At your ancillary matters case conference

Note

About ancillary matters case conferences

The ancillary matters process is the second stage of the divorce process which takes place after the Interim Judgment is granted if there is no agreement between the parties on the ancillary matters.

The purpose of an ancillary matters case conference is to prepare parties for the ancillary matters hearing. Depending on the complexity of their case, parties may have to attend multiple ancillary matters case conferences.

In general, the court will send a Registrar's Notice to notify parties (or their lawyers, if any) on details of the ancillary matters case conference within 1 month after the Interim Judgment is granted.

Only those directly involved in the matter can attend the ancillary matters case conference. Members of the public are not allowed to attend.

Arriving in court

If you have a lawyer, you do not have to attend the ancillary case conference yourself. Similarly, if the other party has a lawyer, their lawyer will attend the ancillary case conference.

If you are representing yourself, on the day of your ancillary case conference, you should:

Arrive early and find your way to the venue.
- Refer to the building directory for more information.
Confirm your case is heard in the venue you are about to enter. Inform the court officer (if any) before entering.
Dress neatly and decently when attending court.
- Refer to the visitors' guide for the dress code.
Speak and conduct yourself in a courteous manner.

Note

You should also prepare in advance before attending an ancillary matters case conference. This is because the court may ask questions on any of the following:

The disputed issues.
The gross value of the matrimonial asset pool.
Whether the issues relating to the child are contentious.
Whether you and the other party have attended mediation.
Whether there is any third-party interest in any matrimonial asset.

What to expect

If a settlement is possible, the court may refer parties for mediation and counselling at the Family Dispute Resolution Division (FDR Division) of the Family Justice Courts (FJC).

If the parties manage to reach an agreement on the ancillary matters, the court will give directions to prepare a draft consent order. The draft consent order should be filed through eLitigation at least 5 working days before the next court appearance.

The court will then schedule for the matter to be heard at an administrative hearing. At the hearing, the court may grant the consent orders if the terms are in order. If the court grants the consent order, parties may proceed to extract the consent order at the LawNet & CrimsonLogic Service Bureau.

After the consent order has been extracted, and if 3 months have passed since the court granted the Interim Judgment, parties may extract the Certificate of Final Judgment to confirm the divorce and conclude all court proceedings.

If a settlement is not possible

If a settlement is not possible, the court will ask both parties to prepare and file an Affidavit of Assets and Means (AOM) (Form 206, FJC Practice Directions).

If you are preparing the AOM yourself, it should also contain the following supporting documents relevant to the ancillary matters.

You will have to prepare the following:

Your payslips for the last 6 months before the filing of the AOM.
Evidence of your employment and evidence confirming your salary.
- For example, a letter from your employer or a copy of an employment contract.
Your Notice of Assessment from the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) for the last 3 years before the filing of the AOM.
(If you are an undischarged bankrupt) Your Statement of Affairs and the latest Income and Expenditure Statement filed with the Official Assignee.
Your Central Provident Fund (CPF) statements dated not more than 2 weeks before the filing of the AOM.
- Your statements should show your contributions towards the purchase of any immovable property and the balances in your CPF accounts, if any.
Your CPF Investment Account statements dated not more than 2 weeks before the filing of the AOM.
Your Central Depository Pte Ltd (CDP) statements (if any).
A copy of an updated search result made with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) in respect of any businesses you owned.
- The document must be dated not more than 2 weeks before the filing of the AOM.
A copy of any valuation report or transaction search with respect to any immovable properties you own.
A copy of any tenancy agreement, hire purchase agreement, insurance policy or any letter from any insurance company showing the surrender value of any insurance policy you own.
A list of you and your children's monthly expenses.
- For example, utility bills, telephone bills and school fees.
- A copy of documents and receipts to prove you and your children's monthly expenses must also be provided.
Your updated bank passbooks and bank statements (including sole and joint accounts).
- These documents must show your banking transactions and account balances for the last 3 months before the filing of the AOM.
Any other documents referred to or supporting the information in the AOM.

Estimated fees

Parties will need to pay $0.70 per page, subject to a minimum of $7 to file the AOM.

In addition to this fee, there are also other fees payable to the LawNet & CrimsonLogic Service Bureau.

How to file

Parties may choose to file their documents personally or through a lawyer. If you are represented by a lawyer, the documents will be filed by your lawyer.

If you are representing yourself, you must file their documents through eLitigation at the LawNet & CrimsonLogic Service Bureau.

You must follow Part 5 of Division 2 of the Family Justice Rules and the FJC Practice Directions to prepare their documents before heading down personally to do the filing.

Note

After you file

Parties will have to exchange their AOMs within the time period directed by the court. After the exchange, a party may then file and serve on the other party a reply affidavit to answer the matters raised in their AOM within the time period directed by the court.

If a party finds that they require more documents from the other party that are necessary for the ancillary matters, they may file and serve a Request for Discovery (Form 233, FJC Practice Directions) on the other party.

The other party must then serve a Notice in Response to Request for Discovery (Form 234, FJC Practice Directions) within 14 days stating which documents they are willing, and not willing, to provide for discovery.

Once all matters have been dealt with, the court will schedule a date for the ancillary matters hearing.

Need help?

The information here is for general guidance as the courts do not provide legal advice. If you need further help, you may want to get independent legal advice.

Find out more

Resources

Refer to:

Divorce in Singapore: the essentials.
- English (PDF, 776 KB)
- Chinese (PDF, 753 KB)
- Malay (PDF, 507 KB)
- Tamil (PDF, 3574 KB)
Divorce in Singapore: processes in a glance (PDF, 276 KB)
Case management handbook for divorce matters (PDF, 4721 KB).
Information sheet (PDF, 188 KB) on Registrar's Empowerment Clause.
Sample Affidavit (Word, 29 KB) for use in cases in which the Registrar's Empowerment Clause requires one party to give notice to the other party.