If you are reading this article right now, you may be aware that you are required to attend the marriage counselling with the Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara (JPN) Malaysia before you can file a single petition for divorce in Malaysia as a non-Muslim.
So, you may be asking what is the aim of the marriage counselling with the JPN?
Basically, the aim of the marriage counselling required under the law is to reconcile both the husband and wife in the event if the divorce is not agreed by either one of them. In the event if the divorce is mutually agreed by both the husband and wife, there is no need to attend the said counselling under the law where both parties may file the divorce petition directly.
During the counselling sessions, the marriage tribunal of the JPN will assist to resolve the conflicts and propose solutions to the parties in hope to save the marriage. There will be 3 sessions usually conducted by the marriage tribunal and the sessions must be completed within 6 months from the date of registration for the counselling.
After the completion of the marriage counselling sessions, the JPN will issue either one of the certificates known as KC28 or KC29. So, what is the difference?
What is KC28
KC28 will be issued after the counselling sessions are completed and parties are able to resolve their conflicts and decided to get back together to save their marriage. Hence, there is no further action needed.
Furthermore, KC28 will also be issued if either one of the parties doesn’t attend the counselling sessions and the marriage tribunal will issue the KC28 to indicate the absence of one party from the counselling. Take note that the applicant must go through all sessions even if his or her spouse doesn’t attend the counselling for whatever reason. KC28 is still required to initiate the divorce proceedings.
What is KC29
KC29 will be issued after the counselling sessions are completed and parties are unable to resolve their conflicts and indifferences. In this case, the marriage tribunal will recommend parties to seek for a divorce if the marriage has irretrievably broken down. This document will be required before one can start to file a single petition for divorce in Malaysia.
What is next?
If you have obtained either the KC28 or KC29 from the JPN and decided to get a divorce, you may want to seek for advice from our divorce lawyer in order to find our what is the best way to move forward with the divorce process and know your rights better.
On the other hand, if you have yet to attend the marriage counselling with the JPN, there are also instances where you may apply to seek for an exemption from the marriage counselling if you can prove any of the grounds below:
- You have been deserted and the whereabout of your spouse is unknown
- Your spouse is in overseas and will not return to Malaysia within the next 6 months after the divorce is filed
- Your spouse wilfully and intentionally ignored the marriage counselling (must provide KC28 to prove this)
- Your spouse is imprisoned for more than 5 years
- Your spouse has incurable mental illness
- You can prove that there are exceptional circumstances and going to the marriage counselling is impractical
Regardless of what is your situation, it is best to seek advice from our divorce lawyer now so you can know what is the best option to move forward in order to save more time and cost in filing for a divorce in Malaysia.
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