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(a) whether the Ministry will review the present arrangement and require that the matrimonial flat/house be sold and sale proceeds be shared by both parents; and 

(b) whether the Ministry will differentiate between ownership and occupation of the property by allowing the parent who has custody of the child to 

(i) stay in the flat/house until the child is working; or 

(ii) pay rental for the flat/house to the former spouse until alternative housing is available. 

2. To ask the Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports 

(a) how many children were affected by divorce/separation of their parents in each of the last five years and how many of these children went through counselling; 

(b) whether the Ministry will make it compulsory for parents to send their children for counselling before their separation and divorce are completed; and 

(c) whether the Ministry will conduct a survey on the impact of divorce on children, including the emotional impact, to better address the needs of these children.

Under the Women’s Charter, the Court will decide on the division of matrimonial assets, including the matrimonial flat or house, after considering all the relevant circumstances of the divorcing couples. Among other things, the Court will take into account the extent of the contributions made by each party to the property, the needs of the children and any agreement between the parties on the ownership and division of the assets. 

The present arrangement provides more flexibility for the Court. Making it a requirement for matrimonial flat/house to be sold for the proceeds to be shared by both parents may not necessarily be in the best interests of the children involved in the divorce. 

In the case where the matrimonial flat is a HDB flat, only the parent who obtains legal custody of the children is considered to have formed an eligible family nucleus, and allowed to retain or take over the ownership of the HDB flat. For such cases, HDB may grant a mortgage loan for the parent, subject to credit assessment. CPF Board had also revised its Act in October 2007 to allow the Court to order zero or partial refund of CPF monies to the ex-spouse, based on the merits of the case. 

The Subordinate Courts and HDB have recently worked out an arrangement to provide more help to low income households (<$1,500 monthly) undergoing divorce. Under this arrangement, HDB would assess the feasibility of the preferred housing options of the divorcing parties. With this information, the Courts will be able to make a more informed decision on the housing for the divorcing parties. This is in addition to existing arrangements where solicitors are required to submit documents on the settlement of the matrimonial flat to the Court for decision. 

There is nothing to prevent an ex-spouse with children from staying in or renting the flat owned by the former spouse, as Mdm Phua has suggested. However, such an arrangement is unlikely to work if there has been an acrimonious divorce. 

Mdm Phua had also asked for statistics on children affected by divorce and on counselling requirements for these children. Between 2005 and 2009, an average of 6,025 divorces was filed every year at the Family Court and 1,780 at the Syariah Court. About half of Family Court’s and 70% of Syariah Court’s cases involved families with children. Yearly, the average number of children below the age of 21 years who were affected by the divorces of their parents was about 4,700 and 2,600 for marriages under Women’s Charter and Administration of Muslim Law Act respectively. 

At different stages of the divorce process, the Family Court will assess the need for children to undergo counselling. At the onset of divorce proceedings, children may be referred for counselling during the Pre-Trial Conference if custody is likely to be disputed. At the Hearing, if the Court assesses that the children require support counselling; it may refer them to the counsellors at the Counselling and Psychological Services of the Family Court or relevant community resources. Where necessary, the Family Court may also order the parties and the children to attend parenting workshops or order that the access and transfer of children be done under the supervision of a social worker in a social service agency. However, the Family Court and relevant agencies do not track the number of children who go through counselling during the divorce/separation of their parents. 

To further safeguard the interests of children in divorcing families, the Family Court has, since 2008, implemented a programme called the CHildren’s Best Interests, Less-aDversarial or CHILD, which involves a less adversarial hearing of disputes involving children by eliminating unnecessary affidavits. Divorcing parents who volunteer to be on the programme are guided by counsellors to focus on working out care arrangements, parental duties and responsibilities post-divorce. 

For Muslim divorces, while the Syariah Court does not direct children for counselling, it has, since Jan 2010, been collaborating with As-Salam PPIS Family Support Centre to run a voluntary programme focusing on young children in divorcing families. One of the programme’s objectives is to identify potential “at risk” children and facilitate their access to national resources and raise awareness amongst families on importance of helping children cope with parental divorce. 

The current system thus accords flexibility to provide counselling for children, when deemed necessary. We need to study carefully the proposal of making such counselling mandatory. While counselling may be useful, it may not be needed in all cases. Also, counselling children alone would not help if the divorcing parents are unable to manage the divorce and its aftermath. Any counselling would have to involve divorcing parents as well, as it is still the responsibility of parents to explain their break-up to their children and assure them of their continued love and support. 

Studies elsewhere have shown that divorces can have a negative impact on children, in many aspects. We are open to similar studies for Singapore. We welcome researchers to tap on MCYS’s Family Research Fund (FRF), which supports research on family trends and issues in Singapore with a view to inform policy-making. 

Let me stress that children will almost always be adversely affected by a divorce. There are no easy solutions. I would urge couples contemplating a divorce to place the welfare of their children as their paramount priority rather than to engage in a destructive battle of attrition.