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FJC
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Top 5 Most Popular FAQs Family Protection and Support
1.	What are the procedures involved? I. Making an Application for a Personal Protection Order (PPO) a. Complaint Writing You can apply via iFAMS or go to the Family Protection Centre of the Family Courts to apply for the order(s). Please bring your identity card, police or medical reports and previous court orders, if any. A Court Family Specialist or a Court Interpreter will assist you with your application. The filing fee for the complaint is $1. The Court Family Specialist can link you with a social service agency for assistance or shelter if necessary. b. Affirmation After you have completed the application form, you will be brought before a Judge to affirm or swear your complaint. The Judge may ask you some questions before issuing summons and /or an Expedited Order (EO). c. Return Date After affirmation, you will be brought back to the Family Protection Centre. There, you will be given a date to return to the Family Courts for the mention of your case in Court. d. Issuance of Summons to Respondent A process server from the Family Courts will serve the summons on the Respondent. You do not need to accompany the process server. The attempt of service of the summons and EO will be usually served on the Respondent within 24 hours of your complaint. However, if your case is registered after 10am on a Saturday, the attempt of service of the summons and/or EO will only be carried out on the next working day. For ordinary summons, i.e. without an EO, the summons will usually be served within a week from the date of the complaint. e. Withdrawal If you wish to withdraw your application after summons is served, you may only do so when your case is mentioned in Court. II. Mention in Court On the day that your case is to be mentioned in Court, please report to Family Court 1 at Level 1 of the Family Justice Courts building, located at No. 3 Havelock Square, and wait for your name to be called. If you do not appear within half an hour from the given time, your complaint will be truck off and the case closed. If the Respondent does not attend Court on the given date and time, a warrant for his arrest will be issued on the same day. After the warrant is executed on the Respondent, you will be notified of the next case to be mentioned. When both parties are present and the Respondent admits to the complaint and consents to a PPO, the Judge will make a PPO. If not, the Judge may direct that both parties attend a counselling session on the same day or give both parties an appointment to see a Court Counsellor on another date. If the Judge does not direct counselling, the Judge will direct parties to prepare 3 sets of their required documents such as medical reports and photographs for the injuries. At the counselling session, the Court Family Specialist will discuss the complaint with you and the Respondent. The Court Family Specialist will also assist you and the Respondent to see the effects of violence, alternatives to violence and address other issues in your relationship. You may also be referred to a social service centre for assistance. At the end of the counselling session, you will be brought to see the Judge. Depending on the outcome of the counselling session, protection orders can be made if Respondent now consents to PPO or the case can be fixed for hearing if otherwise. The next court date will be written in the appointment slip. - Mandatory Counselling (CGO) Apart from the orders you have applied, you, the Respondent, and your children can also be ordered to attend mandatory counselling. You and/ or the Respondent will assigned to a social service agency administered by the Ministry of Social & Family Development (MSF). The Court will fix a review date in about six months time to review the progress of the counselling. III. Court Trial You may engage a lawyer to represent you at the hearing. If you are unable to afford a lawyer, you can seek assistance from the Legal Aid Bureau. However, before deciding whether you need a lawyer, you can approach the Community Justice Centre (CJC) located at Level 3 of the Family Justice Courts building for more information. Alternatively, if you wish to seek free legal advice, you may apply for CJC's legal clinic at Level 1 of the State Courts building. On the day of the hearing, you should bring the required documents that has been submitted and exchanged at the mentions session and to bring the witness(es). that you have informed the mentions Court that you will be calling as a witness. The hearing judge may not allow your additional witnesses to testify if you have not informed the mentions Court of the witnesses that you wish to call.
2.	What kind of Court documents should I file? In order to be appointed as a Deputy, you must file the following documents: Originating Summons (Form 217 of the Practice Directions) Supporting Affidavit (Form 218 of the Practice Directions) Doctor's Affidavit and Medical Report (Form 224 of the Practice Directions) In the Originating Summons (Form 217 of the Practice Directions), you will need to state clearly what sort of powers you are seeking. The Doctor's Medical Report must be current and dated not more than 6 months before the date of your application to the Court. If there are Relevant Persons who have consented to your application, you must file their Consents (Form 221 of the Practice Directions). If there are Successor Deputies (i.e. persons who will take over as Deputy in the event that the appointed Deputy si no longer able to serve as Deputy) named in your application, then you must file the Successor Deputies' Affidavits (Form 220 of the Practice Directions). Please note that the Court may require further information from you and direct that you file a Supplementary Affidavit. The documents are to be filed using the electronic filing service located at the Lawnet and Crimsonlogic Service Bureau at 133 New Bridge Road, Chinatown Point, #19-01/02, Singapore 059413.
3.	What is Probate and Administration? When a loved one has passed away leaving behind property, such property (collectively known as "the Deceased's estate") must be administered and distributed in accordance with the law. A person has to be appointed by the Court as an executor or administrator before he or she can administer the estate. If you intend to administer the Deceased's estate, you will have to apply for a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration in order to be legally recognised as the executor or administrator of the Deceased's estate as the case may be.
4.	Who can apply for a personal protection order? A family member can apply for a personal protection order (PPO). A family member can be: A spouse or an ex-spouse; A child, including an adopted child or a step child; Parents; In-laws; Siblings; and Any other relative or incapacitated person who can be regarded as a family member by the Courts.
5.	What documents do I need to bring to commence the adoption proceedings? I. Originating Summons for Adoption ("OSA"), see Form 37 of Appendix A of the Family Justice Court Practice Directions (“PD”); II. Adoption Statement ("AS"), see Form 38 of Appendix A of the PD; III. Affidavit verifying and exhibiting the auto-generated AS (to be filed together with the OSA and AS); IV. Birth Certificate of the child (to be submitted to court with cover letter in Form 210 of Appendix A of the PD at least 7 clear days before hearing to appoint the Guardian in Adoption; V. Consent see Form 39 of Appendix A of the PD or Dispensation of Consent on the relevant persons, see paragraph 29(1) of the PD; and VI. Application for dispensation of or substituted service of OSA and other documents (if applicable). This is filed as one of the prayers in the OSA and not by way of a separate summons, see paragraph 29 of the PD.