Annulment

Annulment or nullity, is a court application to the Singapore Family Justice Courts to invalidate a marriage due to a number of different reasons. One example is the marriage has not been consummated due to the wilful refusal of a spouse, or if one party was pregnant by someone other than her husband at the time of the marriage. Once annulled, your marriage is treated as though it has never taken place. Parties revert to “single” status and not “divorcees”.

You may have a particular circumstance after you married your spouse which may qualify as void or voidable marriage. Discuss with a qualified and experienced Family Lawyer who specialises in this area of law will be able to assess your case for you. For instance, you can annul a marriage even if you have a child with your spouse, but that child has been conceived before your ROM date.

Is there a timeline to file the Annulment?

You must apply to the Court to annul the marriage within three (3) years of marriage.

There is no requirement to have been married for twelve (12) months before applying for annulment, although in real life, many couples present a Writ for Nullity within a few months of the marriage.

Ancillary Matters

When a Writ for Nullity is filed in the Singapore Family Justice Courts, parties are entitled to seek financial and property orders in the same way as you can upon filing for divorce.

Unless Parties have worked out full agreement for ancillary matters at the time of the grant of the Interim Judgment for Nullity, Parties will go through the same procedure as in the divorce proceedings to work out a Draft Consent Order in Court Mediation or by Ancillary Hearing for ancillary issues like assets, properties, child, spousal and child maintenance etc, before the Certificate for Nullity will be issued.

Are my children considered legitimate or not if I annul my marriage?

Children born in a void or voidable marriage will be considered as legitimate. You may discuss your circumstances with one of our expert family lawyers at Yeo & Associates LLC if you think that the child(ren) in nulled marriages are illegitimate.

How about the property?

It is clear that HDB rules stipulates that buyers of flats must satisfy at least five (5) years of stay before disposing, failing which, the flat is to be surrendered to HDB.

When Parties file Writ for Nullity, it tends to be within the first three (3) years of marriage. To understand other options to entitle yourself or your spouse to retain an HDB flat after nullity, you may wish to approach one of our experienced family lawyers at 62203400 to discuss what actions need to be taken.

How to qualify for Annulment

The grounds to annul a marriage are: –

1. That the marriage has not been consummated owing to the incapacity of either party. In such situation, a medical report is required.
2. That the marriage has not been consummated owing to the wilful refusal of the other party to consummate it. For instance, a wife refuses to have sexual intercourse with her husband.
3. That either party did not validly consent to it, whether in consequence of duress, mistake, unsoundness of mind or otherwise;
4. That at the time of the marriage either party though capable of giving a valid consent was suffering from a mental disorder;
5. That at the time of the marriage the Defendant was suffering from venereal disease in a communicable form;
6. That at the time of the marriage the Defendant was pregnant by some person other than the Plaintiff.

The above may look straightforward but the Courts require far more matters to be established in order to be satisfied to grant an Order for Nullity. It is a complex area of law and the judge may not buy your story to grant you an Order for Nullity.

If you need legal advice in Annulment or Nullity, Yeo & Associates LLC Family Lawyers can help. Our lawyers are very knowledgeable in this area and will go into great detail before you can consider whether your marriage is voidable.

How long is the Nullity process?

If your case falls within uncontested nullity whereby your spouse and yourself agrees to the grounds for annulment, it normally takes between four (4) to six (6) months to get your Certificate for Nullity.

The applicant is required to attend one-time Court appearance. Our Yeo & Associates LLC lawyer will attend the court hearing with you. The judge may grant or not grant the nullity on the spot. The judge also has the power to ask the applicant and lawyer questions before deciding whether to grant the Order. 

Yeo & Associates LLC offers an all-in fixed fee of S$2,500.00 (inclusive of all filing fees, fees for commissioner for oaths, and GST).

What if my spouse object to the annulment?

Your case will not automatically fail if your spouse chooses to object to your application for Annulment to annul the marriage.

However, there are other steps to be taken to obtain the Order for Nullity. In these circumstances, our team at Yeo & Associates LLC will be able to guide you through the confusing and complex process and advise you of any further fixed fee for contested nullity proceedings, to get the annulment or nullity through.

Call Yeolaw Family lawyers on 62203400 or complete our Request Advice form online.