How typical divorce proceedings differ from that of Wang Leehom's saga

In December last year, Wang Leehom announced that he and Lee Jinglei had filed for divorce.

Word quickly spread that the split was because the singer's mother and Lee couldn't get along, but Lee penned an open letter detailing disturbing aspects of Wang's personality and his role as a husband.

Chief among the claims was that he is an absent parent and had continued with his playboy ways despite being married.

At some point, Wang's father reached out to Apple Daily TW with a handwritten letter to give his version of the events, and Lee responded by saying that she could not believe that the older man had to "lie" for his son.

She also revealed that her ex-husband had tried to get her to retract her previous statement by bribing her with the house she and their kids are currently living in. Wang hit back by claiming that he had lived in fear of extortion and threats during their time together.

Suffice it to say, the divorce has not only been very public, but also very acrimonious. Ivan Cheong and Shaun Ho, family lawyers from Withers KhattarWong, tell us about the ways in which typical divorce proceedings are usually carried out.

Divorce proceedings are private

It is understandable that Wang and Lee felt a need to announce their divorce to the general public. While Wang's announcement may have been made hastily because the divorce was leaked by a Taiwanese magazine, it started a nasty war of words between the former spouses and their respective camps.

Divorces in Singapore are generally not made public. Under the Family Justice Rules 2014, all documents filed in divorce proceedings are confidential. Third parties do not have the power to inspect case files and retrieve Court documents.

All hearings and trials are also held "in camera", meaning that third parties are, unlike most other Court proceedings, not allowed to attend and witness the proceedings unless permission of the Court is granted.

Whilst the parties themselves remain free to disclose the divorce proceedings, it is generally inadvisable to publicise one's own divorce proceedings.

This is because public disclosure of the divorce may be regarded by the Court as a means of illegitimately placing pressure on the other party, and could result in an adverse finding.

If the parties are in the midst of negotiating an amicable settlement, an unwelcome public disclosure of the negotiations may also dampen the mood for amicable negotiations.

Finally, if the public announcement contains untruths or misrepresentations, an aggrieved party could seek an injunction and damages under the Protection from Harassment Act.

As for parties for whom an announcement is necessary (e.g. public figures or celebrities), such announcements should be discussed with the other side before being published.

Such discussions should pertain to the timing of the announcement, the content of the announcement, the media in which the announcement is made, and (especially) whether such an announcement should even be made.

READ ALSO: 'Stop hurting others': Li Jinglei hits back after Wang Leehom files court motion against her

Settlements are also private

In the course of the exchange of allegations between the parties, Wang and Lee both made representations as to what Lee would be receiving post-divorce. In Lee's case, she included a screenshot of a legal document to support her allegations.

Documents filed in divorce proceedings in Singapore are confidential. Whilst this does not stop the parties from sharing with third parties the outcome in their cases without sharing the Court documents themselves, it remains generally inadvisable to publicly share such information.

Parties that require greater assurance of the confidentiality and privacy of their settlements can and should enter into a separate Deed (often called Postnuptial Deeds or Agreements) to record their agreement.

Such a Deed should contain privacy and non-disclosure clauses to specifically protect the terms of the agreement from disclosure, and to provide for relief in the event of a breach.

The grounds for divorce does not affect the outcome in the division of assets

In early 2022, an anonymous person wrote a short post on Weibo refuting on Wang's behalf some of the allegations made by Lee.

In the course of this post, the person highlighted that if Lee had proof that Wang was involved in extra-marital relationships, she would have received more of his assets. If the divorce had taken place in Singapore instead, this would not have been the case.

In Singapore, the ancillary matters (i.e. issues pertaining to the parties' finances and their children) are decided without reference to the reason for the divorce.

In determining the division of assets, in particular, the Court looks at the parties' contributions to the marriage - not the reasons for the divorce. The grounds for the divorce are thus irrelevant per se to the ancillary matters.

While it is possible that a party might attempt to argue that the other party's infidelities affected his/her ability to contribute during the marriage, such a line of argument is often difficult to substantiate and prove.

At the end of the day, the Court's power to divide the matrimonial assets is very broad and based on what would be seen to be a fair division having regards to the facts of the case.

READ ALSO: Wang Leehom is taking his estranged wife Li Jinglei to court in custody feud

Friends and family of the couple are generally not involved in the divorce proceedings

In the course of the mud-slinging between Wang and Lee, many other celebrities and family members became involved.

Whilst this happens, divorce proceedings do not necessarily need to involve third parties, and whilst parties may be tempted to get friends and family to write testimonials on their behalf, this is rarely advisable.

The Court is sufficiently well-equipped to make the decision on the divorce and ancillary matters without involving third parties in the matter.

In most ancillary matters hearings, the Court does not even make reference to the third party evidence. Indeed, the vast majority of cases are determined without third parties being involved.

It is, however, not possible to prevent the opposing party from calling third party witnesses.

When this happens, the party on the receiving end will need to consult with his/her legal advisers to determine whether the third-party evidence is material and needs to be rebutted, or whether it can safely be ignored as being part of an unwise legal strategy.

It is inadvisable to stop working post-divorce

After the exchange of words in December 2021, Wang announced that he will stop working temporarily to step away from the spotlight.

Whilst Wang may have the means to do so (and to pay Lee a huge amount in spousal maintenance in the meantime), it is generally inadvisable for parties to stop working post-divorce.

For parties that have children and who both work, they both need to continue to contribute to the children's expenses post-divorce. Such contributions will need to continue even if either of them decides to stop working post-divorce.

The Court will not allow a party to shirk his / her responsibility to the children and voluntarily stop working post-divorce. If a party wants to take time off work to recover post-divorce, he/she will need to do it on his / her own dime.

For parties who do not have children, it will be easier to stop working to focus on self-care post- divorce. They will still, however, need to do this at their own expense and cannot turn to their ex-spouse for financial support in the meantime.

This article was first published in Her World Online.