K Shanmugam on Family Justice Reform Bill

The Government is creating a new Maintenance Enforcement Process to ensure that justice is easily available for applicants, especially those who are self-represented. It will set up a unit of Maintenance Enforcement Officers (MEOs) whose job is to conduct fact-finding on the financial circumstances of the parties involved, help flag the needy ones for early support, and conduct conciliation sessions and facilitate settlement. Law Minister K Shanmugam, who outlined these changes in Parliament on Monday (May 8), described the fact-finding powers as a “game changer” to help the courts better distinguish between respondents who cannot pay and those who refuse to pay. For those who cannot pay, the MEOs will be able to refer them to Social Service Offices for financial assistance and other support. After the fact-finding is completed, the parties will have to attend conciliation sessions with the MEOs who can recommend solutions and facilitate settlement. The court will take into account the MEO’s report when deciding on the application. In certain circumstances, the court can vary any maintenance order without a formal application, taking into account the financial position of the parties. Where the parties have not settled and the court orders a respondent to pay maintenance, a Show-Payment Order (SPO) will be issued, usually for a period of six months. This would require the respondent to show to the court at specified intervals that he or she has made the requisite payments. The court must generally also specify a term of imprisonment that the respondent may be liable for. Mr Shanmugam said this continued monitoring, coupled with strong deterrence, should reduce repeated defaults in at least a fair number of cases. With the information provided by the MEOs, the court will be better able to make more targeted and effective enforcement orders to recover arrears. He warned that the consequences for failing to honour the SPO are “immediate and serious”. Separately, he added that where an applicant suspects that a respondent intends to dissipate, or has dissipated, assets to frustrate the maintenance claim and applies for an injunction or clawback order, the burden will now be on the respondent to prove there is no intention to frustrate the maintenance claim. Mr Shanmugam said these changes aim to provide stronger deterrence against non-compliance with maintenance orders, more sustainable maintenance outcomes for families with genuine financial difficulties, and an easier process for enforcement of maintenance orders when they are not complied with. He pointed out that disputes that linger and spiral long after the divorce proceedings can worsen the anguish for the parties and their children, and take a toll on those around them. The Government hopes to make the post-divorce journey “slightly easier” and will continue to work with stakeholders to achieve more positive outcomes in “protecting, restoring and healing families”, said Mr Shanmugam.