Before we dive into understanding what Uncontested divorce is, let’s first understand the meaning of Contested divorce. A contested divorce means that the husband and wife cannot agree on the divorce, children's custody, and how to divide their assets and maintenance of the finances. Many contested divorce cases have been settled until now just because the family court encourages the parties to get settle. According to research, more than 10% of contested cases, the parties never settle and the judge will look for their cases and make the right decision. The cost of divorce in Singapore for Contested will cost more than Uncontested divorce.

Now let’s discuss the Uncontested Divorce. It is just the opposite of contested divorce in which both the parties agree to divorce and all ancillary issues. The agreement must be reached before the divorce papers are filed to enable your lawyer to file the papers in the fast track simplified divorce hearing in the Family Court. Within 4 weeks, you will get your Interim Judgement.

The common areas of the agreement are on the following basis:

1. What is the ground of divorce – Is both the parties are ready for divorce due to the unreasonable behavior of one party?

2. Who will have the children – Both the parties must decide who will take care of the children. The child then lives with the one who will be able to control and care for him/her and that party will make daily living decisions for the children. Also, they have to decide whether they will have joint custody. Joint custody means that both parties must agree on the child's education, choice of religion, and hospitalization.

3. How the assets will be divided – there are many options when it comes to the division of matrimonial home and they are: Sale of the matrimonial property in the open market, husband purchases the matrimonial home from the wife or wife purchase the matrimonial home from the husband, and the matrimonial home is transferred to one party.

4. Maintenance – When it comes to maintenance, both the parties must decide who is going to pay the children’s monthly maintenance and the amount of maintenance.

Why you should hire a divorce lawyer in Uncontested divorce

One of the main advantages of hiring a divorce lawyer is that it will save your money and time as the cost of divorce in Singapore is very high. He will also give you the proper advice on the existing facts when your divorce is uncontested. The divorce lawyer will also give you suggestions regarding settlement which will be reasonable to you.

Preparation of the Uncontested Divorce papers

In an uncontested divorce, the divorce lawyer does not need to prepare the divorce papers rather the paperwork is simplified and the lawyer only needs to prepare the following divorce papers:

• Writ for Divorce

• Statement of Claim

• Statement of Particulars

• Affidavit of Evidence in Chief

• Draft Consent Order

Once the papers are signed by both the parties, they are filed in the Family Justice Court. The one who files the divorce is known as “Plaintiff” while the other party is known as “Defendant”.

How much time is taken for Uncontested Divorce?

It will take approx. 1 month if both the parties agree on the issues mentioned in this article above. Then, you will get your final judgment after 3 months which concludes the divorce proceedings.

How Simple is an Uncontested Divorce?

Both the parties are not required to attend the court. Your work will be done by the divorce lawyers which both the parties hire.