Understanding the New Maintenance Enforcement Process under the new Family Justice Rules
Applications for enforcement of a court order have traditionally involved just the parties to the proceedings and the presiding judicial officer (and, in the family justice courts specifically, sometimes a counsellor/mediator as well). The new Maintenance Enforcement Process (“MEP”) features a novel addition – that is, the involvement of Maintenance Enforcement Officers (“MEOs”) sited in the Ministry of Law.
Without insight into a respondent’s true financial situation, it has often been difficult for the court to distinguish between respondents who are genuinely unable to afford payment and those who wilfully refuse to pay. To weed out the latter, MEOs are empowered to obtain information on the respondent’s assets and means from stipulated government agencies, banks and the Central Depository Pte Ltd. It is hoped that the objective financial information obtained will better assist the MEOs with facilitating discussions between parties and proposing practical solutions to achieve amicable and sustainable resolutions, as well as to refer those in genuine need to the relevant third parties for financial assistance.
Where parties are unable to reach an amicable settlement and the matter has to be adjudicated before the court, the MEO will apprise the court of the respondent’s financial information. The court must then make a Show-Payment Order (“𝗦𝗣𝗢”) that takes into account the respondent’s financial circumstances. The SPO will state the amount of arrears, order payment to be made in a lump sum or by instalments, order the respondent to show proof of payment, and specify an imprisonment term in the event of default.
The court may also make any of the following enforcement orders:
• Attachment of Earnings Order
• Attachment of Debt Order, which may attach to the debts owed by a third party to a respondent, or to the respondent’s property
• Banker’s Guarantee
• Financial counselling
• Community Service Order
• Warrant to Levy
Another main goal of the MEP is to deter wilful and repeated non-compliance with maintenance orders. After the period for payment under the SPO has ended, if the respondent defaults again under the maintenance order within 1 year from the date of the SPO, the applicant will simply need to file a fresh application for enforcement, which will then proceed immediately to a court hearing without parties having to adduce evidence afresh, where the court can issue another SPO and/or other enforcement orders.
The MEP will also allow for the streamlining of court processes. Whereas under the old regime, variation of a maintenance order and enforcement of a maintenance order required the filing of two separate and distinct court applications, the court is now empowered to order the variation of a maintenance order as part of the MEP proceedings without the need for a separate court application.
Phase 1 of the MEP came into operation on 16 January 2025 and presently applies only to cases of repeat maintenance enforcement, i.e., for applicants who are filing their second or more application for enforcement of a maintenance order.
The MEP will be expanded to more categories of maintenance enforcement in later phases to be announced by the Ministry of Law.