Child Maintenance at Divorce

A) Relevant Law?

• Under section 70
• Under section 127

B) Who Pays Child Maintenance?

In Singapore, a parent of a child under 21, are required to support his or her child in the form of providing child maintenance. Every parent is under a legal duty to maintain their child until he or she turns 21 years old.

This is regardless whether parents are still married to each other, or whether the child is legitimate. This duty still exists even if either spouse has remarried.

C) What Facts are Consider when Deciding Child Maintenance?

The factors stated in section 69(4) of the Women’s Charter are considered when deciding child maintenance:

• Your child’s financial needs
• The income, earning capacity (if any), property and other financial resources of yourself, your spouse and your child
• Your child’s physical or mental disability (if any)
• Both the ages of yourself and your spouse
• The duration of the marriage
• The contributions made by yourself and your spouse to the family’s welfare
• The standard of living enjoyed by your child before your spouse neglected or refused to provide reasonable maintenance for him or her
• The manner in which your child was being, and which both yourself and your spouse expected your child to be, educated or trained
• Any conduct of yourself and your spouse that would be inequitable for the court to disregard

If a husband is able to prove that a child is not his (e.g. through the taking of a paternity test), he may be able to argue against providing maintenance for that child during the divorce.

D) What Age is a Child Entitled to Maintenance?

Children below 21 years old are entitled to maintenance.
Maintenance will cease once the child turns 21. This is unless the child (see section 69(5) of the Women’s Charter for more information):

• Whether child has any disability;
• Is or will be serving full-time national service;
• Still schooling or undergoing training for a trade, profession or vocation
• Any special circumstances such that the court is satisfied that the provision of maintenance is

F) How Application for Child Maintenance Made?

Child maintenance as part of divorce proceedings
If applying for child maintenance as part of the process of divorcing from a spouse, application for child maintenance will be heard during the ancillary matters hearing together with the other ancillary matters, such as the division of matrimonial assets.