28 February 2021 - Article
Shaun Ho
Senior legal associate | Singapore
Shaun is a senior legal associate in the family team.
Shaun is a specialist family lawyer. He was trained in the top family law firm in Singapore, called to the Bar in Singapore in 2015, and has continued to practice as a specialist ever since. Shaun’s practice spans all areas of family law, but he has a particular expertise and interest in a few areas.
Shaun has since 2018 been involved in several high-profile cases involving non-traditional family units. This includes the landmark 2018 case of UKM v Attorney-General, in which a gay man was granted leave, on appeal to the Family Division of the High Court, to adopt his biological son who was conceived through surrogacy.
Shaun also has a particular interest in the international relocation of children. A particularly memorable case was the 2019 case of UXH v UXI, in which Shaun succeeded in resisting an application for relocation despite the applicant having appointed a Senior Counsel as instructed counsel to argue her case for her on appeal.
Shaun also has substantial experience in cases involving the division of assets, where the pool of matrimonial assets includes assets that are atypical of most families. Shaun has handled cases involving the division of private family businesses worth tens of millions of dollars, discretionary trusts, and offshore companies with complex networks of wholly-owned subsidiaries in foreign jurisdictions.
Although Shaun thoroughly enjoys the thrill of a good argument in Court, his preference is to resolve his clients’ disputes through alternative dispute resolution such as negotiation or mediation. He recognises that family disputes are often best determined by the parties themselves – and not by the Court – and empowers his clients to arrive at mutually beneficial agreements in their, and their children’s, best interests.
Focus areas
Track record
Admissions
Publications
Memberships
UKM v AG, [2018] SGHCF 18: Shaun was counsel in a novel case involving the adoption by a homosexual man of his biological child. He represented the father in first instance and on appeal, and succeeded on appeal to a specially constituted 3-man bench of the High Court. The adoption order was eventually made and the father was allowed to adopt his own son.
VCX v VCY, [2019] SGFC 130: Shaun represented a homosexual man applying for joint custody and shared care and control of their son.
VET v VEU, [2020] SGHCF 4: Shaun represented a homosexual man applying for his partner to be appointed as a guardian of his two children. This case developed the law pertaining to voluntary delegation of responsibility by a parent to a non-parent under the law of guardianship, and is now a leading precedent on these issues.
Singapore, 2015
“Intending to relocate your children from Singapore? – What you need to know.” Linkedin, 2020
Singapore Academy of Law, 2015
Education
Languages
- English
Dates
Joined
2021
