Our Approch on Divorce in Malaysia
and Dissolution of Marriage for Non-Muslims in Malaysia
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Unparalleled Strategy for Divorce in Malaysia
Areas of Expertise in Family Law
In Shang & Co. we approach divorce for residents in Malaysia with an unparalleled strategy, giving our client tactical advantages. We carefully implement strategies for our clients based on their backgrounds, financial history, and other factors to be determined by our partners.
Our award-winning lawyers understand that each client has different needs and goals when it comes to divorce. We achieve this through collaboration with prominent professionals in Malaysia or other jurisdictions to give our clients long-term financial benefits.
Types of Divorce in Malaysia for non-Muslim marriages
What is Mutual Divorce?
A mutual divorce is where both spouses agree to the divorce and to all the terms such as maintenance, children's issues, and assets. Both the spouses are to file a petition for divorce under s.52 of the Law Reform (Marriage & Divorce) Act 1976. As this divorce would be uncontested, hence there is no need for parties to find fault as to who and what caused the breakdown of the marriage. To read more about uncontested divorce, click here.
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What is Non-Mutual Divorce?
A non-mutual divorce is when both spouses failed to reach any consensus on the divorce and/or the terms such as maintenance, children issues, and assets. One of the spouses may initiate divorce under s.53 of the Law Reform (Marriage & Divorce) Act 1976 by stating who and what caused the marriage breakdown. The spouse who initiates divorce by filing a petition before his or her spouse is known as a Petitioner, while the other spouse is Respondent. This divorce petition may be an uncontested non-mutual divorce or contested divorce. See below.
Uncontested Non-Mutual Divorce
A non-mutual divorce is uncontested when the petitioner files a divorce unilaterally but the other spouse failed to attend or enter his/her appearance in defending the cause after the divorce petition is properly served upon him/her. This is usually because the spouse reluctant to defend the case or that he or she cannot be located by the Petitioner genuinely. To know more about uncontested non-mutual divorce, click here.
Contested Divorce
A divorce petition is contested when the Respondent enters his/her appearance to defend the Petition. The Respondent may file in a Cross-Petition together with an Answer to the Petition. Under a contested divorce, the Petition has to contain information such as who and what caused the breakdown of the marriage. A contested divorce is may range anytime from 9 months to few years depending on the complexity of the case and as to what is needed to be done to accommodate the spouse and/or children's needs or wants such as protection order, injunction, discovery and tracing, maintenance pending suit, etc. To know more about contested divorce, click here.
What Do You need to Know About Contested or Uncontested Divorce in Malaysia for Non-Muslim Marriages?
UNCONTESTED OR MUTUAL
DIVORCE
If you and your spouse have reached a consensus on all children's issues such as children's custody, care and control, maintenance and visitation rights, matrimonial assets division, and wife maintenance, then the divorce would be uncontested as there are no issues to be contested.
In Shang & Co. we are skilled in negotiating terms for our clients by taking into consideration our client's current and future financial position and plans.
If your spouse failed to respond to your petition, or that the marriage is dissolved on the ground of desertion and that he/she is nowhere to be found, then such divorce is also known as an uncontested divorce.
CONTESTED
DIVORCE
A divorce is contested when both spouses failed to reach a consensus on any of the terms in relation to children, wife maintenance, and/or assets division. This would mean that the divorce is a fault-based divorce.
A spouse may file a petition to dissolve a marriage only after satisfying the requirements and pre-requisite as set out by Law Reform (Marriage & Divorce) Act 1976.
Want to know more?
Read This
By: Dato Chris & Dato Fion
A complete hands-on guide with insights, procedures, and samples on family law practice to be used by judiciary, legal practitioners, students, or anyone who wants to know more about Malaysia family law.