An application for a Maintenance Order may be made in divorce proceedings, in which case, it will be dealt with as an ancillary matter under Part X of the Women's Charter, or in the absence of divorce proceedings, as an application under Part VIII of the Women's Charter. The Family Court may also enforce a maintenance order issued by the Family Court, the High Court, and the Maintenance of Parents Tribunal under Part VIII of the Women's Charter and the Maintenance of Parents' Tribunal Act.

 

If a person who is liable or has a duty to pay maintenance is residing outside Singapore, whether action can be taken to claim maintenance from him (in the absence of divorce proceedings) or enforce a maintenance order that has already been issued by a Singapore court depends on whether there are arrangements between Singapore and the other country on maintenance matters. If such an arrangement exists, the claim can be made under the Maintenance Order (Facilities for Enforcement) Act or the Maintenance Order (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act.

 

There are 2 parts under this section:

 

Part A :            deals with the procedure to claim maintenance under

                      Part VIII of the Women's Charter against a person

                      who is residing in Singapore. The same procedure

                      applies to the enforcement of a maintenance order

                      issued by the Family Court, the High Court or the

                      Maintenance of Parents Tribunal against a person who

                      is residing in Singapore;

Part B :           deals with the procedure to claim maintenance under

                      the Maintenance Order (Facilities for Enforcement) Act

                      and the Maintenance Order (Reciprocal Enforcement)

                      Act against a person who is residing outside

                      Singapore. It also deals with applications to enforce a

                      maintenance order issued by the Family Court, the

                      High Court or the Maintenance of Parents Tribunal

                      against a person who is residing outside Singapore.

 

This section does not deal with applications for maintenance that are made in divorce proceedings. However, in the event that a maintenance order is made by the court in divorce proceedings, the procedures under Parts A and B will apply in applications to enforce the maintenance order.

 

 

Procedure

 

The steps in an application for maintenance against a person residing

in Singapore are as follows:

 

Step 1 : Make a Magistrate's Complaint*
Step 2 : Serve the summons on the Respondent*
Step 3 : Mentions of the Summons*
Step 4 : Hearing of the Summons*

 

(* denotes a court session where the attendance of parties and/or their lawyers in court is required.)

 

A person seeking maintenance or enforcement of a maintenance order has to appear before a District Judge or Magistrate to make a "Magistrate's Complaint". The person making the application is known as the Complainant and the person against whom the application is made is known as the Respondent.

 

Before appearing before the judge, the Complainant should complete the appropriate standard application form . If a maintenance order has previously been issued by the court and the application is to enforce, vary, suspend or rescind the maintenance order, the maintenance order should be attached to the application form. If the complainant no longer has the earlier maintenance order, he should apply for a certified true copy from the court.

 

The completed form should be submitted to the Family Court Registry. With the application form, an interpreter will bring the Complainant before a judge and the complainant has to affirm or swear to the truth and accuracy of the matters stated in the application form. If the judge is satisfied that the application is in order, he will issue a Summons.

 

The Complainant has to pay $1 for the issuance of the summons. The Registry will fix an appointment for service of the summons on another day ("the service date"). It will then write to the Respondent to attend at the Registry to accept service of the summons on the service date.

 

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The Complainant must serve the Summons on the Respondent. This is to give the Respondent notice that a suit has been started against him. Service may be effected by:

The Complainant must be present at the Registry on the service date. If the Complainant is absent, it will be presumed that the Complainant is no longer interested in pursuing the case and the court will strike the case off the list.

 

If the Respondent is present on the service date, the summons will be handed to him personally. At the same time, if parties consent, they will be referred for mediation to assist them to resolve their maintenance dispute. If the Respondent is absent on the service date, the Complainant must accompany the court process server to the Respondent's place of residence to serve the summons. (Note: the Complainant must bring sufficient money to pay for the transport expenses of the process server).

 

It should be noted that a summons cannot be served on a Respondent who is residing outside Singapore. Also, if the complainant does not know the current address of the Respondent, the court will try to ascertain the address through available official records and effect service there. However, if it can be shown that the Respondent is no longer residing at the address that is reflected in available official records, the Complainant has a duty to find out the Respondent's current address (either through his relatives or friends). If the address cannot be determined, the matter cannot proceed.

 

For applications against a Respondent who is residing outside Singapore, refer to Section B under this part.

