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Divorce, how to divide property? Look: China Court Judgment Standards (1)

July 1, 2023

Introduction: Undoubtedly, handling divorce is the most difficult challenge a person faces in their lifetime. There is no single strategy that can alleviate the pain and losses caused by divorce. Since we have chosen this path, the editor of Legal Home believes that we should face it with a positive attitude. Most of our friends are concerned about "property division" in the judgment standards of divorce cases by the people's court. The following text provides a detailed explanation of the people's court's judgment standards for "property division" in divorce cases.

I, Joint and personal property of spouses

1. The following property obtained by both spouses during the duration of their marital relationship shall belong to both spouses:

(1) Salaries and funds;

(2) Income from production and operation;

(3) Property obtained through inheritance or gift, except for property determined in a will or gift contract to belong only to the husband or wife;

(4) The benefits of intellectual property rights;

(5) Other property that should be jointly owned:

① The income obtained by one party from personal property investment;

② The actual or expected housing subsidies and housing provident fund obtained by both men and women;

③ The actual or expected pension insurance benefits and bankruptcy resettlement compensation received by both men and women;

④ A house rented by one party before marriage, purchased with common property after marriage, and registered with the property ownership certificate in the name of one party;

⑤ After the marriage of the parties, if the parents contribute to the purchase of a house for both parties, the contribution shall be recognized as a gift to both parties, except where the parents clearly indicate the gift to one party.

2. If one of the following circumstances occurs, it shall be the property of one spouse:

(1) One party's premarital property;

(2) Medical expenses, disability living allowances, and other expenses received by one party due to physical injury;

(3) Property determined in a will or gift contract to belong only to the husband or wife;

(4) Household goods of one party;

(5) Other property that should be attributed to one party:

① Casualty insurance benefits, disability subsidies, medical and living subsidies for military personnel;

② Before the marriage of the parties, if the parents contribute to the purchase of a house for both parties, the contribution shall be recognized as a personal gift to their own children, unless the parents clearly indicate the gift to both parties.

③ During the existence of a marital relationship, property obtained by one party due to a change in material form shall, unless otherwise agreed by the parties, be considered personal property;

④ If the property before remarriage or remarriage meets the provisions of Article 18 of the Marriage Law, it shall be personal property;

⑤ A house is an individual's premarital property in which one party pays a down payment with their personal property and the ownership certificate of the house is registered in the name of the other party. During the existence of the marriage relationship, if both parties jointly pay the mortgage loan, upon divorce, the party who obtains the ownership of the house shall return half of the amount of the mortgage loan already paid to the other party, and calculate the bank deposit interest for the same period.

II, General principles for the division of joint property between spouses

1. At the time of divorce, the joint property of the couple shall be disposed of by mutual agreement; When the agreement cannot be reached, the people's court shall make a judgment based on the specific situation of the property and the principle of taking care of the rights and interests of the children and the woman.

The rights and interests enjoyed by the husband or wife in the household land contract management should be protected in accordance with the law.

2. If the husband and wife agree in writing that the property acquired during the period of marriage and premarital property shall belong to each other, jointly, or partially owned or jointly owned, the divorce shall be handled in accordance with the agreement.

3. The property after marriage that is managed and used separately by a couple living in two separate places should be recognized as joint property of the couple. When dividing assets, the assets managed and used separately belong to each other. If there is a significant difference in the property divided between the two parties, the difference shall be compensated by the party who has more property to the other party with property equivalent to the difference.

4. Registered marriage, but not yet living together, the gifts and gifts received by one or both parties should be recognized as joint property of the couple, and the specific handling should consider the reasonable division of property sources, quantities, and other factors. The property purchased and used by each party shall, in principle, belong to their respective ownership.

5. If the people's court hears divorce cases involving one-time expenses such as severance pay and independent career selection fees distributed to military personnel, the amount obtained shall be the joint property of the couple multiplied by the annual average of the duration of their marital relationship.

The annual average referred to in the preceding paragraph refers to the amount obtained by dividing the total amount of the above-mentioned expenses distributed to military personnel evenly over specific years. The specific length of service is the difference between the average life expectancy of 70 years and the actual age of soldiers at the time of enlistment.

6. When the husband and wife divide the valuable securities such as stocks, bonds, investment fund shares, and unlisted shares of a limited liability company in their common property, if negotiation fails or it is difficult to distribute them according to market price, the people's court may distribute them proportionally based on the quantity.

(to be continued...)