UJH v UJI: Division of Matrimonial Assets and Maintenance for Adult Sons

In the Family Justice Courts of Singapore, the case of UJH v UJI involved a divorce with disputes over the division of matrimonial assets and maintenance applications by the couple's two adult sons. The wife, UJH, sought a division of assets and contribution to the sons' university expenses, while the husband, UJI, contested these claims. Foo Tuat Yien JC ordered an equal division of the matrimonial assets and dismissed the sons' maintenance applications, considering the husband's initial commitment to solely support them and the wife's strained relationship with the sons.

1. Case Overview

1.1 Court

Family Justice Courts of the republic of singapore

1.2 Outcome

Appeal against division of matrimonial assets and dismissal of maintenance applications for adult sons.

1.3 Case Type

Family

1.4 Judgment Type

Grounds of Decision

1.5 Jurisdiction

Singapore

1.6 Description

Divorce case concerning the division of matrimonial assets and applications for maintenance by two adult sons. The court ordered an equal division of assets and dismissed the sons' maintenance applications.

1.7 Decision Date

7 February 2018

2. Parties and Outcomes

Party Name	Role	Type	Outcome	Outcome Type	Counsels
UJH	Plaintiff, Respondent	Individual	Division of assets	Partial	Wong Hur Yuin of Wee Swee Teow LLP
UJI	Defendant, Appellant	Individual	Appeal against division of assets	Partial	Yoon Min Joo of Eversheds Harry Elias LLP Koh Tien Hua of Eversheds Harry Elias LLP

3. Judges

Judge Name	Title	Delivered Judgment
Foo Tuat Yien	Judicial Commissioner	Yes

4. Counsels

Counsel Name	Organization
Wong Hur Yuin	Wee Swee Teow LLP
Yoon Min Joo	Eversheds Harry Elias LLP
Koh Tien Hua	Eversheds Harry Elias LLP

4. Facts

The Husband and Wife married on 17 December 1990.
The Wife took no-pay leave to accompany the Husband to the USA from January 1991 until December 1992.
The parties have two adult sons, born in 1991 and 1994.
The Wife left the matrimonial home on 3 June 2009.
The Husband filed for divorce on 17 August 2009.
The matrimonial home was bought for $1.03m in the second half of 1992.
The Husband was the sole owner and director of his own company.

5. Formal Citations

UJH v UJI, Divorce Transfer No 4096 of 2009; Maintenance Summons Nos 2792 and 2793 of 2016, [2018] SGHCF 4

6. Timeline

Date	Event
1990-12-17	Husband and Wife married
1991-01-01	Wife took no-pay leave to accompany Husband to the USA
1991-12-01	Older son was born in the USA
1992-12-01	Parties returned to Singapore
1994-01-01	Younger son was born in Singapore
2009-06-03	Wife left the matrimonial home
2009-08-17	Husband filed for divorce
2011-11-21	Interim judgment granted
2015-12-18	Ancillary matters first heard
2016-05-01	Wife sought to introduce further evidence
2017-10-17	Orders given in relation to the parties’ ancillary matters
2018-02-08	Judgment issued

7. Legal Issues

Division of Matrimonial Assets
- Outcome: The court ordered an equal division of the matrimonial assets.
- Category: Substantive
- Sub-Issues:
  - Valuation of assets
  - Direct financial contributions
  - Indirect contributions
- Related Cases:
  - [2015] 4 SLR 1043
  - [2015] SGCA 52
Maintenance for Adult Children
- Outcome: The court dismissed the sons' applications for the Wife to contribute towards their maintenance.
- Category: Substantive

8. Remedies Sought

Division of Matrimonial Assets
Maintenance Contribution

9. Cause of Actions

Divorce
Division of Matrimonial Assets
Maintenance

10. Practice Areas

Divorce
Family Law
Matrimonial Law

11. Industries

No industries specified

12. Cited Cases

Case Name	Court	Affirmed	Citation	Jurisdiction	Significance
ANJ v ANK	Singapore Law Reports	Yes	[2015] 4 SLR 1043	Singapore	Cited for the structured approach to division of matrimonial assets.
Twiss, Christopher James Hans v Twiss, Yvonne Prendergast	Singapore Court of Appeal	Yes	[2015] SGCA 52	Singapore	Cited for summarising the structured approach to division of matrimonial assets.

13. Applicable Rules

Rule Name
No applicable rules

14. Applicable Statutes

Statute Name	Jurisdiction
No applicable statutes

15. Key Terms and Keywords

15.1 Key Terms

Matrimonial assets
Direct financial contribution
Indirect contribution
Maintenance
Division of assets
Joint Summary

15.2 Keywords

Divorce
Matrimonial Assets
Maintenance
Singapore
Family Law

17. Areas of Law

Area Name	Relevance Score
Family Law	95
Matrimonial Assets	95
Divorce	90
Maintenance	80
Child Support	60

16. Subjects

Family Law
Divorce
Matrimonial Assets
Maintenance