 

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At the mention of the Summons, a District Judge will consider the following matters:

In an application for enforcement of a maintenance order, the District Judge may also, on the mention date, direct the Respondent to show cause (that is, explain or justify) on whether he has breached the maintenance order and why enforcement action should not be taken against him. The Respondent should therefore ensure that his papers and documents are ready to be presented to court on the mention date.

 

The Complainant must be present in court on the mention date. If the Complainant is absent, it will be deemed that the Complainant is no longer interested in pursuing the case and the court will strike the case off the list.

 

The Respondent must also be present in court on the mention date. If he is absent, the court will issue a Warrant of Arrest against him. The warrant of arrest is passed to the Warrant Enforcement Unit (a division of the Singapore Police Force) to execute. The police will arrest the Respondent. Once they have arrested the Respondent, they will produce him in court. The court will offer him bail, re-fix the case for hearing, and deal with the application for maintenance. It may take some time before a warrant of arrest is executed. Enquiries on the status of execution of warrants of arrest can be made to the Warrant Enforcement Unit.

 

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A trial will be conducted if parties are not able to settle their maintenance dispute. The parties will each have to give evidence in open court, to prove their respective cases. They will also have to call witnesses to support their case. The parties and their respective witnesses will be "cross-examined". "Cross-examination" is carried out by the other party or the party's lawyer, who will ask questions on what was said in evidence. The respective lawyers will also make "submissions", i.e. present a summary of your case, and make arguments supporting your case, to the judge. The whole process may take anything from one day to several days, depending on the number of witnesses and the complexity of the case. At the end of the hearing, the court will make the appropriate orders.

 

If either party is absent on the hearing date, the same consequences will follow as absence from court on the mention date (see Step 3 ).

 

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Other Applications Related to Maintenance Proceedings

 

If either party is dissatisfied with a court order, he may file an appeal against the order. In the appeal papers (known as the Notice of Appeal), he must state the date of the order and the name of the judge who had made the order, as well as specify which part of the order he is appealing against. The appeal papers must be filed at the Appeal Section at the Civil Court Registry. You should seek legal advice if you need assistance in drafting the appeal papers.

 

 

To apply to search the court's records or a certified true copy of a court document, the applicant has to submit a standard form and pay the requisite fee (calculated based on the number of pages).

 

 

The steps in an application for maintenance against a person residing out of Singapore are as follows:

 

Step 1 : Make a Magistrate's Complaint*
Step 2 : Hearing of application* (in the case of application for maintenance)
Step 3 : Relevant papers sent to foreign authorities

 

(* denotes a court session where the attendance of parties and/or their lawyers in court is required.)

 

 

A person seeking maintenance or enforcement of a maintenance order against a person who is residing outside Singapore has to appear before a District Judge or Magistrate to make a "Magistrate's Complaint". The person making the application is known as the Complainant and the person against whom the application is made is known as the Respondent.

 

Before appearing before the judge, the Complainant should first ascertain which foreign country the Respondent is residing in. The application can only be made if the foreign country has made arrangements with Singapore on maintenance matters. . In addition, the Complainant must have information on the residential address of the Respondent in the foreign country.

 

If the above conditions are met, the Complainant may complete the appropriate standard application form. The completed form should be submitted to the Family Court Registry. With the application form, an interpreter will bring the Complainant before a judge and the complainant has to affirm or swear to the truth and accuracy of the matters stated in the application form.

 

In the case of an application for maintenance, the court will then fix a date for the hearing of the application (go to Step 2 ).

 

In the case of an application to enforce an existing maintenance order, the court will proceed to send the relevant papers to the foreign authority for action to be taken in that country (go to Step 3 ). For this purpose, the Complainant will have to furnish the following to the court when the application is made:

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The hearing of the application for maintenance is in open court before a District Judge. The complainant will have to give evidence under oath and produce documents to support his application (for example, receipts for expenses incurred for the children). At the end of the hearing, the court will issue a Provisional Maintenance Order if it deems fit. This provisional maintenance order has no effect until it is confirmed by a court or competent authority in the foreign country. The court will thus send the Provisional Maintenance Order as well as other relevant documents to the foreign authority for proceedings to be commenced in that country to confirm the order (go to Step 3 ). For this purpose, the Complainant will have to furnish the following to the court at the hearing:

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The Court will send the relevant papers to the competent authority in the foreign country through diplomatic channels in order for action to be taken to confirm the provisional maintenance order or enforce the maintenance order. The procedures involved in the collection or enforcement of maintenance in the foreign country will vary from country to country and depend on the mechanism and practices that have been put in place by the competent authorities in that country.