The law firm you can trust
Ann Tan & Associates legal practice started in 1984.
The firm is headed by Dr. Anamah Tan, a renowned family lawyer and a skilled negotiator, who started practising since 1963.
Dr. Anamah Tan who was a founder and an outstanding women's rights activist, has close to 53 years of extensive experience in Family Law practice, as well as advancing the rights and status of women in Singapore and Internationally.
Ann Tan & Associates has expanded our pool of family lawyers from diverse ethnic backgrounds and experience, with the formidable leadership of Dr. Anamah Tan and our experienced team of dedicated and professional staff, we are able to better serve the needs of our clients.
Ann Tan & Associates pride ourselves in giving honest appraisal of the legal issues and offer realistic solutions to our clients as we understand and care for our clients.
The firm has been awarded the Best Family Law Practice in 2001 and 2003; and the Women’s Rights Law Firm of the Year in Singapore in June 2016.
Founded in 1984
5 people in their team
Will
Distribution of assets after death.
A will or testament is a legal document that expresses a person's (testator) wishes as to how their property (estate) is to be distributed after their death and as to which person (executor) is to manage the property until its final distribution. For the distribution (devolution) of property not determined by a will, see inheritance and intestacy.
Trusts
Holding property, money or assets on behalf of someone else.
A trust is a three-party fiduciary relationship in which the first party, the trustor or settlor, transfers ("settles") a property (often but not necessarily a sum of money) upon the second party (the trustee) for the benefit of the third party, the beneficiary.
Probate
Distribution of assets after death.
Probate is the judicial process whereby a will is "proved" in a court of law and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased, or whereby the estate is settled according to the laws of intestacy in the state of residence [or real property] of the deceased at time of death in the absence of a legal will.
The granting of probate is the first step in the legal process of administering the estate of a deceased person, resolving all claims and distributing the deceased person's property under a will. A probate court decides the legal validity of a testator's (deceased person's) will and grants its approval, also known as granting probate, to the executor. The probated will then become a legal instrument that may be enforced by the executor in the law courts if necessary. A probate also officially appoints the executor (or personal representative), generally named in the will, as having legal power to dispose of the testator's assets in the manner specified in the testator's will. However, through the probate process, a will may be contested.
Divorce
Terminating a marriage.
Divorce, also known as dissolution of marriage, is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the cancelling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the bonds of matrimony between a married couple under the rule of law of the particular country or state.
Divorce laws vary considerably around the world, but in most countries, divorce requires the sanction of a court or other authority in a legal process, which may involve issues of distribution of property, child custody, alimony (spousal support), child visitation/access, parenting time, child support, and division of debt. In most countries, monogamy is required by law, so divorce allows each former partner to marry another person.
Conveyancing
Buying a property.
In law, conveyancing is the transfer of legal title of real property from one person to another, or the granting of an encumbrance such as a mortgage or a lien. A typical conveyancing transaction has two major phases: the exchange of contracts (when equitable interests are created) and completion (also called settlement, when legal title passes and equitable rights merge with the legal title).
Dr. Tan is a women’s rights activist, an advocate for gender issues, a renowned family lawyer and a skilled negotiator. She has more than 30 years of extensive experience in advancing the rights and status of women in Singapore and internationally.
Dr. Tan first started working as an Estates Officer with the Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT) – which in 1960 evolved into the Housing and Development Board (HDB). In the 1970s, she entered private practice to become a Partner in Laycock & Ong, one of Singapore’s oldest legal firms. She later went to the UK to get her Solicitors’ qualification to gain experience in international financial instruments and then set up her own practice which she still operates to this day.
Some of Dr. Tan’s notable cases can be seen below:
1. Lee Nellie v Wong Lai Kay [1990] 1 SLR(R) 215; [1990] SGHC 17 – successfully obtained an order for her Client to have a property, previously transferred to her son to hold on trust, transferred back to her. The son had argued that the transfer was a “gift”.
2. Vettath v Vettath [1991] 2 SLR(R) 685; [1991] SGCA 38 – successfully resisted an application for an extension of time to file a Notice of Appeal out of time.
3. Yasufumi Shinozaki v Christina Kelly Wisley [1991] SGHC 63 – successfully resisted the opposing party’s application, and obtained her Client sole custody and care and control of the children, and maintenance for her Client as well as the children. This was a reversal of an ex parte order obtained by the opposing party which would have required her Client to deliver the children to his custody.
4. Chee Bong Yeo v Teo Soon Hoe and Another [1998] SGHC 191 – her Client was awarded 40% in the division of the matrimonial assets in divorce proceedings. The matrimonial assets included a property which a third party claimed to have a beneficial ownership of. Successfully defended and protected her Client’s Court-awarded 40% share.
5. Thomas Hugh Godfrey v Tan Chit Neo Alice [1999] 3 SLR(R) 571; [1999] SGHC 264 – successfully protected her Client’s Court-awarded share of the matrimonial home and resisted the opposing party’s appeal against the same. The opposing party had sought an equal division in the matrimonial home instead of the originally ordered 30%.
