Take practical steps to protect your money while a separation is going on.
Separation is often messy and slow, but the money side of it can change overnight. A card can stop working, a balance can drop, or a bill can go unpaid because each of you thought the other had paid it. The steps below help you see what you share, keep access to your records, and protect your credit record while everything else is worked out. None of this is legal advice. Several steps depend on timing that only a lawyer who knows your case can judge, and those steps are marked where they come up.
Joanne is separating from Kelvin. In the week Kelvin moves out, the credit card she has used for years is declined at the supermarket checkout. It turns out to be a supplementary card, issued on Kelvin's account with him as the main cardholder, and he has cancelled it. That evening she logs in to their joint savings account and sees it is S$8,000 lower than the month before (an example figure, and Joanne and Kelvin are invented too). She does not know whether Kelvin moved the money to pay bills, to protect it, or for another reason. She also does not know what she is allowed to do in response.
Your first step is to list every financial product that links you and your partner. Look for:
joint bank accounts credit cards where one of you is the main cardholder and the other holds a supplementary card joint loans, such as a home loan, renovation loan or car loan any account where one of you is guarantor for the other
Next to each product, write down who is liable. Lesson 2.2, "How joint accounts work, and what to check with your bank", explains that on many joint accounts each holder may be liable for an overdraft or linked credit, and either holder may be able to withdraw the whole balance. On a joint loan, each borrower is generally responsible for the full repayment if the other stops paying. On a credit card, the main cardholder is usually liable for spending on supplementary cards and can cancel them. Once every product has a name against it, you can see where you are exposed.
When Joanne maps their products, she finds that she has no credit card of her own. She also finds that she is jointly liable for the home loan, which Kelvin has been paying from his salary. She confirms with the bank that this month's home loan payment went through, applies for a credit card in her own name, and writes down every joint product she can find.
Gather copies of documents while you can still reach them, because access can change quickly once separation begins. These are also the documents a lawyer asks for first. Copy bank statements for every account, joint and sole, going back as far as possible. Also copy your CPF statements and any shared CPF records, property documents for the purchase and the loan, insurance policies and their nominations, payslips, tax assessments and investment records. Store the copies where only you can reach them, such as a personal email account or a cloud folder with a password your partner does not know. Lesson 8.4 turns this step into a checklist.
Passwords take less work. If your partner knows the passwords to your email, banking apps, Singpass or phone, change them. Turn on two-factor authentication and keep every one-time code to yourself.
After you separate, some arrangements may no longer reflect what you want. Your CPF nomination may still name your spouse. As lesson 7.2 explains, separation or divorce does not cancel a CPF nomination automatically. Your insurance policies may name your spouse as nominee, and a will, if you have one, may leave everything to your spouse.
When you should change these, and sometimes whether you can change them at all, depends on your situation. For example, a trust nomination on an insurance policy cannot be changed without the consent of the trustee or the nominees. Get legal advice on when and how to update your nominations and your will.
Be careful about moving money too. Moving large sums out of a joint account, or putting assets out of reach, can count against you in the division of assets and can make the process harder. Ask a lawyer before you move any money that might be a matrimonial asset.
Joint debts are often missed after a separation. Each person assumes the other is paying, or one stops paying out of anger. The lender does not care about the separation. If you are liable for a joint loan and a payment is missed, the missed payment can go on your credit record as well as your partner's, and late fees and interest build up.
For any debt you are liable for, make sure every payment is made on time, even if that means paying more than your share for a while. You can settle the difference later through your lawyer. To see what is recorded against you, get your own credit report from Credit Bureau Singapore. The course "Credit and debt: scores, cards, loans and BNPL" explains how to read it.
Now make the same list for yourself: every financial product you share with your partner, and who is liable for each one. It is worth doing even if your relationship is fine, because most people cannot name every product they share with their partner.
List every account, card and loan you hold jointly with your partner, and write who is liable for each one.
Junxiong-WFG Organisation is an authorised representative of AIA Financial Advisers Private Limited (Reg. No. 201715016G).