UYD v UYE: Division of Matrimonial Assets and Wife's Maintenance after 26-Year Marriage

In the divorce case of UYD v UYE and others, the Family Justice Courts of Singapore addressed the division of matrimonial assets, maintenance for the wife, and costs. The parties were married for 26 years and have three children. The court ordered a 55:45 split of the matrimonial assets in favor of the husband and ordered the husband to pay the wife monthly maintenance of $4,000.00 for six months. The court also granted liberty to apply for further orders.

1. Case Overview

1.1 Court

Family Justice Courts of the Republic of Singapore

1.2 Outcome

Distribution of matrimonial assets ordered; monthly maintenance of $4,000.00 for six months ordered.

1.3 Case Type

Family

1.4 Judgment Type

Judgment

1.5 Jurisdiction

Singapore

1.6 Description

Divorce case concerning the division of matrimonial assets and maintenance for the wife after a 26-year marriage. The court ordered a 55:45 asset split and temporary maintenance.

1.7 Decision Date

28 August 2019

2. Parties and Outcomes

Party Name	Role	Type	Outcome	Outcome Type	Counsels
UYD	Plaintiff	Individual	Distribution of matrimonial assets in the proportions of 45:55	Partial	Looi Min Yi Stephanie of Optimus Chambers LLC Choh Thian Chee Irving of Optimus Chambers LLC
UYE	Defendant	Individual	Distribution of matrimonial assets in the proportions of 55:45	Partial	Bala Chandran s/o A. Kandiah of Mallal & Namazie
UYF	Defendant	Individual	Neutral	Neutral
UYG	Defendant	Individual	Neutral	Neutral

3. Judges

Judge Name	Title	Delivered Judgment
Tan Puay Boon	Judicial Commissioner	Yes

4. Counsels

Counsel Name	Organization
Looi Min Yi Stephanie	Optimus Chambers LLC
Choh Thian Chee Irving	Optimus Chambers LLC
Bala Chandran s/o A. Kandiah	Mallal & Namazie

4. Facts

The parties were married for 26 years before the Wife commenced divorce proceedings.
The Wife filed for divorce on the ground of the Husband’s adultery with the two co-defendants.
The parties have three sons, born in 1996, 2000, and 2002.
The Wife was a homemaker but is on record as an employee at [X] Pte Ltd.
The Husband is the Executive Chairman and Managing Director of [X] Pte Ltd.
[X] Pte Ltd was incorporated in 2001 with the Husband and the Wife as equal shareholders and co-directors.
The marriage began to break down in 2015.

5. Formal Citations

UYD v UYE and others, Divorce (Transferred) No 4038 of 2016, [2019] SGHCF 20

6. Timeline

Date	Event
1990-09-18	Parties married in Malaysia
2016-08-19	Wife filed for divorce
2016-09-20	Interim judgment granted
2017-01-04	Consent order issued regarding custody, care, control, and access
2018-10-04	Ancillary matters hearing
2019-08-29	Judgment reserved

7. Legal Issues

Division of Matrimonial Assets
- Outcome: The court ordered a distribution of the matrimonial assets in the proportions of 55:45 between the Husband and the Wife.
- Category: Substantive
- Related Cases:
  - [2007] 3 SLR(R) 743
  - [2016] 2 SLR 686
  - [2017] SGCA 34
  - [2019] 3 SLR 178
  - [2019] 1 SLR 608
  - [2015] 4 SLR 1043
  - [2017] SGHCF 8
  - [2017] 1 SLR 609
  - [2017] 4 SLR 921
  - [2000] 2 SLR(R) 659
  - [2019] 3 SLR 504
  - [2018] 4 SLR 779
  - [2011] 2 SLR 1157
  - [2019] SGHCF 8
  - [2017] SGHCF 9
Maintenance for the Wife
- Outcome: The court ordered the Husband to pay the Wife monthly maintenance of $4,000.00 for six months.
- Category: Substantive
- Related Cases:
  - [2016] SGCA 2

