Under Singapore bankruptcy law, when a person is adjudged bankrupt, any disposition of property made by him from the date of the bankruptcy application is void unless the court consents to or ratifies the disposition. However, will the court ratify the disposition of assets made pursuant to an order for division of assets in divorce proceedings, and in what circumstances will it do so? These were the issues considered in the Singapore High Court case of Ong Dan Tze Magdalene v Chee Yoh Chuang & Anor [2021] SGHC 129.
The Court here declined to ratify the disposition of certain properties made pursuant to consent orders obtained in divorce proceedings between the bankrupt and his wife, finding that the alleged disposition did not fall within the scope of the ratification provisions, and that the applicant had not acted in good faith. The Court’s decision highlights the interaction between the bankruptcy regime and the family law regime and how the bankruptcy regime may accommodate certain orders in family proceedings.
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