Divorce and annulment are the two legal options for married persons in Singapore who no longer wish to be married to stop it. You have two legal alternatives to dissolve your marriage with the help of the lawyers for civil cases and choose either one.

What are the legal distinctions between divorce and annulment?

The primary distinction between the two is that whereas an annulment deems a marriage null and void or invalid, an expat divorce Singapore terminates a legally legitimate marriage.

Therefore, you would need to be aware of the legal distinctions between the two possibilities if you were to consider them.

Make sure to thoroughly consider your options and choose which would be most appropriate for your situation depending on your motives.

It is crucial to remember that before making a decision, you and your spouse must comprehend the procedures. However, if the parties cannot agree, any party may select a family lawyer to begin the divorce or annulment process.

How does the annulment work?

The legal procedure of annulment determines whether the marriage should be deemed null and invalid. The majority of people in Singapore seek annulments for a variety of reasons.

If one of the parties can demonstrate that the marriage was not legally legitimate, that party may start the annulment process.

Common reasons for annulment include:

• Fraud would occur if the couple was married in a fake ceremony.
• Mental sickness: At the time of marriage, either the husband or the wife had emotional problems or mental diseases.
• Bigamy refers to a marriage in which one of the partners was already married to another person.
• The husband or wife did not have the legal age of majority to get married.
• Compelled consent—if one of the partners was coerced or intimidated into getting married
• Legal justification – if one party withholds sensitive information like a criminal record, impotence, or an STD.

What is a divorce in Singapore?

In a divorce, the court determines whether or not to dissolve the marriage.

A divorce dissolves a legally binding marriage, but an annulment declares that the marriage was void and never existed. This is the major distinction between the two legal processes.

Singaporean divorces frequently occur for the following reasons:

• Threats, bodily harm, or abusive words are all examples of emotional or physical abuse that one side may inflict on the other.
• When one or both individuals have unlawful interactions with another person, it is called adultery.
• Desertion is the long-term emotional or physical abandonment of one spouse by the other.
• Alcoholism: When one partner is an alcoholic and unable to carry out the wife’s or husband’s fundamental responsibilities.
• Irreconcilable differences – If there are irreconcilable differences, both parties may choose to dissolve their legally recognized marriage.

Unrelated issues involving an HDB apartment:

When splitting marital assets after receiving a judgment of nullity, the court will use the same criteria as in a divorce that is outlined in the Women’s Charter.

However, because a marriage may only be dissolved during the first three years of its existence, the pair would not have satisfied the five-year minimum occupancy requirement for the HDB apartment they bought during their marriage.

As a result, if they decide to have their marriage annulled, they cannot include their apartment as a marital asset.

According to HDB rules, they must vacate the apartment. Any net revenues from the surrender that are included in the assets up for division are assets.

If the parents were initially included in the application to purchase the flat, either party may still keep it.

Given that this depends on HDB laws, it might not be necessary for the parents to reside in the apartment. However, if each spouse owns a portion of the property, they must include the money in the marital estate.