About
Expatriate Law (Asia) Pte. Ltd provide English divorce and family law advice to British expats and families with links to England who are living in Singapore and across South East Asia.
Sonny is a qualified solicitor with 15 years post-qualification experience. He holds a practising certificate from the Law Society of England and Wales. Post-qualification, he spent his first 8 years working in central London law firms. He lived and worked in Dubai from 2014 to 2016.
Sonny is now based in the Singapore office of Expatriate Law where he acts for British expatriates and conducts their family proceedings through the English courts.
Sonny is a solutions-driven negotiator and is highly motivated by a desire to help his clients emerge from the legal process with their finances and their dignity intact – particularly where there are children involved. However, if reasonable agreement cannot be reached, Sonny has extensive experience of conducting litigation in the London Courts.
Featured Services
Divorce in England and Wales
Sonny specialises in international divorce and family law, acting for British expats worldwide and conducting their family proceedings through the English courts.
Sonny has extensive experience dealing with the following matters:
- High net worth divorce
- Jurisdiction/choice of forum
- Financial provision after overseas divorce
- Cross-border enforcement of financial orders
- Negotiating and drafting multiple jurisdiction prenuptial postnuptial and separation agreements
- The relocation of children across international borders
Pre-Nuptial Agreement
Negotiating and drafting multiple jurisdiction pre-nuptial, post-nuptial and separation agreements.
Media & Publications
Publications:
- Divorce for British Expats in Singapore
- Divorce for British Expats: Approach to Matrimonial and Non-Matrimonial Assets in England vs Singapore
- Expatriate Law: Seamless Operation in Lockdown
- Covid-19 Pandemic: Financial Settlement in Lockdown
- Freezing Orders within English Divorce Proceedings
- Brexit and the Sole Domicile Restriction on Maintenance Claims
- Lawyer Feature: Sonny Patel, Partner of Expatriate Law (Asia)
- A Day in the Life of Sonny Patel
Follow us on Instagram: @expatdivorceasia
Services & Fees
Fees
Sonny offers formal consultations in person or via Zoom.
To set up a formal consultation with Sonny, please email hilary@expatriatelaw.com with details of:
- The nationalities and place of residence of both parties and the children (if any);
- Location of assets;
- A list of key questions and areas of concern.
Fixed fee divorce:
The costs of an undefended English divorce (i.e. from initial Petition to Decree Absolute) is fixed at £2,000 (SGD$3,500). The fixed fee does not include the Court fee of £550 or other disbursements that may be required such as translations, couriers or process servers.
Hourly rate finances:
It is very difficult to estimate the likely overall costs of legal representation for handling the financial matters that must be addressed on divorce. The complexity and volume of work required can vary wildly depending on the facts and circumstances.
Some separating couples are able to reach early agreement with minimal input from lawyers, in which case the lawyer’s role is limited to drafting and implementation.
At the other end of the spectrum, some cases can take years and involve extensive financial disclosure, multiple court hearings in 2 or more countries, property and business valuations, expert reports, interim hearings and satellite litigation.
We are transparent about costs. We prepare monthly invoices and all billable time spent on your file is itemised so that you can see exactly how fees are being incurred and so that you can keep track of your expenses.
The essential principle to be kept in mind at all times is that costs incurred must always remain proportionate to the amounts in dispute.
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