Generally speaking, a Contested Divorce in Singapore happens when there is a disagreement between you and your spouse (over issues such as divorce property division, who gets custody of children in a divorce, and divorce maintenance payments) and involves formal court hearings before the Family Court in Singapore to decide the matter.

Representing yourself in a court case is not a good idea, as the legalities of the divorce proceedings are simply too complicated for someone who is not legally trained. You should definitely engage a family court lawyer, as this form of litigation may extend over a long period (even years for complex cases), and could end up in a less favourable settlement for you if you do not have a qualified divorce attorney to look after your interests. In this case, hiring a good divorce lawyer in Singapore is probably your best decision.

In the case of an Uncontested Divorce, where one does not need to fight in court over matrimonial assets, annuity/maintenance and who gets custody of kids after divorce, one might argue that you can choose not to engage a divorce attorney and handle the divorce proceedings yourself and therefore save the divorce lawyer fees.

In such a case, you will need to do your own paperwork correctly and ensure that you file the necessary documents to the Family Court of Singapore in the requested format through the Electronic Filing System (EFS) at the LawNet & CrimsonLogic Service Bureau and pay the relevant filing fees. Be sure to also include a legal stipulation to avoid future problems on the division of assets with your current spouse.

For a taste of the complexity of the legal documents, you can download a copy of the filing document templates by visiting the “Forms and Templates” page of eLitigation.sg.”

You will need to complete and file your Writ of Divorce, Statement of Claim and Statement of Particulars with the Family Law Court in Singapore. Based on current known rates, the basic filing fees will comprise:
• $42 for the Writ of Divorce
• $7 for the Statement of Claim
• $7 for Statement of Particulars
• $35 for entering any judgement or order
• $14 for the certificate of making the interim judgment final

You can already see that even handling an uncontested divorce is not as straightforward as it may seem. You do not know what you do not know, and the legal procedures and documents in a divorce are clearly a potential mine field.

The worry is that whilst you can try to save some money at this point, you may end up in future with much more costly and time-consuming legal issues in future.

It is pertinent for you to note that the Family Court of Singapore is not in a position to give you any legal advice should you decide to file for your own divorce without a lawyer.

Only a Singapore divorce lawyer engaged by you is able to dispense legal advice to you that is in your interest.

As such, if you actually consider the amount of time you have to spend, having to handle all the details yourself, and the complications arising from choosing to file for divorce on your own, you would likely be much better off by seeking the professional services of a divorce lawyer in Singapore, so that all of these complex and time consuming activities relating to a divorce in Singapore can be accomplished for you with a peace of mind and allows you to focus on the people and things that really matter at this point of your life.

Importantly, focus on finding a good Singapore divorce lawyer rather than simply find the cheapest divorce lawyer in Singapore. In particular, you will find excellent guidance from us on how to find the best divorce lawyer in Singapore in light of your particular circumstances.

P.S. Individuals without the financial means to engage a lawyer in Singapore for divorce may try to seek assistance from the Family Court Legal Clinic or Legal Aid Bureau.