SOME THINGS TO PREPARE FOR DIVORCE
a.Attend CPP counselling If You Have Young children below 21 years old
If you have young children below 21 years old, both you and spouse are required to firstly register with MSF/Family Assist to attend Mandatory Co-Parenting Programme (CCP) course and obtain CPP Attendance Cert after having attend in person a CPP consultation meeting before either one of you can engage lawyer to file divorce papers in Singapore Family Justice Court. Without obtaining this CPP Cert, both of you neither can file for divorce in court or file documents to respond to your spouse’s application for divorce with the Court.
b.Print Outstanding HDB Flat Loan and CPF Pulic Housing Withdraawals Statement
If both of you are joint owners of matrimonial HDB flat or private property, please go to HDB/CPF Websites to printout your latest HDB Loan Balance Statement and CPF Statement on CPF Monies used to pay todate the purchase of the said matrimonial house which can help lawyers to advise on respective parties’ monetary contributions towards the payment of the said property. The parties’ monetary contributions will help to determine parties initial share of the said property.
c.Check if the Parties have occupied the HDB House for more than 5 years Min Occupation Period
You should also go to the HDB website to log in to My HDB to check if both of you have occupy the HDB flat for more than 5 years Minimum Occupation Period (MOP). If your MOP period is less than 5 years, HDB will not allow parties to sell the HDB Flat as one of the option to settle the division of the matrimonial asset. HDB will accept either a surrender of the flat to HDB or one party transfer of the flat to the other party who fulfils HDB regulation to take over the flat.
For annulment of marriage cases, if parties did not fulfil this MOP period, both parties are required by HDB regulation to surrender the HDB flat to HDB and HDB will not allow transfer of the flat to one of the party in annulment of marriage case.
d.Collate the essential documents to see lawyer to prepare divorce Orignating Application Papers (“OA DIVORCE”)
1.Marriage Certificate
2.Children Birth Certificate
3.CPF Public Housing Withdrawal Statement
4.HDB or Private Property Purchase Documents
5.Document showing change of parties name if name differ from name registered in Marriage Certificate