\n<\/p>\n
The new maintenance enforcement process builds in fact-finding powers that allow officers to seek information about an individual\u2019s financial situation without requiring court orders.<\/p>\n
Balanced by legal safeguards, these powers help to keep the enforcement process non-adversarial, said chief maintenance enforcement officer Mr Leong.<\/p>\n
This is because a neutral party is openly retrieving the information, as opposed to lawyers covertly digging for data as they would for a court hearing, he said.<\/p>\n
Officers typically seek information from the Central Provident Fund Board to understand individual income; the Housing and Development Board and Singapore Land Authority for property ownership; the Land Transport Authority for vehicle ownership; the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority for business shareholdings; and the Ministry of Social and Family Development to find out if the individual is receiving financial assistance.<\/p>\n
They can also obtain records on investment holdings from the Central Depository, and on bankruptcy administration from the Official Assignee.<\/p>\n
They must still seek a court order to obtain information from the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore and banks.<\/p>\n
Lawyer Nur Liyana Kamaludin, senior legal counsel at Titanium Law Chambers, said the fact-finding powers are a key distinction of the new maintenance enforcement process.<\/p>\n
When a case goes to court and an ex-spouse who is supposed to pay maintenance tries to hide his or her true financial position, lawyers have to file an application to unearth assets in a process called discovery.<\/p>\n
\u201cMultiple rounds of discovery would mean a lot of costs for our clients,\u201d said Ms Liyana. She has had clients decide not to seek enforcement in court because they expect their ex-spouses to be uncooperative and the costs to add up.<\/p>\n
Under the maintenance enforcement process, applicants are not charged any fees for conciliation or fact-finding services.<\/p>\n
If a settlement is not reached in conciliation, the information found through fact-finding will be submitted to the Family Justice Courts for the full hearing.<\/p>\n
This will help the court to make more targeted and effective enforcement orders to recover the arrears, said MinLaw. It has already happened in some cases heard by the courts.<\/p>\n
Ms Liyana is particularly hopeful for middle-income claimants sandwiched between the lower income ceiling for legal aid, and the higher income levels needed to afford their own legal representation.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it\u2019s going to be that simple, that they can just file the application and then immediately they get help from the maintenance enforcement officer, I can literally just do an advisory role,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
This means she can charge as little as S$500 if a client still wants a legal consultation on what to expect and what they are entitled to, and for her to look through their application documents to make sure all is sound.<\/p>\n
While the amounts of maintenance recouped through this process may not all be immense, they still make a difference to the families involved.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt affects the lives of ex-spouses and children, brings about certainty for people to carry on with school, classes, the ability to see the doctor if they\u2019re ill,\u201d said Mr Leong.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe break-up of a family is itself a sufficiently traumatic experience for everybody concerned,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ability for us to perhaps \u2018hand-hold\u2019 applicants through this journey to make it easier is one big factor that we should view as a big advantage to having this programme.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n
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