Do husbands and wives have an obligation to support each other?

China's "Marriage Law" clearly stipulates that husband and wife have the obligation to support each other, maintenance refers to the legal responsibility of husband and wife to support and support each other in life, and the obligation of support is reflected in all aspects of life, such as the husband and wife jointly bear the daily living expenses, when one party is seriously ill, the other party needs to do their best to take care of it.

Article 1059 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China [Obligation of Husband and Wife to Support Each Other] Husband and wife have the obligation to support each other.

The party in need of maintenance has the right to demand maintenance from the other party if the other party fails to perform the maintenance obligation.

The so-called "husband and wife have the obligation to support each other" means that during the existence of the relationship between husband and wife, the husband and wife take care of each other in life, provide for each other financially, and support each other spiritually. The assumption of the responsibility of maintenance is not only a prerequisite for the maintenance and survival of the marital relationship, but also a guarantee for the husband and wife to live together.

This relationship of rights and obligations is of a statutory nature. It is not to be chosen or discarded at will. It is based on the validity of the marriage, which is equal to both husband and wife, and is not affected by the good or bad feelings.

Maintenance between husband and wife is conditional, and the party requesting maintenance can only exercise the right to claim maintenance from the other party if it "needs maintenance". The "need" here refers to the situation that the party seeking support is old, sick, disabled, incapacitated and has no other financial support, and has difficulties in life. In judicial practice, the condition is generally that one party loses the ability to live independently.

To the extent that the other party has the ability to perform. That is to say, one party requires the other party to bear the obligation of support, and the other party also needs to have the corresponding ability, certain economic conditions and economic ability to bear the payment. This obligation is strictly different from the performance of a debt.

Husband and wife may agree on the ownership of property acquired by the husband and wife during the marriage, such as determining that one of the property or income shall be owned by one or both spouses. However, it is a legal obligation for husband and wife to support each other.

In other words, no matter what agreement the husband and wife make on the issue of property, they cannot be exempted from the statutory obligation of maintenance. In reality, some husbands and wives agree that their wages or income belong to each other, but this does not mean that the husband or wife only bears their own living expenses and does not bear the obligation to support each other. If one party is seriously ill, the other party is still obliged to do his best to take care of him or her and provide the relevant expenses.

In the event of a divorce, the original spouses are no longer obliged to support each other. However, if one party has difficulties living after the divorce, the other party can give him or her appropriate financial help.

In family life, husband and wife not only have the obligation to support the elderly, but also to support their children, and they also have the obligation to support each other. When one party is seriously ill and bedridden and unable to take care of himself, the other party must fulfill the obligation to support him, and ignoring it is not only against human ethics, but also an illegal act, and must be punished by law.

Real-world problems. Su (male) and Pan (female) have been married for seven years, after marriage, Su is doing business outside, Pan is taking care of the elderly at home, because of business relations, Su has a "little three" outside, and often does not return at night. Su and Pan also began to argue, and finally after a fierce quarrel between the two on a weekend, Pan went back to his parents' house.

Pan has been in poor health for a long time and has no financial **, so he asked Su to pay a certain amount of alimony every month, but Su refused. In desperation, Pan sued the court, demanding that Su pay a certain amount of alimony every month, so how will the court deal with it in this case?

Lawyer answers. China's Marriage Law stipulates that husband and wife have the obligation to support and support each other. In general, mutual dependence does not often take place because both spouses have equal employment rights.

Even if one spouse is employed outside the home and the other spouse is responsible for the housework, and the income is shared by both spouses, this is only a division of labor between the spouses on family matters. The fulfillment of the obligation of husband and wife to support each other usually occurs when one spouse loses the ability to work or earn a living for a period of time, while the other spouse has a certain capacity to support each other.

In this case, Su and Pan had the above circumstances, and Su should fulfill the obligation to support his wife. As for how much alimony should be given, it should be determined based on Pan's actual needs, Su's actual economic ability, and the average living standards of local residents.

Links to legal provisions. Marriage Law of the People's Republic of China

Article 20: Husbands and wives have the obligation to support each other.

If one party fails to fulfill the maintenance obligation, the party in need of maintenance has the right to demand that the other party pay maintenance.

According to Article 20 of the Marriage Law and Article 261 of the Criminal Law, husband and wife have the obligation to support each other.

Husbands and wives should provide each other with financial support and livelihood support to maintain their daily lives. Mutual support between husband and wife is both a right and an obligation, and this right and obligation is equal. In other words, the husband has an obligation to support his wife, and the wife has an obligation to support her husband; On the contrary, either spouse has the right to receive maintenance from the other.

Hongla. If one party fails to fulfill the maintenance obligation, the party in need of maintenance has the right to demand that the other party pay maintenance. If the party who should pay the alimony refuses to pay it, the party in need of alimony may obtain alimony through litigation. If one of the husbands or wives is ill or lacks the ability to live independently, and the spouse who has the obligation to support refuses to support him, and the circumstances are heinous and constitute the crime of abandonment, he shall also bear criminal responsibility.

In this case, Lin was seriously ill and needed to be hospitalized**, lost his ability to work, and had no livelihood**, and had the right to require her husband Han to fulfill his obligation to support. If Han has the ability and insists on not fulfilling his obligation to support Lin, it may constitute the crime of abandonment and be investigated for criminal responsibility.

Obviously, husband and wife have the obligation to support each other, regardless of whether one party is employed or not, and regardless of the size of the income gap between the two parties, the property after marriage is shared, even if the issue of obligation is not discussed, either spouse has the right to request medical treatment with the joint wealth and property of the husband and wife after illness.

If the other party is unwilling to pay for medical treatment, they can divorce and divide the property; If the patient does not wish to divorce, he or she can also request the division of marital property. Therefore, don't always think that the relationship between husband and wife is not as good as that between parents and children, and when your spouse needs support, if you do not fulfill your obligation to support you, beware of being convicted of abandonment and going to jail!

Legal analysis: husband and wife have the obligation to support each other, maintenance refers to the legal responsibility of husband and wife to support and support each other in life, and the obligation to support is reflected in all aspects of life, such as husband and wife jointly bear the daily living expenses of Sakuraiwa, and when one party suffers from a serious illness, the other party needs to do his best to take care of it. Where an employee is injured due to a third party, and the social insurance administrative department has already made a determination of work-related injury, and the employee or his close relatives have not filed a civil lawsuit against the third party or have not yet received civil compensation, and the lawsuit is filed to demand that the social insurance agency pay work-related injury insurance benefits, the people's court shall support it.

Where an employee suffers a work-related injury due to a third party, and the social insurance agency refuses to pay work-related injury insurance benefits on the grounds that the employee or his close relatives have already filed a civil lawsuit against the third party, the people's court will not support it, except for the medical expenses already paid by the third party.

Legal basis: Article 1059 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China Husbands and wives have the obligation to support each other. The party in need of support has the right to require it to pay maintenance to Zaochang when the other party fails to perform its maintenance obligations.

The obligation of mutual support between husband and wife refers to the fact that during the existence of the relationship between husband and wife, the husband and wife take care of each other in life, provide for each other financially, and support each other spiritually. Husbands and wives have an obligation to support each other. If one party fails to perform the maintenance obligation, the party who needs to support the party has the right to demand that the other party pay maintenance.

Legal basis]

Article 1059 of the Civil Code states that husband and wife have the obligation to support each other.

The party in need of maintenance has the right to demand maintenance if the other party fails to perform the maintenance obligation.