Top Lawyer Singapore

A good Criminal Defence Lawyer will help you safely navigate your case from the time of arrest, investigation and throughout Court proceedings by identifying and choosing the best approach for your case depending on the strengths and weaknesses of the case and your objectives. He will aim to argue that the Prosecution’s allegations against you are untrue, unsubstantiated or cannot be proven beyond reasonable doubt in Court He should also be able to tactfully and effectively communicate and correspond with the authorities Prosecution via letter of appeals and representations or in-person discussions to clarify, explain and negotiate closing of your case with only a warning and no further action or prosecution in Court, or a reduction of the offence or sentence.

Many couples getting ready for a Divorce find that having a Deed of Separation is useful because it helps them avoid further disagreements and disputes leading up to the Divorce by specifying their exact rights and responsibilities after the relationship has broken down, and especially if their situation involves the following:

• You want to avoid a heavily dispute and expensive Contested Divorce
• You want to end the relationship but are not prepared to officially file for Divorce yet for personal, cultural or religious reasons
• You’re waiting to get a Divorce later only when your young children have grown up
• You and your spouse want to start separate lives but cannot get a Divorce yet because you’ve been married for less than 3 years
• You only want to get a Divorce later after you’ve fulfilled the minimum occupancy period for your HDB flat

Another advantage of having a Deed of Separation is that the terms that have been discussed and agreed upon can be replicated and used during the actual Divorce proceedings later i.e. whatever you and your spouse have agreed on in the Deed of Separation can be reflected in your Divorce in terms of ancillary matters (e.g. how to divide matrimonial assets, how much spousal or child maintenance must be paid and how child custody rights will be allocated) and this will help you save time, effort and costs by avoiding further disagreements and disputes.

The child’s best interest is the most important factor that the Court will consider when making any child custody-related decision. The Court doesn’t only focus on which parent can provide greater financial support or a higher standard of living and it will also assess which decision or arrangement would provide the best environment and future for your child and his welfare and wellbeing from a holistic standpoint. This means that the Court doesn’t simply give more rights to the parent who is in a stronger financial position, and it doesn’t only prioritise the parents’ preferences over the welfare and wellbeing of the child.

Child custody doesn’t only cover physical custody of the children, and it actually involves giving parents the authority to make major decisions in the child’s life e.g. changing names, choosing schools, undergoing medical procedures and decisions relating to religion and relocation to another country. Care and control orders give a parent the right to have the child live with them on a daily basis and the responsibility to handle his day-to-day affairs e.g. school and education, food and living arrangements. Access and visitation rights will be given to the parent who doesn’t have care and control of the child.

Every business owner must understand their legal rights to know how to handle and negotiate business contracts. That’s because every company starting out its business operations will encounter legal issues in many different types of general business contracts covering a wide range of matters e.g. agreements that structure and organise your business, contracts govern relationships among founders and investors as well as agreements that specify rights and responsibilities amongst third party stakeholders, suppliers and customers for general business matters.

For example, a partnership agreement will state the relationship between business partners and their respective rights and responsibilities. An indemnity agreement or clause will protect or limit your exposure to liability by transferring risk of loss and damage to another party e.g. getting your customer to indemnify you against any lawsuits or damages if he suffers financial loss or damage while using your product. A property or equipment leasing agreement will define key terms for the rental such as the monthly payment, deposits, terms, maintenance agreements, how the agreement can be terminated and what happens if the terms are breached.

If you have a dispute with your customers, suppliers, business partners or competitors, it’s important to first get legal advice to find out what your legal rights and options are, whether the prospects of a successful claim are good and what the consequences of an unsuccessful claim. This will help you make an informed decision and choose whether to proceed with civil litigation or instead to try to resolve the dispute through negotiation, mediation or other alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods.

