Overview
This section addresses some of the commonly asked questions on proceedings involving maintenance in the Family Justice Courts (FJC).
The information provided below is general in nature and is not intended as legal advice. The FJC cannot provide legal advice or assist with drafting the contents of any document.
References to legislation:
Applications can be made in the FJC in respect of maintenance including:
- Fresh application for maintenance for a spouse (including an incapacitated husband) or child;
- Enforcement of an existing maintenance order for a spouse, ex-spouse (including an incapacitated husband) or child;
- Enforcement of nafkah iddah or mutaah under a Syariah Court Order
- Enforcement of an order for the enforcement of maintenance of a parent; and/or
- Vary or rescind an order made by the Court in (a), (b), (c) or (d) above.
This applies in cases where the person making the application above (the Complainant) and the person who the application is being made against (the Respondent) are both residing within Singapore. If the Respondent is not, then the Court can only make orders for maintenance in limited circumstances.
What is maintenance and who can apply for it?
Maintenance is a form of financial support. Under the Women’s Charter (Cap. 353), Section 69, you can apply for maintenance;
- For your child, from the other parent, if he or she neglects or refuses to provide the child with reasonable maintenance;
- For yourself, from your husband, if you are a married woman whose husband neglects or refuses to provide you with reasonable maintenance;
- For yourself, from your wife, if you are an incapacitated husband whose wife has neglected or refused to provide you with reasonable maintenance; or
- For yourself, from your parent, if you are over 21 and you are still a full-time NSman or student.
What maintenance orders can the Court make?
The Court may order one party to pay maintenance for a wife and/or the child, or an incapacitated husband, if there is neglect in doing so.
Some of the more common maintenance orders which can be made by the Court are set out below:
- A monthly allowance;
- Repayment of specific expenses that are being paid by one party; or
- Direct payment of expenses to a service provider e.g. Childcare Centre, Utilities Providers.
What orders can the Court make to enforce an order of Court to pay maintenance?
If one party fails to pay maintenance which has been ordered without good cause, the Court may order the outstanding amount of maintenance (usually referred to as the arrears) to be enforced against him or her. This also includes outstanding amounts payable under a maintenance order for a parent, spouse, ex-spouse (including an incapacitated husband) or child, nafkah iddah and mutaah payable under a Syariah Court Order
A common enforcement order made by the Court will set out the following.
- What the arrears are as of the date of the order.
- Whether the arrears should be paid in a single payment or in monthly installment.
How do I make an application?
This section summarises the steps to take if you are filing an application for:
- Fresh maintenance for a spouse (including an incapacitated husband) or child;
- Enforcement of an existing maintenance order;
- Enforcement of nafkah iddah or mutaah under a Syariah Court Order
- Enforcement of an order for the enforcement of maintenance of a parent; and/or
- Vary or rescind an order made by the Court in (a), (b), (c) or (d) above.
You may come personally to the Registry at level 1 of the FJC at 3 Havelock Square, Singapore 059725 to make your application. Please note our opening hours and that the Court is closed on Saturdays with effect from 4 August 2018. In the case of specific applications, you can also attend at any of the following authorised agencies to make your application.
Please remember to bring down the documents you are relying on so they can be checked or filed together with your application, if required.
You must bring:
- Your identity card;
- Photocopy of your marriage certificate (if applicable);
- Photocopy of your birth certificate(s) of your child(ren) (if applicable); and
- Photocopy of the Order of Court for maintenance that you wish to enforce (if applicable).
Before coming down to the Court or an authorised agency to make your application, you are encouraged to submit your application in draft and documents online by iFAMS. This means less time will be spent processing your application at the FJC or authorised agency.
The iFAMS application process is set out below.
- Have your SingPass ID and the required information. You can register for a SingPass ID
here provided that you are eligible for it.
- Login to iFAMS and click “Maintenance Order Application”
- Proceed to fill in the online form.
- Save your work and choose whether you wish to verify your application and documents at the Court or at an authorised agency.
For more information on how to use iFAMS, please refer to the 
iFAMS User Guide (760 KB). You can also access the Frequently Asked Questions on iFAMS here. For any further enquiries please contact us at the following numbers.
| For Protection Order Application Enquiries |
For iFAMS Technical Support |
Tel: (65) 6435 5077
(Only available during office hours:
Monday to Thursday from 8.30am to 6pm,
Friday from 8.30am to 5.30pm)
Email:
FJCourts_MaintPos@fjcourts.gov.sg
|
Tel: (65) 6756 3874
(Only available during office hours:
Monday to Thursday from 8.30am to 6pm,
Friday from 8.30am to 5.30pm
and Saturday from 8.30am to 1pm)
Email:
ifamshelpdesk@ecquaria.com
|
Once the above steps have been completed, you will appear before a Judge who will consider your application and may ask you questions on your application.
