires a larger maintenance from your ex-spouse to support your needs. If you have been ordered to pay maintenance but are now unable to pay the amount ordered, you may also wish to vary the maintenance order.

This article will discuss the variation of the maintenance ordered as part of divorce proceedings, including:

• Who can apply to vary the maintenance order?
• When will the court likely grant a variation of the maintenance order?
• How can you apply to vary the maintenance order?

Who Can Apply to Vary the Maintenance Order?

Both you and your ex-spouse may apply to the court at any time to vary the maintenance sum, regardless of whether you are the paying or receiving party.

You may also apply to vary the maintenance sum on behalf of your children below 21 years old.

Children above 21 years old, on the other hand, are no longer entitled to maintenance unless they meet one of the conditions set out below. Under these circumstances, the child may still apply to the court to vary the maintenance sum:

• He/she has a physical or mental disability;
• He/she is or will be serving full-time national service;
• He/she is still schooling or undergoing training for a trade, profession or vocation; or
• There are special circumstances such that the court is satisfied that the provision of maintenance is necessary

Note that an order to vary the maintenance order can be applied for only if there is an existing maintenance order. In other words, the court must have previously ordered your ex-spouse to give you and/or your child at least $1 monthly maintenance. If there was no order for maintenance, you and/or your child do not have the right to seek maintenance post-divorce. 

When Will the Court Likely Grant a Variation of the Maintenance Order?

In relation to spousal maintenance, the court will likely grant a variation of the maintenance order if it is satisfied that:

1. The order was made based on any misrepresentation or mistake of fact (such as where the provider’s income is in fact higher than what was represented); or
2. There has been a material change in the circumstances. What constitutes a “material change” will be discussed in further detail later in this article. 

When it comes to child maintenance, the court will likely grant a variation if:

1. There is a change in circumstances (e.g. where there is a change in the needs of the child or the income of the provider of maintenance);
2. There is some other good cause (meaning, where there is good reason to do so, such as where there is a change in the general cost of living); or
3. It is reasonable and for the welfare of the child to do so.

Do note that the amount of maintenance can be varied by the court. This is so even if the amount was previously agreed upon by the parties or was granted by the court pursuant to a consent order, which is an order of court entered by agreement between the parties with the court’s approval.

In deciding whether to vary the maintenance order, the court will adopt the same principles as when it is deciding a new maintenance application. In other words, the court has a wide discretion to consider all the circumstances of the case and the reasonableness of the claims. The only difference is that the court will look at your current circumstances at the point where you are making the request to vary the maintenance order, and compare them with what they had been when the original maintenance order was made.

What may be considered a material change in circumstances

A material change in circumstances generally refers to a material change in the financial ability of the spouse providing maintenance, or a material change in the needs of the recipient spouse and/or children. Most applications will typically be made on this ground.

The courts have increased the maintenance amount in the following circumstances:

1. When the provider of maintenance, who was previously unemployed, found employment
2. When the recipient of maintenance lost their job and thus their ability to meet their own and their children’s expenses
3. When the child’s educational expenses increased, such as when he/she started attending university

The courts have also decreased the maintenance amount where:

1. The provider of maintenance lost their job
2. The provider of maintenance’s business failed
3. The provider of maintenance became bankrupt
4. The recipient of maintenance’s cost of living decreased after relocating
5. The recipient of maintenance inherited a sum of money
6. The child graduated from university and found employment

The above examples are not exhaustive. Whether the court will consider something to be a material change in circumstances ultimately depends on the facts of each case.

For example, in the case of XCH v XCI, the wife sought to increase the amount of maintenance for each of their 2 children from $500 to $2,500 monthly. This is an unreasonable increase in just 3 years from the original maintenance order in 2021 when no life-changing events like a medical condition occurred. Additionally, the court found that the current expenses of both children had actually decreased since 2021. Thus, the court rejected the increase on the grounds that there was no substantial rise in their expenses.

