WJM v WJN: Division of Matrimonial Assets and Maintenance Dispute

In WJM v WJN, before the General Division of the High Court (Family Division) of Singapore, the Wife appealed against the District Judge's ancillary orders regarding the division of matrimonial assets and maintenance to be paid to the Husband. The court dismissed the Wife's appeal, affirming the District Judge's assessment of direct and indirect contributions and the maintenance order of $150 per month for one year. The court found no error in the District Judge's computation of contributions or the reasonableness of the maintenance order.

1. Case Overview

1.1 Court

General Division of the High Court (Family Division)

1.2 Outcome

Appeal Dismissed

1.3 Case Type

Family

1.4 Judgment Type

Judgment

1.5 Jurisdiction

Singapore

1.6 Description

Appeal concerning the division of matrimonial assets and maintenance. The court affirmed the District Judge's orders, finding no error in the contributions assessment.

1.7 Decision Date

2 April 2023

2. Parties and Outcomes

Party Name	Role	Type	Outcome	Outcome Type	Counsels
WJM	Appellant	Individual	Appeal Dismissed	Lost	Bhaskaran Shamkumar of Accord Law Chambers
WJN	Respondent	Individual	Maintenance Order Affirmed	Won

3. Judges

Judge Name	Title	Delivered Judgment
Choo Han Teck	Judge of the High Court	Yes

4. Counsels

Counsel Name	Organization
Bhaskaran Shamkumar	Accord Law Chambers

4. Facts

The parties were married on 11 April 1998 and obtained an interim judgment of divorce on 27 April 2021.
The Husband is 67 years old and retired in 2000 due to ill health.
The Wife is 49 years old and works as a beautician.
The parties have one child, aged 21, who is independent.
The District Judge determined the parties’ direct financial contributions to be 36.1% (Husband): 63.9% (Wife).
The District Judge determined the parties’ indirect contribution to be 45% (Husband): 55% (Wife).
The District Judge ordered that the matrimonial assets be divided in the overall ratio of 40.55% (Husband): 59.45% (Wife).

5. Formal Citations

WJM v WJN, District Court Appeal No 109 of 2022, [2023] SGHCF 18

6. Timeline

Date	Event
1998-04-11	Parties married
2000-01-01	Husband retired due to ill health
2007-01-01	Matrimonial flat rented out
2013-12-01	Matrimonial flat rental period ends
2021-04-27	Interim judgment of divorce obtained
2022-11-16	Hearing before the District Judge
2022-11-22	District Judge's ancillary orders made
2022-11-30	Maintenance payment start date
2023-03-21	Judgment reserved
2023-03-23	Husband made further submissions via email
2023-04-03	Judgment delivered

7. Legal Issues

Division of Matrimonial Assets
- Outcome: The court affirmed the District Judge's division of matrimonial assets, finding no error in the computation of direct and indirect contributions.
- Category: Substantive
- Related Cases:
  - [2015] 4 SLR 1043
Maintenance
- Outcome: The court affirmed the District Judge's order for the Wife to pay the Husband maintenance of $150 per month for one year.
- Category: Substantive

8. Remedies Sought

Appeal against ancillary orders
Appeal against maintenance order

9. Cause of Actions

No cause of actions

10. Practice Areas

Divorce
Family Law
Appeals

11. Industries

No industries specified

12. Cited Cases

Case Name	Court	Affirmed	Citation	Jurisdiction	Significance
ANJ v ANK	N/A	Yes	[2015] 4 SLR 1043	Singapore	Applied to determine the parties’ respective direct and indirect financial contributions.

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
Division of assets
Maintenance
Direct financial contributions
Indirect contributions
Additional Housing Grant
CPF contributions

15.2 Keywords

family law
divorce
matrimonial assets
maintenance
singapore
appeal

17. Areas of Law

Area Name	Relevance Score
Family Law	95
Maintenance	90
Matrimonial Assets	90
Civil Procedure	20
Evidence	15

16. Subjects

Family Law
Divorce
Financial Relief