6. Lee Liok Ching v Teo Poh Jin Kim [2003] SGDC 52 – successfully resisted a claim for child maintenance by the opposing party. Her Client had previously paid a lump sum of S$205,000.00 as maintenance for the child.
7. ANX v ANY [2014] 1 SLR 728; [2014] SGHC 248 – successfully resisted the opposing party’s argument that a deed of separation drafted by his lawyers should not be upheld in the divorce proceedings.
8. UTY v UTZ [2019] SGFC 32 – successfully obtained an order for her Client for the enforcement of maintenance (for the wife and the children) under a divorce order which had been place since 2004. The opposing party had gone incommunicado and had repeatedly evaded the payment of maintenance over the course of 15 years. During the 15 years, several orders were also obtained for the transfer of the opposing party’s CPF monies to her Client’s CPF account to set off the monies due to her Client under the original divorce order.
9. UYQ v UYP [2020] SGCA 3 – succeeded on appeal and overturned a High Court Judge’s decision to make an adjustment of 7.5% (7.5% decrease for her Client and conversely, a 7.5% increase for the opposing party) to the average ratios awarded to parties for the division of the matrimonial assets. Following the appeal, the adjustment was reversed and the division was reverted back to the original ratios that the High Court Judge had originally found for.
Yun Xin is the firm’s latest recruit and was admitted as an Advocate and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Singapore in 2020 after graduating from the National University of Singapore in 2019. Previously, she trained at a local law firm specialising in personal injury litigation and engaged mainly in commercial litigation and corporate transactional work shortly after. Yun Xin now assists Dr Anamah Tan in the practice of family law.
Yun Xin’s natural charm and friendly nature allows her to work well with clients from all walks of life. She is passionate in her work and is able to advise clients on a wide range of litigation matters. While her specialty is on family law, mental capacity and personal injury matters, she is also active on commercial disputes.
In her free time, Yun Xin is a fitness enthusiast, engaging in extensive yoga and Pilates workouts. She also enjoys video games.
Some of the more notable matters which Yun Xin has assisted on include:-
1. Defending an individual in a high-value claim for, inter alia, breach of director’s duties in relation to an established local shipping and oil-trading company;
2. Defending a local asset management company and a foreign fund company in a suit commenced by an investor;
3. Defending a local investment firm with operations all over Asia against a claim for breach of employment contract;
4. Defending an individual in a civil suit commenced pursuant to Section 11 of the Protection from Harassment Act;
5. Defending a local company director against criminal charges brought under Section 157 of the Companies Act;
6. Drafting and reviewing a sale and purchase agreement for shares in an Indonesian company for a high net-worth individual;
7. Defending a local investment company in an arbitration claim to enforce a contractual guarantee;
8. Advising and representing an individual in an administrative law matter to overturn a decision made by a governmental authority;
9. Advising and representing a high net-worth Defendant husband in a divorce;
10. Advising and representing individuals in a highly-contentious dispute arising from the administration of an estate;
11. Advising and representing individuals in an application to restrain solicitors from further acting in a matter;
12. Advising and representing an individual in a suit involving a dispute over the validity of a Lasting Power of Attorney;
13. Advising and representing foreign workers in Singapore seeking compensation for injuries sustained at the workplace; and
14. Advising and representing various individuals in seeking compensation for injuries sustained from traffic accidents.
Yun Xin is fluent in English and Mandarin.
Tyndale graduated from the National University of Singapore and trained at a Singapore law firm in a formal law alliance with a leading international law firm in the areas of commercial and shipping litigation. His interests lie in shipping and family law, and he now assists Dr Anamah Tan in the practice of family law.
Tyndale is also a professional pianist. He holds a LRSM (Piano Performance), teaches at the Josephine Koh Piano Academy and performs occasionally.
Some matters which Tyndale has assisted on are seen below:
1. Defending a Chinese based shipowner against misdelivery claims;
2. Advising a Singapore subsidiary of a Chinese based shipowner on the interpretation of charterparty terms;
3. Advising a Hong Kong based shipowner on the payment of proceeds of a judicial sale out of court;
4. Defending a local marine services provider against a claim for breach of contract and bringing a counterclaim for misrepresentation;
5. Advising a US based customer evaluation company in a claim for breach of an employment contract and defending a counterclaim against defamation;
6. Advising a local commodities company on a SIAC arbitration for breach of guarantees;
7. Advising a Dubai based shipowner on costs for a SMCA arbitration involving the breach of a ship sale agreement;
8. Advising a high net worth expatriate on post-termination emoluments arising from the employment contract
9. Advising a local shipowner in opposing the extension of a s. 211B moratorium;
10. Advising a UK based individual in a bona vacantia claim against an estate;
11. Advising a Danish based shipping company on the limitation period for latent defects;
12. Advising a French aircraft manufacturer on pre-judgment interest; and
13. Advising various multinational corporations in reviewing lease agreements, employment agreements and company constitutions.
