Official Assignee, Official Receiver, Licensing Officer, Public Trustee, Registrar of Moneylenders, Registrar of Pawnbrokers
<< Establishing the new Maintenance Enforcement Division>> On 8 May 2023, Parliament passed the Family Justice Reform Bill. When this Bill becomes law, it will, among other things, amend the Women’s Charter 1961 to introduce a new Maintenance Enforcement Process (“MEP”). The MEP aims to address challenges faced by families in enforcing maintenance arrears. These challenges include the limited means of obtaining information about parties’ assets, which makes it difficult to distinguish between respondents who refuse to pay maintenance and those who genuinely cannot pay. The lack of information about the respondent’s assets also limits the Court’s ability to make targeted orders. To give effect to the MEP, the Ministry of Law, Singapore has set up a new unit called the Maintenance Enforcement Division (“MED”), within the Insolvency and Public Trustee’s Office (“IPTO”). Officers in the MED will be called Maintenance Enforcement Officers (“MEOs”). They will be empowered to assist the Court by conducting fact-finding on parties’ financial circumstances to identify ‘won’t pay’ and ‘can’t pay’ respondents. This aspect of MEOs’ work will actually share some common features with the work of IPTO’s officers who look into assets in bankruptcy matters! To help parties reach a sustainable outcome when maintenance enforcement applications are filed in future under the MEP, MEOs will also conduct conciliation sessions to facilitate an agreement between parties and recommend practical solutions to them. For respondents who cannot pay maintenance, MEOs may refer them for financial assistance so that they can receive more help. If you are interested in becoming a MEO, or know of someone who would be interested in becoming one, to help families in need, do check out the post below.
Passionate about helping families going through difficult disputes? Do you think you have what it takes to help such families reach a common ground? You may have heard that under the new Maintenance Enforcement Process (MEP), a new unit of Maintenance Enforcement Officers (MEOs) will be set up to help families come up with amicable and practical solutions when they have conflicts over outstanding maintenance arrears. We are looking for individuals with strong people skills and a head for problem solving to join our team at MinLaw. Watch the video to learn more about the new MEP process as well as the role of MEOs in our family justice system. We look forward to speaking to you soon! Apply now: https://lnkd.in/g4BedHwx
Assistant General Manager, SSA
8moGreat news!