Divorce Unreasonable Behaviour Time Limit in Singapore

Share this on WhatsApp

From time to time, I receive questions on divorce unreasonable behaviour time limit. Essentially, my clients want to know if there is a time limit to file their divorce if they intend to rely on the unreasonable behaviour of their spouse.

Divorce Unreasonable Behaviour Time Limit

Under the Women’s Charter, to rely on the fact of your spouse’s unreasonable behaviour, you should not be living with your spouse for more than 6 months after the final incident of unreasonable behaviour.

See: Section 95(6) of the Women’s Charter Singapore

Example to Illustrate Divorce Unreasonable Behaviour Time Limit

One common example of unreasonable behaviour in Singapore is “emotional affairs”. In such instances, your spouse may not have cheated physically, but he/ she has developed sexual/ romantic feelings for another person despite being married to you. According to a study, 45% of men and 35% of women have admitted to having some instances of emotional affair. One reason leading to this is because many people do not view emotional affairs as cheating.

See: Kristin Salaky, “The most insidious type of cheating isn’t physical- and it’s increasingly common”, INSIDER, 15 June 2017

Scenario 1- Divorce Unreasonable Behaviour Time Limit

Coming back to divorce unreasonable behaviour time limit.

Supposed your spouse was having an improper relationship with his/ her colleague.
You came to know about it.
Your spouse apologized and ended the improper relationship.
You decided to continue living with your spouse for more than 6 months.
In this case, you cannot use unreasonable behaviour (based on the improper relationship) to file for divorce in the future.

Scenario 2- Divorce Unreasonable Behaviour Time Limit

Supposed your spouse was having an improper relationship with his/ her colleague.
You came to know about it.
Your spouse apologized.
You decided to continue living with your spouse for more than 6 months.
After 6 months, you found out that your spouse continues to engage in the improper relationship.
In this case, you can use unreasonable behaviour (based on the improper relationship) to file for divorce.

Scenario 3- Divorce Unreasonable Behaviour Time Limit

Supposed your spouse was having an improper relationship with his/ her colleague.
You came to know about it.
Your spouse apologized.
You decided not to forgive your spouse and started leading separate lives from your sposue.
After 6 months, you decided to file for divorce based on your spouse’s unreasonable behaviour.
You can do so.

We hope you now have a better idea of divorce unreasonable behaviour time limit. To find out more, contact us today!