~by: Ghui~

China-born singer Zhang MiaoYu has no qualms about telling you she came to Singapore with a single-minded purpose: To snare a Singapore man (See HERE). She goes on to say that “Singaporemen spend long hours working. But they would make it up to you by showering you with gifts. The more expensive the gifts, the more to show that they love you.” This implies that Ms Zhang is perhaps looking for a Singaporean man to give her a better life in the material sense and that material wealth is an essential requirement in a husband.

News reports such as these convince me of the necessity of recognising prenuptial agreements in Singapore.

A recent new ruling by China’s Supreme Court now makes it difficult for wives to claim a share of assets paid for by their husbands. As a result of this new ruling, lawyers and observers in Singapore have indicated that this would motivate Chinese women to look for mates outside China. For instance, if their marriages end in divorce in Singapore, these Chinese women would be protected by the Women’s Charter and lawyers here expect to see a rise in Chinese women marrying and divorcing in Singapore. 

I am of course not suggesting that all Chinese women are opportunistic nor am I restricting materialism to Chinese women. I am merely using this as an example to highlight why I think it might be time for Singapore to reconsider clearly accepting the legality of prenuptial agreements in Singapore.

Opponents of prenuptial agreements will no doubt argue that these agreements go against the essential tenet in marriage – that of commitment. Why prepare for the demise of a marriage before even entering into it? While I have some sympathy for that argument, divorce is something that is a part of our society. As such, we should address the issue to ensure that divorce proceedings are as smooth as possible to minimise its emotional impact on the parties involved, especially if there are children involved.

Rather than go through the messy process of fighting and dividing assets while dealing with the emotions caused by an irretrievable breakdown of marriage, it might make sense for these issues to be ironed out beforehand.It would also serve to protect the richer party from potential ‘gold diggers’ (whether foreign or otherwise) and act as a deterrent against parties who might marry solely for money with the intention of divorce at a later stage. 

A marriage contract is a commitment entered into by 2 consenting adults. As such, 2 consenting adults should also be permitted to dictate the terms of that marriage and our courts should recognise this.

While Singapore law does not officially recognise prenuptial agreements, the Singapore courts have in recent years indicated that prenuptial agreements governed by foreign law will be upheld and enforced (see HERE). While this case did not involve Singaporeans, the acceptance of prenuptial agreements should be extended to cover Singapore law governed prenuptial agreements in marriages involving Singaporean parties who have married in Singapore.

English law, like Singapore law, does not typically recognise prenuptial agreements. But last year,in a landmark decision, British courts upheld a prenuptial agreement made between a German heiress and a French banker who married in London (see HERE).

There is indication that reforms will be made in the near future to formally recognise the legality of prenuptial agreements under English law, in line with Scottish law which already recognises it. Many countries around the world from China to the US to the Philippines and virtually all of Europe recognise the validity of prenuptial agreements (see HERE). 

In view of the possible increase in marriages and divorces as highlighted above, it would make sense to officially recognise the legality of prenuptial agreements in Singapore. Prenuptial agreements would reduce the stress caused by protracted divorce proceedings where substantial assets are involved. It would also reduce legal fees and protect the assets of the richer party who may have unwittingly entered into a marriage with someone motivated solely by their wealth.


HELP keep the voice of TOC alive!

If you like this article, please consider a small donation to help theonlinecitizen.com stay alive. Please note that we can only accept donations from Singaporeans. Thank you for your assistance.

Do you have a flair for writing? Volunteer with us. Email us your full name and contact details to theonlinecitizen@gmail.com

24 Responses to “Singapore should reconsider accepting the legality of prenuptial agreements”

  1. Titiana Ann Xavier 8 September 2011

    “For better or for worse, till death do us part” is fast becoming a joke. Prenuptial agreements are meant for the rich who refused to pay the married partner a huge compensation should the marriage failed. The poor has no such problem. Cohabiting is gaining popularity in the west as a result of exorbitant legal cost. Marriage will become more and more a legal hazard for the wealthy if Singapore do not accept the legality of prenuptial agreement.

    Reply
  2. iVOTEahMENG 8 September 2011

    now you ALL know why i go to cebu instead of little china…
    even the lass in the villages also assumed by placin their hands @ the atm machine$..money will dropped out liked gold coins…
    worst of all..they still 1st 1/2 your hdb property upon their selfCAUSED ^SEPARTIONs^/void from such marriage…
    cohabitin in singapoor is a TABOO words amon the single leftover singapoor splinters…they still THINK they hav market value even if they are already past their COEs entitlement…

    Reply
  3. why the obsession to be married in the first place?

    Reply
  4. agongkia 8 September 2011

    @cebuAhMeng
    moi problem is different,being harass by dragonchiobus..old/young/loaded/gentle,all got,offer to feed me for life in yellow river or rivervalley.Also dun mind I have concubines and stay together under one roof.They are not necessary after my money because they know I am a pokkai,chowlor,’bankclark’.They admit that they are after my behyongjun look and wanted me to help them make more babies that look like him.not for money..who is behyongjun?I oso dunno.Cebu got or not?
    dun think all dragon girls same same..

    Reply
  5. cesspool 8 September 2011

    ah tan 8 September 2011
    why the obsession to be married in the first place?

    _____________________________________________________

    1. Family is still considered the fundamental building blocks of Asian society

    2. Specifically in Singapore, when u marry & have kids, u must buy flat, need family car, pay for children education, family healthcare etc….in short, u need to work very hard to support the family. Would u have time to think or blog about politics then? Also, which suppliers of the services I mentioned above will benefit most?

