The legal framework
Singapore has no registered partnership or cohabitation regime. Marriage under the Women's Charter or the Administration of Muslim Law Act is the only recognised family relationship, and public housing policy reinforces this by tying eligibility to marital status. Section 377A was repealed in 2022, but the Constitution was simultaneously amended to protect the definition of marriage.
Key points
| Registered partnership | None available |
|---|---|
| Cohabitation rights | No property sharing, no maintenance, no automatic inheritance |
| Children | Their rights depend on parentage, not on the parents' status |
| Property | Follows legal title; contributions must be documented to be claimable |
| Death | Without a will, a partner receives nothing |
| No recognition | Neither cohabitation nor same-sex partnership has legal status |
| Housing | Public housing eligibility is built around marriage and family nuclei |
| Succession | A partner inherits only under a will |
| Medical decisions | A lasting power of attorney is the only route to decision-making authority |
In practice
- Put contributions in writing and register co-ownership properly.
- Make a will — this is the single most important step for an unmarried couple.
- Grant powers of attorney for health and financial decisions; without them a partner has no standing.
- Name each other as beneficiaries on insurance and retirement savings, where permitted.
- Make a will and a lasting power of attorney: they are the only instruments available.
- Hold property as joint tenants if you want it to pass automatically to the survivor.
Cost and coverage
Wills and agreements cost relatively little; the cost of not having them can be everything.
Recent changes
Reform debates exist in several of these jurisdictions, but change has been slow and, where it has come, has been driven by litigation rather than legislation.
Where to go
- Local solicitors or notaries for wills and co-ownership documents.
- Land registry for recording ownership shares.
- Legal aid or community legal services where available.
Worth knowing
Where cohabitation is socially or legally sensitive, documents should be kept somewhere safe and accessible — a will that cannot be found does nothing. Joint tenancy passes property outside the estate to the survivor. For unmarried couples in Singapore, how the property is held matters more than what the will says.
Official sources and links
- gov.sg — official government portal
- Singapore Statutes Online — legislation in force