“THE DIVISION OF MATRIMONIAL ASSETS IS FAR FROM A SCIENCE”
Ms Tricia Ho, a family law lecturer at SUSS, on the courts’ approach to asset division in the past year.
“Just how much will I get?” is a common question posed to advocates as they see clients through a divorce. While it may be tempting to respond with a precise figure, Ms Tricia Ho advises against this, cautioning that the division of matrimonial assets is in no way an exact science, even in certain “clear-cut” cases. “I think advocates should avoid taking an overly-arithmetical approach when advising their clients on division, and when making submissions to the ancillary matters court,” she says.
The family law lecturer at Singapore University of Social Sciences adds that each case is often determined by its own facts and circumstances; a conclusion she has reached after carefully studying trends in the division of matrimonial assets over the past year. That’s because even cases that are not primed for “equal division” may end up with such a result. “There are a few reasons for this, among them a need to be fair in cases where a spouse may juggle a lower-paying job with extensive homemaking,” she explains. Other reasons include consistency with previous laws and trends, as well as the need to uphold marriage as an equal co-operative partnership of efforts.
Ms Ho sees the division of assets as a bread-and-butter issue for family law practitioners, who will encounter it whether their clients pursue litigation or alternative dispute resolution processes like mediation and Collaborative Family Practice. Insights into the matter are among the key takeaways from her Annual Review of Family Law in 2019, which she co-wrote with the Singapore Management University’s Associate Professor Chen Siyuan.
Another trend highlighted in the review is the growing internationalisation of family law, an inevitable by-product of globalisation. This trend raises the frequency of international elements like relocation, child abduction and financial relief consequential on foreign divorces appearing in local courts, making it imperative that advocates understand them.
For instance, Ms Ho believes that advocates should familiarise themselves with matters like the application of the two-staged legal mechanism under Chapter 4A of the Women’s Charter, which deals with obtaining financial relief after a foreign divorce. This is something that the Court of Appeal shed light on last year, explains Ms Ho
Its decision also signals that practitioners should be able to nip cases of “forum shopping” in the bud, thereby ensuring that any application for financial relief under Chapter 4A is a bona fide one. This prevents the practice of couples “shopping around” for the jurisdiction that provides the greatest financial advantage. “After all, the Court of Appeal in UFN v UFM highlights that the objective of Chapter 4A is to mitigate disadvantage and not to give an extra advantage,” explains Ms Ho. She adds that one way of preventing this is by assessing the strength of a couple’s connection to Singapore—good indicators include owning property here and being a Singapore Citizen or Permanent Resident.
When all is said and done, Ms Ho believes that many of the basic principles that govern family law will still apply, whether the cases involve two Singaporeans or a foreigner and a Singaporean. She points us to a quote from the judgement of UFZ v UFY, which seems a fitting end to our chat:
“The parents must discharge their parental responsibilities in cooperating for the welfare of their children. They must minimise the acrimony and be bigger, kinder and wiser in this respect. Where there are good reasons for relocation, and this is an increasingly more common phenomenon in the globalised world, keeping the family together in the same country to support the parent-child relationship may not always be feasible. This is when the parties must try even harder to cooperate to support their children’s needs, using all resources available to achieve the best arrangements possible.”
Ms Ho presents the Annual Review of Family Law on 1 July, which will benefit practitioners who wish to obtain a summary of the key legal developments in family law. Registrations are open now.
A LIFE IN THE LAW
Ms Tricia Ho
Called to the Bar: 2014
“I started out my career as a family litigation lawyer at Drew & Napier LLC. In the course of my five years there, I was involved in complex family matters with international elements and high conflict cases. I have a keen interest in family law and enjoy the human element that comes with handling such matters. To me, a family lawyer is not just a lawyer, but a friend and pillar of support to someone in need. I am always happy for an opportunity to share my practical experience with other members of the community, and am now able to do so with my students at the Singapore University of Social Sciences, where I lecture.”