8. Remedies Sought

Division of matrimonial assets
Maintenance for the Wife
Costs

9. Cause of Actions

Divorce
Adultery

10. Practice Areas

Divorce
Family Law

11. Industries

No industries specified

12. Cited Cases

Case Name	Court	Affirmed	Citation	Jurisdiction	Significance
NK v NL	N/A	Yes	[2007] 3 SLR(R) 743	Singapore	Cited for the methodologies of dividing assets: the global assessment methodology and the classification methodology.
ARY v ARX and another appeal	N/A	Yes	[2016] 2 SLR 686	Singapore	Cited for the starting position for the date of the identification of matrimonial assets.
TND v TNC and another appeal	Court of Appeal	Yes	[2017] SGCA 34	Singapore	Cited for the starting point for the date of the valuation of the matrimonial assets.
UJF v UJG	N/A	Yes	[2019] 3 SLR 178	Singapore	Cited for adopting a rough and ready approach towards the valuation of shares.
BPC v BPB and another appeal	Court of Appeal	Yes	[2019] 1 SLR 608	Singapore	Cited for the principle that the court is entitled to draw an inference against a party who fails to comply with his or her duty of full and frank disclosure of the matrimonial assets.
ANJ v ANK	N/A	Yes	[2015] 4 SLR 1043	Singapore	Cited for the structured approach in determining the division of matrimonial assets.
TYU v TYV	N/A	Yes	[2017] SGHCF 8	Singapore	Cited for explaining the structured approach in ANJ v ANK to determine the division of matrimonial assets.
TNL v TNK and another appeal and another matter	Court of Appeal	Yes	[2017] 1 SLR 609	Singapore	Cited for excluding the application of the ANJ v ANK structured approach to long Single-Income Marriages.
UBM v UBN	N/A	Yes	[2017] 4 SLR 921	Singapore	Cited for the definition of a Single-Income Marriage.
Yow Mee Lan v Chen Kai Buan	N/A	Yes	[2000] 2 SLR(R) 659	Singapore	Cited as an example of a long Single-Income Marriage.
UMU v UMT and another appeal	N/A	Yes	[2019] 3 SLR 504	Singapore	Cited as an example of a case where the courts tend towards an equal division of the matrimonial assets in long Single-Income Marriages.
UKA v UKB	N/A	Yes	[2018] 4 SLR 779	Singapore	Cited as an example of a case where the courts tend towards an equal division of the matrimonial assets in long Single-Income Marriages.
Yeo Chong Lin v Tay Ang Choo Nancy and another appeal	N/A	Yes	[2011] 2 SLR 1157	Singapore	Cited for the principle that the court may depart from an equal distribution where the asset pool is exceptionally large.
UTS v UTT	N/A	Yes	[2019] SGHCF 8	Singapore	Cited as an example of a case where the courts tend towards an equal division of the matrimonial assets in long Single-Income Marriages.
TZG v TZH	N/A	Yes	[2017] SGHCF 9	Singapore	Cited for logistical orders made in relation to the division of a dental practice.
ATE v ATD and another appeal	Court of Appeal	Yes	[2016] SGCA 2	Singapore	Cited for the principle that the court's power to order maintenance plays only a supplementary role to its power to order a division of matrimonial assets.
JBB v JBA	N/A	Yes	[2015] 5 SLR 153	Singapore	Cited for the principle that costs are generally not ordered in matrimonial cases.

13. Applicable Rules

Rule Name
No applicable rules

14. Applicable Statutes

Statute Name	Jurisdiction
Women’s Charter (Cap 353, 2009 Rev Ed)	Singapore

15. Key Terms and Keywords

15.1 Key Terms

Matrimonial assets
Maintenance
Single-Income Marriage
Homemaker
Division of assets
Interim judgment
Consent order

15.2 Keywords

Divorce
Matrimonial Assets
Maintenance
Family Law
Singapore
Division of Assets

17. Areas of Law

Area Name	Relevance Score
Family Law	95
Matrimonial Assets	90
Maintenance	85
Maintenance (Wife)	80
Costs	50

16. Subjects

Family Law
Divorce
Matrimonial Assets
Maintenance