Jenny Lai & Co

Divorce

The ending of a marriage is a difficult and sometimes very painful experience. The impact can affect several individuals and their lives. Our practice recognizes this struggle and we deliver our services with care and sensitivity as we believe that no further discord should be sowed in an already broken marital relationship. For each case that comes through our door, our solicitor will first assess if there is a chance of reconciliation and refer parties to counseling before advising on the last resort: divorce.

Divorce proceedings need not be acrimonious. Often, issues can be resolved through mediation and negotiations. As an experienced and accredited mediator, our solicitor will help you make an informed decision without compromising your legal position.

Our diverse range of family law services include but not limited to:

• Uncontested and contested divorce proceedings
• Advise of pre-nuptial arrangement and agreement
• Drafting of Separation Deed
• Financial relief consequential on foreign matrimonial proceedings
• Pre-and-post divorce maintenance applications
• Mediation
• Collaborative divorce practice
• Setting Aside or Variation of Order of Court

Adoption

Our firm is experienced in handling complicated adoption matters. For instance, we had cases where the adopting parent was deemed unfit but we were able to convince the court to grant the adoption order.

Usually, adoption is “closed”, ie all records of the biological parents are sealed so as to give the adoption process finality. However, we are proud to showcase that in a number of our cases, it was “open” adoption, ie the child is old enough to know the whereabouts of his biological parents. The court was persuaded to grant the Adoption Order after we presented the facts and arguments. Of course, we would also credit the adopting parents for their love and care for the child which moved the Court.

We have a team of qualified partners and translators to translate the birth certificates and other relevant documents from the native language to English.

Our services include but not limited to:

• Adopt your stepson or stepdaughter.
• Adoption of local infant
• Adoption of foreign infant from countries such as Vietnam, Malaysia, China, Indonesia, Myanmar, South Africa
• Adoption by related family members
• Adoption through agencies
• Adoption through welfare organisations
• Adoption of foster children
• Step-by-step guide on the adoption process and the required documentations for pre-adoption and post adoption process.

If you are a Singaporean and your wife is a foreign bride, your stepchild could get Singapore citizen after obtaining an adoption certificate. Email or call us now to find out more.

Feel free to call us at +65 6227 7347 for an enquiry and appointment.

Real Estate & Conveyancing

For more than two decades, our firm has closed many real estate transactions. Some of these involved multi-million dollars purchases in the residential, commercial and industrial sector.

Our services include but not limited to:

• Drafting of Tenancy Agreements
• Landlord Tenant Dispute
• Providing legal services to the auctioneer team of various estate agencies
• Providing legal advice and assistance to estate agents
• Providing legal advice to bank relationship managers
• Private residential property sale and purchase
• LDAU application
• Landed residential property sale and purchase
• Private commercial and industrial property sale and purchase
• HDB flat sale and purchase
• HDB Commercial property sale and purchase
• Refinancing
• Mortgage
• CPF housing withdrawal
• Redemption of bank loan and CPF Refund
• Sale of shares of property between owners, ie. Decoupling or part-share transfer
• Transfer of shares of property pursuant to Will or Intestate Succession Act
• Severance of Joint Tenancy in property
• Creation of trusts

Please call us at +65 6227 7347 for a fee quotation and appointment.

Wills

We commit our time and effort to each client’s needs because every individual has a different financial portfolio and there is no one-size-fits-all drafting of Wills. We interview each client to determine their real and personal assets and craft a Will that will fit his/her intention within legal constraints. For best communication, our solicitor can converse in dialect and she is proficient in English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Hakka and Hokkien.

If any of the beneficiaries is below the age of 21, you will need to appoint two (2) Trustees and decide on the powers to grant to them. Be sure to discuss with your Trustees to ascertain that they are willing to accept the appointment and you do not need to reveal sensitive details. Ideally, a Will should be reviewed every 5 years and, most importantly, if your marital status have changed, you should review or re-do your Will as marriage will revoke an existing Will but divorce does not.

We offer our services at reasonable prices and it will vary according to the complexity of your Will. For further information and consultation, please call us at 6227-7347.

Lasting Power of Attorney (“LPA”) & Mental Capacity Act (“MCA”) application

With a growing awareness of our longer life span, physical and mental health planning has become increasingly crucial. We encourage early planning of one’s personal welfare, and property and affairs through the execution of a Lasting Power of Attorney. We are an LPA Certificate Issuer and, if you prefer customization, we will draft the LPA according to your needs and requirements.

In the unfortunate event that a person (“P”) did not execute a LPA before losing mental capacity, the applicant will have to make a court application under the Mental Capacity Act. Our practice can assist you in the court application.

Grant or Reseal of Letters of Administration or Probate

On the demise of a person, if there is a Will, the application is for a Grant of Probate. On the other hand, if the deceased did not leave a Will, the application is for a Letters of Administration. The process can take between 3 to 6 months depending on the value and the kind of assets. Our firm also handles contested application.

We also provide services for the re-sealing of a Grant of Probate or a Letters of Administration granted by a foreign court.

Call us at +65 6227 7347 to understand more and for an appointment.