- Attendance before a Judge can be in person (at the Court) or by video conference (at an authorised agency).
- You will then have to swear or affirm that the contents of your application and your answers to Judge are true and correct.
- It is a serious offence to include statements that you know to be untrue or incorrect in a sworn or affirmed application.
- If your application is in order, the Judge will issue a summons to the Respondent. You will pay a nominal sum of S$1.00 for the issuance of the summons.
What happens after i make the application
After the application is made, the matter will be progressed through the Court system. It can potentially be settled with the consent of both parties, or resolved by a final hearing in the Court.
Once the application is made, the Court will issue a summons. The summons sets out the date for the first mentions of the case in Family Court No. 1. Both the Respondent and the Complainant will be required to attend the first mentions date.
The Court’s Process Server will serve the summons on the Respondent in accordance with the requirements of the law. This will notify the Respondent of the application and first court mentions date. Please note that the Court will not be able to serve the summons on a Respondent who is not residing in Singapore.
At the first mentions, the application (also known as a Magistrate’s Complaint) will be read out to the Respondent by an officer of the Court. If the Respondent consents to the application and the Court is satisfied, a consent order can be recorded.
If there is no resolution after the complaint is read, the Court may direct parties to attend a mediation session to be carried out by a Court appointed Mediator at the Maintenance Mediation Chambers. If there are no mediation slots on the same day, the mediation will take place on another date. After the mediation session, parties will be directed to Family Court no.1 before the Judge. If there is a resolution and the Respondent consents to the application and the Court is satisfied, a consent order can be recorded by the Judge.
For more information on the Maintenance Mediation Chambers (MMC), please click here.
If there is still no resolution after the mediation session, the Judge in Family Court No.1 will give directions for parties to prepare for the hearing of the matter. This includes:
- Giving directions for the preparation of parties’ and witnesses’ statements and documents. This will usually comprise of parties’ bank and CPF statements, salary slips, IRAS Notices of Assessment and lists of personal monthly expenses. Parties are responsible for obtaining documents for trial and the Court does not apply for documents on behalf of the parties.
The exchange and filing of these documents will take place in Family Court No.1 on a further mentions date. A mention usually lasts about five to 10 minutes. Further mentions dates can be fixed for parties to return to Family Court No.1 if their documents are not ready.
Once the Judge in Family Court No.1 is satisfied that parties are ready for hearing with their witnesses’ statements and documents, a hearing date will be fixed. This hearing is usually fixed about four weeks from the last date of mentions. The Court will fix the hearing either at 9.30am, 11.15am, 2.30pm or 4.15pm. Depending on the number of witnesses and complexity of the case the parties may be allocated a quarter day, half a day, a full day, or more, for the hearing.
If the parties or any of the witnesses are not conversant with the English Language, they should request for an Interpreter. Each party must also ensure that their witnesses are available to attend the hearing. As the hearings in the FJC are held in-camera, no person other than the parties will be allowed to remain in Court whilst evidence is being given, unless the Judge gives permission.
At the hearing, parties will attend Court with their witnesses. The matter will be heard by a Judge. The process at the hearing is set out below in general:
- Each of the parties and their witnesses will, in turn, take the witness stand, together with their documents and swear or affirm their evidence. They will then be cross-examined by the other side on the evidence given.
- The Complainant and the Complainant’s witnesses will usually be cross-examined first by the Respondent. Then it will be the turn of the Respondent and the Respondent’s witnesses to be cross examined by the Complainant.
- After the cross examination is completed, the parties will make their arguments to the Court on whether the application should be granted.
- If the parties are represented by lawyers, then the cross examination and the arguments to the Court will be conducted by their lawyers.
- The Court will then make a decision on the application. This concludes the matter.
What happens if either party is absent from Court?
If any party fails to turn up for their Court dates e.g. a mentions date, trial date, date for mediation:
- An absent Complainant (the applicant) will have his/her application struck out.
- An absent Respondent (the person whom the application is filed against) will have a warrant of arrest issued against him.
What if I am not satisfied with the Court’s Order?
If you are not satisfied with the order, you may appeal to a Judge of the High Court.
If you wish to appeal, you must do so by filing a Notice of Appeal in the Family Division of the High Court c/o FJC Registry at level 3.
The Notice must be filed and served
within 14 days of the order.
You must also provide security for the other party’s costs of the appeal in the sum of:
- $2,000.00, if you are appealing against a Magistrate’s order, or
- $3,000.00, if you are appealing against a District Judge’s order.
