At your ancillary matters case conference

Note

About ancillary matters case conferences

The ancillary matters process is the second stage of the divorce process which takes place after the Interim Judgment is granted if there is no agreement between the parties on the ancillary matters.

The purpose of an ancillary matters case conference is to prepare parties for the ancillary matters hearing. Depending on the complexity of their case, parties may have to attend multiple ancillary matters case conferences.

In general, the court will send a Registrar's Notice to notify parties (or their lawyers, if any) on details of the ancillary matters case conference within 1 month after the Interim Judgment is granted.

Only those directly involved in the matter can attend the ancillary matters case conference. Members of the public are not allowed to attend.

Arriving in court

If you have a lawyer, you do not have to attend the ancillary case conference yourself. Similarly, if the other party has a lawyer, their lawyer will attend the ancillary case conference.

If you are representing yourself, on the day of your ancillary case conference, you should:

Arrive early and find your way to the venue.
- Refer to the building directory for more information.
Confirm your case is heard in the venue you are about to enter. Inform the court officer (if any) before entering.
Dress neatly and appropriately when attending court.
- Refer to the visitors' guide for the dress code.
Speak and conduct yourself in a courteous manner.

Note

You should also prepare in advance before attending an ancillary matters case conference. This is because the court may ask questions on any of the following:

The disputed issues.
The gross value of the matrimonial asset pool.
Whether the issues relating to the child are contentious.
Whether you and the other party have attended mediation.
Whether there is any third-party interest in any matrimonial asset.

What to expect

The court may refer parties for mediation and counselling at the Family Dispute Resolution Division (FDR Division) of the Family Justice Courts (FJC).

If the parties manage to reach an agreement on the ancillary matters, the court will give directions to prepare a draft ancillary reliefs order. The draft ancillary reliefs order (Form 8, Family Justice Courts Practice Directions 2024 (DOCX, 92 KB)) should be filed through eLitigation within the time period as directed by the court.

The court will then schedule the matter to be heard at an administrative hearing. At the hearing, the court may grant the ancillary reliefs order if the terms are in order. If the court grants the ancillary reliefs order, parties may proceed to extract the ancillary reliefs order at the LawNet & CrimsonLogic Service Bureau.

After the ancillary reliefs order has been extracted, and if 3 months have passed since the court granted the Interim Judgment, parties may extract the Final Judgment (Form 12, Family Justice Courts Practice Directions 2024 (DOCX, 36 KB)) to confirm the divorce and conclude all court proceedings.

If a settlement is not possible

If a settlement is not possible, the court will ask both parties to prepare and file the First Ancillary Affidavit (Form 15, Family Justice Courts Practice Directions 2024 (DOCX, 304 KB)).

If you are preparing the First Ancillary Affidavit yourself, it should also contain the following supporting documents relevant to the ancillary matters.

You will have to prepare the following:

Payslips or similar documents to show evidence of your income for the past 6 months.
Your current employment contract OR similar evidence showing the current terms of your employment.
Tax assessment notices or similar documents for the past 3 years.
Updated ACRA search results or similar documents to show ownership of your businesses.
Current tenancy agreement or similar evidence showing the rental you receive.
Updated search results on your bankruptcy status from the Ministry of Law’s Insolvency Office.
Documents to prove your monthly expenses.
Documents to prove the child(ren)’s monthly expenses.
Evidence that you have supported your dependents.
Current maintenance order(s).
Your medical report OR evidence of your incapacity to work.
Updated mortgage statement showing the outstanding mortgage loan.
Updated valuation report or transaction history to show the value of the property.
Updated bank account statements for the past 3 months.
Updated CPF statement showing the balance in each account.
Updated CPF investment account statements from the banks / investment companies.
Updated statement showing the balance in the pension funds (excluding CPF).
Terms and conditions of the pension scheme OR similar evidence to show how the scheme works (excluding CPF).
Updated Central Depository Pte Ltd statements OR similar evidence to show the balance and details of your investments.
Updated ACRA search results OR similar evidence to show your shareholdings.
Evidence of the value of your investments or shares.
Insurance policy documents OR similar evidence to show the surrender values and beneficiaries of your insurance policies.
Evidence of your insurance premiums and the payment mode.
Evidence of vehicle ownership.
Updated hire purchase statement.
For other valuables (antiques, artwork, fine jewellery, fine wine, branded goods, club memberships etc.) in Singapore or overseas: valuation report OR similar documents to show value of items.
Evidence of the debts owed to you.
Updated statements OR similar documents to show the outstanding balance of the debt.
Evidence to show why the debt was incurred.
Evidence to show why some assets are not matrimonial assets.
Updated CPF housing withdrawal statement OR similar evidence to show use of CPF monies for the assets.
Evidence of other payments made for the purchase of the assets.

Estimated fees

Parties will need to pay $0.70 per page, subject to a minimum of $7 to file the First Ancillary Affidavit.

In addition to this fee, there are also other fees payable to the LawNet & CrimsonLogic Service Bureau.

How to file

Parties may choose to file their documents personally or through a lawyer. If you are represented by a lawyer, the documents will be filed by your lawyer.

If you are representing yourself, you must file their documents through eLitigation at the LawNet & CrimsonLogic Service Bureau.

You must follow Part 2 of the Family Justice (General) Rules 2024 and the Family Justice Courts Practice Directions 2024 to prepare their documents before heading down personally to do the filing.

Note

After you file

Parties will have to exchange their First Ancillary Affidavit within the time period directed by the court. After the exchange, a party may then file and serve on the other party a Second Ancillary Affidavit to answer the matters raised in their First Ancillary Affidavit within 28 days after the date on which the First Ancillary Affidavits were exchanged, or by any other time directed by the court.

If a party finds that they require more documents from the other party that are necessary for the ancillary matters, they may file and serve a Summons for Disclosure (Form 84, Family Justice Courts Practice Directions 2024 (DOCX, 63 KB)) on the other party.

(Only applicable to filings commenced before 15 October) The other party must then serve a Notice in Response to Request for Discovery (Form 234, Family Justice Courts Practice Directions 2015) within 14 days stating which documents they are willing, and not willing, to provide for discovery.

Once all matters have been dealt with, the court will schedule a date for the ancillary matters hearing.

Need help?

The information here is for general guidance as the courts do not provide legal advice. If you need further help, you may want to get independent legal advice.

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