Resolving the dispute through settlement can save you from spending more time and legal costs compared to Court litigation. However, sometimes civil litigation is necessary because you need a specific outcome urgently. For example, if you need to quickly stop a third party from engaging in a particular behaviour (such as using your trademark without your permission) and don’t have time to negotiate, then you’ll need to apply to the Court for an injunction which will still allow you to negotiate a settlement concurrently after the injunction has been granted.

This is what you need to know about your legal rights are during the investigation process:

1. A Police officer will interview and record a statement in English from you.
2. You can talk in the language or dialect you’re most comfortable with.
3. An interpreter will be arranged if you don’t understand the interviewer.
4. You must check that the statement is completely accurate before you sign it.
5. You can amend the statement if you need.
6. You won’t be given a copy of the statement.
7. You won’t be given the opportunity to talk to your Singapore lawyer before the interview and your Singapore lawyer won’t be allowed to accompany you during the interview.
8. You must tell the truth during the interview. Otherwise, you can be prosecuted for giving false information or lying.
9. If you’re accused of having carried out an offence, you must give your full explanation early, otherwise, it can be viewed as being less believable if you only mention it much later.
10. But remember, regardless of what the interviewer can tell you, you must not admit that you’ve carried out the offence. This is your legal right.

If you decide to plead guilty, you’ll be given the opportunity to tell the Judge of any mitigating factors which you have and the Judge to impose a sentence against you (e.g. to pay a fine or serve a period of imprisonment).

If you decide to claim trial, a separate Court hearing (known as a trial) will take place where the Judge will take into account the evidence presented and arrive at a decision as to whether the Prosecution has succeeded in showing your guilt.

• If the Prosecution succeeds in showing its case against you and that you carried out the offence alleged, the Judge will convict you of the charge and impose a sentence against you.
• If the Prosecution fails in showing its case against you and that you carried out the offence alleged, the Judge will acquit you of the charge.

If you’ve been convicted of the charge, you’ll be given the opportunity to tell the Judge of any mitigating factors which you have.

The Judge will then take into account your mitigation plea before imposing a sentence against you.

After a decision on the conviction and sentence is made by the Judge, either you or the Prosecution can make an appeal to a higher Court (e.g. the High Court) in these situations:

• If you’re sentenced after having pleaded guilty and are not satisfied with the Judge’s decision, you can make an appeal against the sentence imposed
  • You can make an appeal against sentence if you feel that it was manifestly excessive or not supported by the facts or the law.
  • The Prosecution can make an appeal against the sentence if it feels that it was manifestly inadequate or not supported by the facts or the law.
• If you’re convicted and sentenced after having claimed trial and you’re not satisfied with the Judge’s decisions, you can make an appeal to the High Court against the conviction and sentence.
• If you’re acquitted after having claimed trial, the Prosecution can make an appeal to the High Court against the acquittal.

• You need to submit the official application for an appeal within 10 days from the date of conviction or sentence.
• After an appeal is filed, a separate Court hearing will take place for the Court to take into account if the reasons in support of the appeal are of merit and deserving of the appeal being given.

Civil litigation is the official legal proceedings in Court which take place if the legal challenge relates to a civil case and if the case involves your private rights and liabilities

If you’re involved in a civil case and seeking to fix an undesirable situation, you can start civil litigation proceedings to pursue a civil claim against the wrongful party.

A civil claim is started by either you or a company and organisation with its own separate legal identity.

An individual can either represent himself or conduct his own case in a civil claim or appoint a Singapore lawyer to represent you in the proceedings.

However, a company can only pursue or defend a civil claim through a Singapore lawyer.

The same rules and guidelines will apply to regardless of if the case is being conducted by a Singapore lawyer or a party who is representing himself.

A civil case or civil action is started by preparing and submitting written documents according to a set of rules and guidelines managed by the Court.

The same rules and guidelines state will apply regardless of if the case is conducted by a Singapore lawyer or a party who is representing himself.

