High-Profile Job Resignation Amidst ₹15 Lakh Monthly Maintenance Battle

A Canadian man quit a high-paying job in Singapore and moved back to his home country in October 2023 after his estranged wife sought maintenance. He has now been ordered by a Singapore family court to pay nearly S$634,000 in backdated support for his wife and four children. The Singapore court ruled that the man’s resignation did not absolve him of his financial responsibilities, accepting the wife’s argument that he had quit his lucrative role to avoid paying maintenance. According to a report in The Strait Times, the court found that his earning capacity remained tied to his Singapore salary until he secured new employment in Canada at a lower salary. His annual income in 2023, while he was working for a multinational corporation in Singapore, exceeded S$860,000 ( ₹6 crore approximately). Marriage breakdown and life in Singapore Court documents show that the couple, both Canadian nationals, moved to Singapore in December 2013 with their four children. The man was a senior executive at the Singapore office of a multinational corporation, employed on generous expatriate terms. His annual income in 2023 exceeded S$860,000. His wife was a homemaker living in Singapore on a dependant’s pass, while their children — born between 2006 and 2013 — attended international schools. In August 2023, the man moved out of the matrimonial home to live with another woman, identified only as “W” in court documents, as per a Mothership report. Reduction of financial support Following the separation, the man initially offered to pay S$20,000 ( ₹15.5 lakh) a month in maintenance, on top of covering rent, school fees and school transport. This offer was later reduced to S$11,000 a month, which is approximately ₹7.7 lakh. After financial support was scaled back in September 2023, the woman filed an application on October 2, 2023, under the Women’s Charter, seeking maintenance for herself and the children. She argued that her husband had failed to provide reasonable support after leaving the family home. While acknowledging that the expenses claimed were higher than those of an average Singapore household, she said this reflected the standard of living the family had previously enjoyed. The man suggested that the family relocate to Canada, arguing that education and healthcare there were free. His wife countered that only public schooling was free, and that private school fees in Canada were comparable to international school fees in Singapore. Resignation from Singapore job Just days after the maintenance application was filed, the man resigned from his Singapore employer on October 9, 2023, despite being able to remain in the role until July 2024 under the same generous terms. He left Singapore in January 2024 and returned to Canada, causing the maintenance proceedings to stall. After failing to attend a court mention on January 31, 2024, a warrant of arrest was issued against him. The warrant was lifted only in December 2024, after he attended a hearing via Zoom with his lawyers. In April 2024, his wife filed for divorce. The man later claimed that he had been “compelled to leave” Singapore, alleging that his estranged wife had conducted a “smear campaign” by spreading rumours about their separation at his workplace. The court rejected this argument, finding no evidence that his employer intended to terminate his employment. Even if the situation had caused embarrassment, the judge said it did not make the resignation involuntary. The court's ruling In assessing maintenance, Judge Phang stressed that the court must consider not only current income, but also earning capacity, assets and overall financial resources. He ruled that until the man started a new job in Canada in October 2024, his earning capacity should be based on what he earned in Singapore. “The responsible thing for the father to do would have been to take steps to secure a new role that would have enabled him to provide an appropriate level of financial support for his family before resigning from the Singapore employer. “Instead, he chose to reduce his financial support for the family, and to resign from a role that came with generous terms.” (Also read: 'Zero alimony, zero maintenance': Man gets divorce on his own terms without hiring a lawyer) Only after the man began working in Canada on October 15, 2024, did the court accept that there was a genuine reduction in his earning capacity. His annual income there, net of tax, was estimated at C$341,000 (about S$315,500). Equal contribution from October 2024 Given the reduced income, Judge Phang ruled that from October 2024 onwards, both parents should contribute equally to the family’s upkeep. The judge noted that while the woman could not work in Singapore due to her long-term visit pass, she had educational qualifications and access to a Canadian private banking account that could allow her to find suitable employment. “Having regard to the father’s reduced earning capacity, and the mother’s choice to raise the children in Singapore, it was only fair that both parties should contribute equally to the maintenance of the mother and the children from October 2024.” The court also found that the man had failed to adequately maintain his wife and children from September 2023, and that he paid nothing at all between December 2023 and March 2025. After calculating reasonable household expenses — including rent, utilities, groceries, a domestic helper, car costs and international school fees — the judge determined that total maintenance for the period from September 2023 to September 2025 amounted to S$788,300. As the man had already paid S$154,383.81, the outstanding balance of S$633,916.19 was ordered to be paid as a lump sum by January 15, 2026. The man has appealed against the maintenance ruling. Enforcement of the lump-sum payment has been stayed pending the outcome of the appeal.