    Reply
  6. Can’t deny there were a lot of bad press reports about dragon ladies fleezing some of our naive men, who think they could find real love in these foreign female golddiggers. Really wealthy or ordinary HDB dwelling men are all their prey.
    So to all Johnny boys out there, make sure you have the dough to play around them, else
    “mian tan”. Or suffer a big hole in your pocket, which could be very painful.

    Reply
  7. iVoteahMENG 8 September 2011

    ahtan asked why get married?
    the very same question i asked meself?
    1) you get to copulate when you are horney..you get to dig your pocket to feed her

    agongkias is lucky..he got to cohabit with a cinadragon @ budget valued better than hotel81

    me: suay unti beyon suayed..every1 i met my forehead hav the invisible log..mr lobert in town…
    invested so much in advanced hard currencies whether yuans or pesos..no picture no sound….

    Reply
  8. agongkia 8 September 2011

    @cebuAhMeng.
    moi oways lucky got call from cinadragon to ask moi claim $millions for luckdraws dat moi no tikam.but moi no interest.
    only like to make money from cinaragon with genuine services provided.involve with them just for their $ nia.moi not gigolo hor.cannot tell you wat service,special lobang.

    moi only interested in Kimchi aggassi,kaoshiung pinang sisze and bandung mina nia.

    Reply
  9. Good old ahMENG boy boy

    No one could beat you to get the message across straight to the point, with humour.
    Keep it up, without you ONLINE we would be bored to death.
    Dun forget to log onto this website when having fun in Cebu or Cebi, whatever.

    Reply
  10. Why men here want to get married to China or other girls from the region is beyond me. They are $40 to $100 a pop or shot, depending on the quality. They are available almost at every part of Singapore at almost anytime of the day. They are even several study mamas doing freelance in the afternoons, not to mention the various KTV girls and so called “students”. The government has attracted so much such foriegn talent that one has to be grateful to them

    Reply
  11. I wonder now a day the faithful are still there for husband and wife.

    It seems that more and more China people are emerging in Singapore, everywhere we go we can see them in all areas.

    Many are also here as someone’s wife, and wonder are these marriages for real or just for materialism only!

    Singapore govt should consider on this matter, to avoid hit and run China Wifes!

    Reply
  12. iVOTEahMENG 8 September 2011

    popcorn 8 September 2011
    Good old ahMENG boy boy

    No one could beat you to get the message across straight to the point, with humour.
    Dun forget to log onto this website when having fun in Cebu or Cebi, whatever.
    …………….
    bought the asuslatest touchpad lioa as good as apple ipac 2
    will be loggin in from cebu without a doubt…24/7
    if only toc alloed me to link my chiobus pinoy lass..agongkia also 1st 2 chionsiau…

    Reply
  13. agongkia 8 September 2011

    @poppy
    local one harder to find .
    @Allien
    Not only China,many overlook there is a place call Watlum,I know of some Watlum cases.This one dun playplay .But wat to do? local wife hard to find.
    That is why ahMeng must go Cebu.Not only can have one,can have more.Some more can afford to pass excess to me.Very kind of him,no need angpow.
    But he dun know I die die 1st to reserve myself for local nia.

    Reply
  14. Nelson Young 8 September 2011

    You assume that pre-numptial agreements will alleviate the issues of divorces and ‘money-marriages’.

    It would probably worsen the situation by reducing the value and perception of marriage to that of contract. Why get married then?

    Reply
  15. People will get divorced anyway. Prenups won’t increase or decrease numbers. But it will reduce legal fees and prevent money grubbers from thinking they can profit from marriage.

    Reply
  16. iVOTEahMENG 8 September 2011

    Nelson Young8 September 2011

    It would probably worsen the situation by reducing the value and perception of marriage to that of contract. Why get married then?
    …………………
    there are many many single men in their 30s hav horny redhead penises that think better than their brainwaves…
    they can no longer devirginised or bed local lass as ez as abc…
    so in order to copulate..
    1) via visitin geylarg..most of them feel shy
    2) usin a lux soap is not a good alternatives
    3) die die must chionged a foreign brides..much to the disppointment to their parents dream of a local virgin xinneos…

    take ahTIN as a livin xmaple..ow ole is she? compared to her hubby who worked in the primeister office
    you get the answers…

    Reply
  17. Inevitable. Do marriages that require pre-nups have to happen in Singapore? If marriage are registered outside Singapore, would that location’s laws apply instead.

    If that is the trend/reality, then it may merely lead to more overseas marriages. Might be a lot cheaper considering how much wedding dinners cost these days.

    Reply
  18. iVOTEahMENG 9 September 2011

    lim9 September 2011
    Inevitable. Do marriages that require pre-nups have to happen in Singapore? If marriage are registered outside Singapore, would that location’s laws apply instead.
    ………………..
    there was onced a british marriage case
    a rich indonesian with singapoor passporte married 1 angmor big naynay chiobus
    marriage didn’t last…. hav 2 kids
    indonesian with singapoor passporte charbot to singapoor to evade heavy monthly maintainance fees…
    ang mor divorrcee came to singapoor high court to reopen the divorced claims…
    guess what? the singapoor high court awards/uphold the british laws as usual..
    foreigners always win whatever the case may be

    Reply
  19. tealight 9 September 2011

    Lim, if the marriage is governed by a non Singaporean jurisdiction and that particular jurisdiction recognises pre nups, Singapore courts will apply that law (as opposed to Singapore law) and recognise that prenup

    Reply
  20. Go PRe-nup SG! :))

    Reply
  21. Singaporean men talk pre-nup pre-nup all day long. But they don’t even know what exactly is a pre-nup and how it helps or destroy your life. Talk chicken.. sing song Singaporean men numba one !!

    Reply