A civil case is started in 2 ways:

• By submitting a document known as a Writ of Summons
  • This method is typically used when the case involves numerous and significant disputes regarding the facts of the case
  • The Writ of Summons must typically say the key information regarding the claim, such as:
    • Cause of action: this is the basis and reason for the claim.
    • Remedies: these are the types and form of redress or corrective action which you’re seeking to get if you succeed in the claim.
    • This information is usually stated in a separate document known as the Statement of Claim.
  • It is more common for cases to be started by a Writ of Summons than by an Originating Summons.
• By submitting a document known as an Originating Summons:
  • This route is typically used when the case involves a specific application or request being made to the Court to decide on how a particular document must be interpreted.
  • Some laws also say that a case must be started through an Originating Summons.

In Singapore, the Husband has legal responsibility and duty to maintain or contribute to the Maintenance of Wife or ex-Wife (e.g. reasonable cost of accommodation, clothing, food and education).

The Husband’s duty to maintain his ex-Wife will typically close when she remarries or when he is deceased (whichever takes place earlier).

The Court will decide the amount of Maintenance to be paid looking at these factors:

• Financial needs of the Wife.
• Income, earning capacity, property and other financial resources of both the Wife and Husband.
• Any physical or mental disability of the Wife.
• Age of each party and the duration of the marriage.
• Contributions made by each of the parties to the marriage to the welfare of the family, including any contribution made by looking after the home or caring for the family.
• Standard of living enjoyed by the Wife before the Husband neglected or refused to give reasonable Maintenance for the Wife.
• Any value and benefit which one party would stand to lose as a result of the Divorce (e.g. pension)
• Conduct of the parties.

In determining the amount of Maintenance to be paid by the Husband, the Court typically aims to place the Husband and Wife in the financial position in which they would have if the marriage had not broken down.

This is because the general aim of requiring a former Husband to maintain his former Wife is to even out any financial inequalities between the spouses and, if you need, take into account any economic prejudice suffered by the former Wife during the marriage (e.g. a Wife suffered financial loss because she has sacrificed her career or lost out in her earning capacity to look after the family).

A Court will only grant your application for a Divorce if you can show that there is an “Irretrievable Breakdown” of your marriage.

The “Irretrievable Breakdown” of your marriage can be proven by showing at least one of these facts:

• Adultery: your spouse committed Adultery and you find it intolerable to live with your spouse.
• Unreasonable behaviour: your spouse behaved in such a way that you cannot reasonably be expected to live with you and her.
• Desertion: your spouse deserted you for a continuous period of at least 2 years before the Divorce.
• 3 years’ Separation with consent: you and spouse must have lived apart for a continuous period of at least 3 years before the Divorce and your spouse must agree to the Divorce.
• 4 years’ Separation without consent: you and spouse have lived apart for a continuous period of at least 4 years before the Divorce.

There are usually 5 types of business structures you can choose from if you’re starting a new business for profit:

• Sole proprietorship
• General Partnership
• Limited Partnership (LP)
• Limited Liability Company (LLC)
• Limited Liability Partnership (LLP)

To choose which business structure is most suitable for you, you’ll need to take into account these factors:

• How much money you’re prepared to invest?
• How many other partners and owners there will be in the business?
• What debts, liabilities and responsibilities you’re prepared to assume?
• What risks you’re prepared to accept and take on?
• Whether a company of that structure will be easy to close when you stop operating the business?

Some of the main features of a Private Limited Company include these: –

• Denoted by the “Pte Ltd” or “Ltd” suffix after the company’s name, this is the most common type of LLC.
• The company’s shares are held by a maximum of 50 shareholders and the shares are not made available to the general public.
• This type of business structure is often chosen by business owners because of these advantages:
  • It has a separate and distinct legal identity from that of its owners or members.
  • It has limited liability up to the amount of its share capital raised.
  • It has perpetual succession which allows it to easily transfer shares and ownership
  • It is usually regarded as being more stable and qualifies for most, if not all, financial support, grants or incentive schemes given by financial institutions and the authorities.