Please note that officers of the Court cannot help you to file your appeal papers. If you need assistance in such matters, you may wish to approach the Community Justice Centre,
Community Legal Clinic or the Legal Aid Bureau.
What if the Respondent is residing outside Singapore?
If you want to file an application for maintenance against a Respondent who resides outside Singapore, you may do so if:
- you know the Respondent’s address in the foreign country; and
- the country is one of those which has made arrangements with Singapore on maintenance matters.
These countries are listed in the relevant notification referred to as the Maintenance Orders (Reciprocal Enforcement) (Designation of Reciprocating Countries Notification).
If you meet these conditions, you may file an application for maintenance in the same way that you would if the Respondent lived in Singapore.
If you are applying to enforce an existing maintenance order, you must bring a copy of that order when you come to the Court to file your Magistrate’s Complaint. After your complaint is filed, the Court will send the necessary papers to the authorities in the Respondent’s country for enforcement.
If you are applying for maintenance for the first time, you will be given a Court date to attend before a Judge in open court. You must bring:
- your Marriage Certificate, or the children’s Birth Certificates, if you are applying for their maintenance;
- information on the respondent’s residential address in the foreign country; and
- a photograph of the respondent.
You will give sworn or affirmed evidence, and produce any documents in support of the application—for example receipts for expenses incurred by the child, if you are applying for maintenance of a child.
The Judge may then issue a provisional maintenance order. The provisional maintenance order will be sent to the respondent’s country. The provisional maintenance order must be confirmed there before it becomes effective.
The procedures in each receiving country will vary depending on what mechanisms or practices have been put in place by the relevant authorities in that particular country. officers of the Court will not be able to advise you on how long the process will take in the receiving country.
Do I have to maintain my child if the Court has granted care and control to the other parent?
Under the Women's Charter, the responsibility of maintaining the children lies with both parents. This does not change if the parents are divorced, or if the children now live with just one parent. The Court normally orders the parent without care and control to pay the children's maintenance to the parent with care and control.
What factors does the Court consider in making a maintenance order?
Whether the Court is making the maintenance order under section 69 or Part X of the Women's Charter, the Court is duty-bound to consider all the circumstances of the case.
Sections 69 and 114 specify some particular issues that the Court will consider. These include:
- the financial needs of the wife or child;
- the income, earning capacity (if any), property and other financial resources of the wife or child;
- any physical or mental disability of the wife or child; and
- the age of each party to the marriage and the duration of the marriage.
What kind of documents do I need to prepare for maintenance related applications?
The Complainant, as well as the Respondent to your application, will be asked to produce the relevant documents in Court to enable the Judge to make a decision on the appropriate amount of maintenance to be ordered or varied. You should refer to paragraph 25 of the FJC’s Practice Directions for the full list.
The usual documents include:
- lists of monthly personal expenses, and lists of such expenses for the children, if relevant;
- salary slips;
- income tax returns;
- documents evidencing any debts;
- receipts for household, personal and children's expenses; and
- any other documents that may be relevant to the parties' means.
In an application for enforcement of maintenance, the Complainant will usually only be required to prepare a calculation of the outstanding arrears of maintenance. This would include:
- a table setting out the months where maintenance is outstanding, and any outstanding expenses to be paid as maintenance;
- bank statements of the account designated for payment of maintenance showing the amount which has been, or has not been paid over the period claimed; and
- proof of expenses which have been ordered to be paid under the maintenance order which is being enforced.
Can I withhold access to my child if the other parent has not been paying child maintenance?
No. The Court considers maintenance issues and parenting issues separately. You are still bound by the Court Order to allow the other parent to have access to the children even if he or she is not making regular maintenance payments.
You may wish to apply to Court to enforce the maintenance order against the other parent.
Can I withhold paying child maintenance if the other parent has not been allowing me to see the child?
No. The Court considers maintenance issues and parenting issues separately. You must continue to pay maintenance for your children, even if the other parent is not allowing you to see them.
If you wish to see your children, but are experiencing problems with the other parent, you may wish to consult a lawyer about enforcing the access order.
Do I need a lawyer?
No, you do not need a lawyer to make the initial application at the FJC. If you need a lawyer for the Court mentions or hearing, you may engage one. To maintain impartiality, officers of the Court are not able to provide legal advice or recommend lawyers. You may refer to the online directory of qualified lawyers maintained by the Ministry of Law Legal Services Regulatory Authority (LSRA e-Services). If you need legal advice or legal assistance, you may wish to approach the Community Justice Centre, Community Legal Clinic or the Legal Aid Bureau.