However, the court considered both parties’ current income levels to their income in 2021. The Defendant’s income had increased by 66% since the original maintenance order. His bonus was factored in, with the court spreading the bonus over a two-year period to ensure fairness, given that bonuses are variable. The court then calculated the appropriate ratio for contributions to the children’s maintenance based on their relative incomes which was 44:56 (Plaintiff: Defendant). 

The court found that the Defendant was underpaying his share of maintenance for the 1st Daughter by a significant margin and it was unreasonable to expect the wife to cover the shortfall. Hence, the Defendant was to pay $900 monthly for the 1st Daughter to rectify this shortfall, aligning with the income ratios and the reasonable needs of the child.

What may not be considered a material change in circumstances

Remarriage, by itself, cannot constitute a material change in circumstances that relieves a spouse from their obligations to their family from a previous marriage.

However, a spouse’s fresh commitments to their new family could be a factor affecting whether there has been a material change in circumstances. This is because their commitments may impact their ability to pay maintenance.

In determining if the spouse’s conduct in assuming new commitments is reasonable, the court will consider:

1. The reasonableness of the commitments assumed, bearing in mind their obligations to their previous family;
2. Whether the spouse and their new family have explored and exhausted all reasonable solutions for the spouse to perform their obligations to both families; and
3. The financial circumstances and needs of their previous family.

In the case of VWQ v VWR, the husband applied to court to vary his maintenance of $700 for his child monthly as he stopped working as a sales manager at a Chinese restaurant because of his diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Additionally, he was also diagnosed with a growth in his large intestine and would require lifelong medication which impedes his prospect of securing a job.

The court viewed that his loss of employment did not amount to a material change in circumstances in this case but accepted that his medical conditions may have caused him inconvenience in finding jobs in the food and beverage industry. However, his conditions are not so severe that he is incapable of working and he even found a job as a safe-entry ambassador. Hence, the court did not vary the maintenance order.

Material change cannot be self-inflicted

Parties are not permitted to rely on a material change in circumstances that is self-inflicted. For instance, the provider of maintenance who intentionally reduces their income or financial health just to avoid paying maintenance and applies for a variation is likely to have their application rejected by the court. Similarly, the beneficiary of maintenance cannot be allowed to apply for an upward variation due to their own lavish spending habits.

In light of the above, it is therefore recommended that you seek legal advice to assess your circumstances and determine your chances of successfully obtaining a variation of your maintenance order.

How Can You Apply to Vary the Maintenance Order?

An application to vary maintenance granted as part of a divorce should be made by summons with a supporting affidavit. This should be filed in the original suit under which the original maintenance order was made. The supporting affidavit should indicate why you are seeking to vary the maintenance order. You should also include evidence to support your application.

For example, if you have lost your job and are seeking to reduce the quantum of maintenance, you may wish to include your letter of termination of employment and your previous payslips to demonstrate a material change in circumstances.

This application has to be made through the eLitigation system, which can only be accessed by a lawyer. It cannot be filed through the Family Justice Courts’ online Integrated Family Application Management System (iFAMS) system. You may consider engaging a divorce lawyer to assist you with the application.

If you choose not to engage a lawyer, you will have to visit one of the LawNet & CrimsonLogic Service Bureaus to submit the application as a litigant-in-person.

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While there are various ways in which you can apply to vary a maintenance order, one of the most common options is to cite a material change in circumstances. As this article has outlined, material change in circumstances refers to changes in the financial ability of the spouse providing maintenance, or the needs of the recipient of maintenance which warrants the need to vary the maintenance order. However, not all situations will be considered by the courts to be a material change.

If you wish to vary the maintenance order after getting a divorce in Singapore, it is recommended that you engage a divorce lawyer. Your lawyer will be able to advise you on whether you can successfully apply for a variation, be it on the ground of a material change in circumstances or otherwise, and can assist you with filing the necessary court application.

You may find experienced divorce lawyers here.