Supreme People s Court: What should be the dispute over one of the spouses donating joint property t

Hello, the First Civil Division of the Supreme People's Court has a tendency opinion: how to deal with disputes over one of the husband and wife donating joint property to others without authorization.

If one of the spouses cohabits with another person outside of marriage violates the prohibition of the Marriage Law, such extramarital cohabitation is an illegal relationship; During the existence of the marital relationship, the husband and wife shall jointly enjoy the ownership of the joint property without any share, and when the husband or wife disposes of the joint property of the husband and wife other than for the needs of daily life, they shall reach a consensus through consultation, and neither party shall have the right to dispose of the joint property of the husband and wife alone; If one of the spouses donates joint property to another person beyond the needs of daily life, such donation shall be deemed invalid; Where the other spouse requests restitution on the grounds of infringement of joint property rights, the people's court shall support it.

Q:The fact that one of the spouses has donated a large amount of marital property to another person without authorization has obviously infringed upon the property rights and interests of the other spouse. However, there is a view that the gift should be deemed invalid in part, but not in its entirety.

The reason is that the joint property of the husband and wife includes both the husband and wife's share, and half of the property received by others is the share of one of the husband and wife, and the intention of one party to dispose of his own share should be genuine, and the other party can obtain half of the property rights. How should this be grasped in trial practice?

A:During the existence of the marital relationship, both husband and wife have equal rights to the joint property, and either party has the right to make a decision on the disposition of the joint property due to the needs of daily life. If one of the spouses donates the joint property to another person free of charge other than for the needs of daily life, which seriously damages the property rights and interests of the other party, and violates the principle of fairness in civil law, such a gift shall be invalid.

Community property is based on the provisions of the law and arises from the existence of a marital relationship. In the absence of other property regimes chosen by the spouses, the husband and wife form joint ownership of the joint property, rather than by shares. According to the general principle of joint ownership, during the existence of the marital relationship, the joint property of the husband and wife shall be an indivisible whole, and the husband and wife shall have joint ownership of all the joint property without any share, and the husband and wife shall not be able to divide their personal share of the joint property, nor shall they have the right to request the division of the joint property during the period of joint ownership.

The fact that the husband and wife have equal rights to dispose of the joint property does not mean that the spouses each have a half share in the joint property. Only when the joint ownership relationship is terminated can the joint property be divided and their respective shares determined. Therefore, the act of giving joint property to another person without authorization by one of the spouses should be invalid in whole and not in part.

Research Group of this book: "One Party's Unauthorized Donation of Husband and Wife Property to Others is Invalid", in Civil Trial Division No. 1 of the Supreme People's Court, Civil Trial Guidance and Reference, Vol. 2, 2009 (No. 38), Law Press, 2009, p. 315.

If more details could be given, more detailed information could be made.

During the existence of the marital relationship, one party gives a large amount of money or valuable property to a third party who has an improper relationship without authorization, which violates the right of the other spouse to dispose of the joint property of the husband and wife equally, and also violates the principle of public order and good customs stipulated in the general principles of the civil law.

Legal analysis: invalid, the disposition of the joint property of the husband and wife must be agreed by both parties.

Legal basis: Civil Code of the People's Republic of China

Article 1076:Where both husband and wife are suspected of voluntarily divorcing, they shall sign a written divorce agreement and apply for divorce registration in person at the marriage registration authority.

The divorce agreement shall clearly state the parties' intention to divorce voluntarily and the opinions of the parties on matters such as child support, property, and debt disposition.

Article 1079:Where one of the husband and wife requests a divorce, the relevant organization may conduct mediation or directly initiate divorce proceedings with the people's court.

People's courts hearing divorce cases shall conduct mediation; If the relationship has indeed broken down and mediation fails, the divorce shall be granted.

In any of the following circumstances, if mediation fails, a divorce shall be granted:

1) bigamy or cohabitation with another person;

2) Committing domestic violence or abusing or abandoning family members;

3) Having bad habits such as gambling and drug addiction that they have repeatedly taught and not changing;

4) Separated for two years due to emotional discord;

5) Other circumstances that lead to the breakdown of the relationship between husband and wife.

Where one party is declared missing and the other party initiates divorce proceedings, the divorce shall be granted.

Where, after a people's court has ruled that divorce is not permitted, the parties have been separated for one year, and one party initiates divorce proceedings again, the divorce shall be granted.

Article 1092:Where one of the husband and wife conceals, transfers, sells, destroys, or squanders the joint property of the husband and wife, or falsifies the joint debts of the husband and wife in an attempt to encroach on the property of the other party, when dividing the joint property of the husband and wife in divorce, the other party may receive a small or no share. After the divorce, if the other party discovers that he or she has committed any of the above-mentioned acts, he or she may file a lawsuit with the people's court to request that the joint property of the husband and wife be divided again.

Legal Analysis: Partially Invalid. During the existence of the marital relationship, if one of the husband and wife donates the joint property of the husband and wife to a third party without the consent of the other party, it may be determined that one party has the right to dispose of the part of the joint property that belongs to him or her according to the nature of the donated property, and the gift of that part of the property is valid, but the gift of the part of the property belonging to the other party is invalid.

Legal basis: Civil Code of the People's Republic of China

Article 1062 The following property rented by a husband and wife during the existence of a marital relationship shall be the joint property of the husband and wife and shall be jointly owned by the husband and wife

1) Wages, bonuses, and remuneration for labor services;

2) Income from production, operation and investment;

3) income from intellectual property rights;

4) Inherited or donated property, except as provided for in item 3 of Article 1063 of this Law;

5) Other property that shall be jointly owned.

Husband and wife have equal rights to dispose of joint property.

Article 1065:A man and a woman may agree that property acquired during the existence of the marital relationship and property acquired before marriage shall be owned separately or jointly, or partly separately or partly jointly. The agreement shall be in writing. Where there is no agreement or the agreement is not clear, the provisions of articles 1062 and 1063 of this Law apply.

The agreement between the husband and wife on the property acquired during the marriage and the property before the marriage is legally binding on both parties.

If the husband and wife agree that the property acquired during the existence of the marital relationship shall belong to each other, and the debts owed by the husband or wife to the outside world are known to the counterpart, the personal property of the husband or wife shall be repaid.

Legal Analysis: It is invalid for one party to donate the joint property of the husband and wife to another person without permission. The husband or wife has equal rights to dispose of the property jointly owned by the husband and wife, and when making an important decision on the disposition of the joint property of the husband and wife, the husband and wife shall negotiate on an equal footing and reach a consensus.

Legal basis: Article 1062 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China The following property acquired by husband and wife during the existence of the marital relationship is the joint property of the husband and wife and shall be jointly owned by the husband and wife

1) Wages, bonuses, and remuneration for labor services;

2) the income from production, operation and investment;

3) income from intellectual property rights;

4) Inherited or donated property, except as provided for in item 3 of Article 1063 of this Law;

5) Other property that shall be jointly owned.

Husband and wife have equal rights to dispose of joint property.