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[Editor's note, May 7, 5:57pm: A previous version of this article stated that the woman was seeking a higher amount of alimony. We have since amended our article to say that she was seeking child support instead, in order to better reflect the details of the case.]

A couple had ended up in court due to a tussle over the amount of child maintenance the ex-husband has to pay the ex-wife.

According to Shin Min Daily News (SMDN), the woman, who used to be a flight attendant, is from a wealthy family. Her father is supposedly a multimillionaire, and owns over S$3 million worth of private property.

On the other hand, her ex-husband, is a lawyer who is reportedly from a low-income family, and had to pay off his tuition loans while trying to pass the bar exam and get his lawyer's license.

SMDN reported that before they got married in 2016, she helped her ex-husband pay off his student loans. She also paid for all of their wedding expenses.

While her ex-husband had become a partner at a law firm, drawing a monthly salary of S$15,000, his debt goes up to as much as S$9,000 every month, SMDN reported.

Asked for S$6,500

But their marriage broke down a few years later.

Two months after the woman gave birth to a set of twins in June 2018, the couple had an argument, and she moved back to her father's residence together with their children.

After moving out, she then asked for child support from her ex-husband. While the couple applied for divorce after a year, her ex-husband paid her S$1,500 a month in the meantime.

However, although she received the money for six months straight, the payments reportedly stopped for five months, before continuing in December 2019.

She then requested her former husband to increase the child support to S$6,500 a month, as well as to make up for the amount that he failed to pay in the past.

But her request was rejected by the judge, prompting her to appeal the decision.

According to the woman, monthly expenses for their children run up to nearly S$10,000, which she said includes residence fees, transportation costs, as well as the cost of hiring a domestic helper.

She said as the children are currently attending a private school, they should not transfer to another school as they have already gotten used to their present school environment. Therefore, she requires a monthly payment of S$1,600 from the man to pay for the school fees.

Ex-husband thinks he should pay only S$940

Her ex-husband, however, disagrees with the child support amount, saying an appropriate figure should be S$940.

He explained that he had no idea that the twins were registered at a private school, saying that he only knew about it when he was going through the divorce. He added that he does not have the financial means to pay for their expensive private school tuition.

But the woman claimed that in the divorce agreement they signed back in 2018, her ex-husband had promised to pay at least S$3,900 a month.

This was refuted by the ex-husband, who denied that they had signed the agreement. He claimed that he couldn't pay the amount back then, and had only proposed the figure in a last-ditch attempt to save their marriage.

Claims she has to pay her father S$3,200 in rent

In addition, the woman claimed that her father had billed her S$3,200 for rent, and that she wants to move out of her father's mansion, which is the reason why she wants her ex-husband to share some of the financial burden of moving out.

However, he doubted the authenticity of the bill that her father had given her, and thought that she had forged the document in order to receive a greater amount of child maintenance.

The woman further added that as there are 10 people sharing the residence, it's not an ideal living arrangement that she wants.

She had also rejected her ex-husband's suggestion for her and their children to move back to their marriage home.

Argument over expenses

SMDN also reported that the ex-husband needs to pay off his loan of around S$2,000 every month, in addition to the amount he has to give his parents and handicapped brother, as well as the lease for his Mercedes Benz.

The woman, however, had argued that his luxury car is not a necessary expense, and said that he could drive a cheaper car instead. However, he claimed that he needs a car that can be fitted with booster seats for kids.

He added that there is only a S$400 difference in cost between his current car and the car that his ex-wife suggested for him to change to. He further said terminating his lease now would cost him S$36,000 in early termination fees, which he said is not reasonable.

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