TD - there are 5 reasons under which you can file for a divorce. a)infidelity (eg : extra marital affair) b)unreasonable behaviour by 1 party c)extreme hardship suffered by 1 party (eg:abuse) d)living apart for 3 yrs whereby both parties consent to the divorce f)missing personnel for 2 yrs whereby only 1 party needs to consent to the divorce
if you are filing for divorce under reason of incompatibility, than you can only file after you can prove that you guys have live apart for 3yrs. pls note that living apart in different countries is not considered as living apart. here living apart refers to not in emotional contact. thus, if you guys have not fulfilled this 3yr criteria, all that you could do now is to file for separation and its only 3 yrs aftre filing that you can file for a divorce. pls note that separation does not equate divorce. separation papers is just a safeguard for both parties that you will not be living together as husband and wife and both parties is not supposed to interfere with the other's life. but status wise, you are still 'married'.
flat wise, whatever that she contributes will go back to her. howwver, to make things easler, most ppl will opt to have a percentage attached in the separation papers. eg: 60% to the hubby and 40% to the wife. pls note also that hdb flat can only be sold off on matrurity - 5 yrs! meaning if you do not meet this, you can only sell it back to hdb and not in the open market. when you sell it to hdb, you can only sell it off at either a)the old px in which you bought b)90%market value, whichever is lower. meaning you will NEVER make a profit in this case.
NO , you don;t have to pay her maintenance if shes not asking for it. everything here is actually base on both of your agreement. however, if she asked for maintenance, there's no way in which you can escape a minimal amt awarded by court should there be a dispute.
separtation pprs can range from 200 - 1500, dependent on which law firm you use and which lawyer you use. divorce will cost you another 4000. (estimation. dependent on the law firm you use too!)
i have not gone thru this but my whole family conprise of law enforcing personnel. hehehehe...my sis and bro and dad. hopefully i am right. sometimes, i think i should have taken up law instead....
despite all that i have said, do think twice about getting the divorce. i always think that men are forgetful creatures. you forget the times when you were so in love with your gf (now wife), you forgot the times when you so wanted to marry her, you forgot the times when she went thru high and lows with you....