After a divorce, it is still possible for remarriage to be included in your future. However, such a new marriage may come with many questions. When remarrying after a divorce, there are a number of issues that you have to keep in mind.

These include alimony or maintenance, and child care. Aside from those, one of the most pressing issues regarding this matter is the right time to remarry another person.

 Remarrying After A Divorce?

  1. Find out the best time for you to get remarried.

You can only remarry once you get the Final Judgment from the court. In Singapore, the Final Judgment may also be referred to as Form 32 or the Certificate of Making Interim Judgment Final.

Before getting the Final Judgment from the court, you and your spouse will need to wait for at least three months after the Interim Judgment has been given. If you remarry before obtaining the Final Judgment, you will be committing a criminal offence. In committing bigamy, you may be jailed and fined by the court.

The Final Judgment can only be released by the court after all of the ancillary matters have been tackled already. If you want to speed up the process, try to talk to your husband and discuss all of the ancillary matters out of the court. By doing so, the court will not need to set a date for a hearing for every single issue. Once you get the Final Judgment from the Family Court, you become eligible to remarry.

Aside from considering the legal side of the matter, take time to consider the feelings of your children too. If you decide to remarry after a divorce, it is important to remember that there may be unique challenges that you have to face along the way.

This is especially important if you still have young children who may be feeling confused, lost or even betrayed. As a good parent, make sure to put your children’s concerns first. Try to understand their feelings and worries. Be open to your children, and be patient with them.

  1. File for an abridgement application to shorten the waiting period the Final Judgment.

In Singapore, it is possible to apply for abridgement if you desire to remarry as soon as possible. However, the application will still be subject to the decision of the court to grant it or not.

  1. Know about the duration for the order of alimony or maintenance.

According to the Women’s Charter, the order for maintenance payments will expire upon the death of the husband or of the wife, or upon the remarriage of the wife. This means that if you remarry, then your ex-husband can already stop giving you the alimony or maintenance payouts.

However, if your ex-husband remarries another party and you remain single, he still has to continue paying for the divorce maintenance. Your ex-husband has to state at the Registry of Marriages whether or not he owes any arrears on maintenance payouts before a marriage license can be issued to him.

  1. Continue fulfilling your parental responsibility to your children.

According to Singapore law, parental responsibility which includes financial duties will last until the child is independent enough.

This means that even if your ex-husband has remarried, he still has an obligation to support his children who are staying with you. Likewise, if you decide to remarry, you still have to do your part in bringing up your children even if they are in the custody of their father.

  1. Find a trustworthy family law attorney.

A family law attorney will have the expertise and experience that you need in order to smoothly undergo another marriage after your divorce. If you are finding it difficult to handle divorce-related issues, then you may opt to get help from an attorney.

More information: Marriage Matters and Divorce Issues.

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Founder @ The New Savvy
Anna Haotanto is the Advisor (former CEO) of The New Savvy. She is currently the COO of ABZD Capital and the CMO of Gourmet Food Holdings, an investment firm focusing on opportunities in the global F&B industry. She is part of the founding committee of the Singapore FinTech Association and heads the Women In FinTech and Partnership Committee. Anna is the President of the Singapore Management University Women Alumni. Anna invests and sits on the board of a few startups. Anna is also part of the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry Career Women’s Group executive committee. Anna’s story is featured on Millionaire Minds on Channel NewsAsia. She hosts TV shows and events, namely for Channel NewsAsia’s “The Millennial Investor” and “Challenge Tomorrow”, a FinTech documentary. Anna was awarded “Her Times Youth Award” at the Rising50 Women Empowerment Gala, organised by the Indonesian Embassy of Singapore. The award was presented by His Excellency Ngurah Swajaya. She was also awarded Founder of the Year for ASEAN Rice Bowl Startup Awards. She was also awarded the Women Empowerment Award by the Asian Business & Social Forum. Anna has been awarded LinkedIn Power Profiles for founders (2018, 2017), Tatler Gen T, The Peak’s Trailblazers under 40 and a nominee for the Women of The Future award by Aviva

6 COMMENTS

  1. If my wife holds a wedding dinner to marry another man before our divorce is concluded, will she have committed bigamy?

  2. Hi Keith,

    I searched and I believe this answer your question:

    Section 6 of the Charter states that it is unlawful for any person who is “lawfully married under any law, religion, custom or usage” to marry again in Singapore or elsewhere. A person can be convicted even if the second marriage is a customary one.

    What are the penalties?

    Under section 494 of the Penal Code, the bigamist can be jailed up to seven years, and fined. An exception is made if the prior marriage had been declared void or the former spouse has not been heard from for seven years.

    The jail term can extend to 10 years if the man or woman did not inform the second “spouse” that they are already married, according to section 495 of the Code.

    More here:
    http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/eight-questions-on-bigamy-in-singapore-answered

  3. Request divorced and joint custody care and control all given to husband from wife. So now the wife remarried does she still hold the joint custody?

  4. What about finding out only after receiving Form 32 that my ex has “remarry” another woman, couldn’t be confirm, but saw wedding photos which apparently taken a year before the divorce procedure?

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