A marital property agreement is a legal regime whereby spouses agree on the ownership of property acquired during the subsistence of marital relationship and pre‑marital property, specifying separate ownership, joint ownership, or partial separate and partial joint ownership.
Marital property agreements are concluded by spouses on a voluntary basis with good original intentions. Nevertheless, some parties attempt to take advantage of such agreements to embezzle and exclusively occupy marital joint property in divorce proceedings. Can such a “perfect scheme” succeed?
The Haidian People’s Court recently heard a case: merely half a month after signing the property agreement, the husband filed for divorce. Believing she had been defrauded, Ms. Zhao requested revocation of the agreement in the divorce proceedings.
Case Brief
Mr. Ma filed a divorce lawsuit. He stated that he and Ms. Zhao were university classmates, registered their marriage in May 2014, and had a daughter in 2017. Due to substantial differences in personality and divergent attitudes toward life, he petitioned for divorce, claimed custody of their daughter, and requested ownership of the jointly owned residential property in accordance with the marital property agreement signed by both parties.
Ms. Zhao consented to divorce but contended that she should be granted child custody. She further alleged that Mr. Ma had committed fraud at the time the agreement was executed, and requested revocation of the agreement as well as partition of the jointly owned housing.
The court ascertained that after graduating from university, Mr. Ma and Ms. Zhao both worked in Beijing and later married and had a daughter. In 2017, the couple jointly purchased a self-occupied commercial residential housing. Of the down payment of 640,000 yuan, 580,000 yuan was contributed by Mr. Ma’s parents, and the mortgage loan has not yet been fully repaid to date. During the trial, upon appraisal, the net value of the property—after deducting the statutory land income premium—was determined at over 3.54 million yuan.
At the end of August last year, the two parties signed a marital property agreement. It stipulated that the full ownership of the property, together with all interior decorations, furniture, household appliances and other items within the premises, should belong exclusively to Mr. Ma. The mortgage loan attached to the property should be repaid solely by Mr. Ma. Prior to the title transfer under Mr. Ma’s name, regardless of whether the marital relationship continued or dissolved, the property ownership should vest in the husband, and the wife had no right to claim partition. Mr. Ma claimed full ownership of the property based on this agreement.
Ms. Zhao argued that the agreement was signed during a quarrel. At that time, Mr. Ma promised that if their relationship reconciled within one year after signing, the agreement would become null and void. She signed the agreement out of a desire to maintain family integrity. Ms. Zhao maintained that she entered into the agreement under fraud and that the agreement was grossly unfair, and therefore applied for its revocation.
Court Judgment
Upon trial, the court held that since both parties consented to divorce, the court raised no objection. Regarding child custody, in consideration of the principle of being most conducive to the child’s healthy growth, the court ruled that the daughter be raised by Ms. Zhao.
As for property division, the court considered the background of the marital property agreement and the fact that shortly after signing the agreement, Mr. Ma entrusted a legal representative to institute the present divorce proceedings. The court found that while ostensibly concluding a marital property agreement to dispose of marital joint property, Mr. Ma’s actual intent was to manipulate the agreement to predetermine property division in the divorce litigation, thereby inducing Ms. Zhao to make a faulty declaration of intent. Accordingly, the agreement did not reflect Ms. Zhao’s true will, and she now refuses to dispose of the marital joint property in accordance with the agreement.
Thus, the marital joint property in this case shall be divided in accordance with statutory provisions. In determining the property compensation amount, taking into account the causes of marital breakdown, the contribution to the down payment, the loan repayment status, the current market value of the property, and adhering to the principle of protecting the child’s legitimate rights and interests, the court ordered Mr. Ma to pay property compensation of over 600,000 yuan to Ms. Zhao.
Neither party filed an appeal after the judgment was pronounced, and the judgment has now taken legal effect.
With changes in lifestyles and social values, an increasing number of spouses choose to execute marital property agreements to rationally define property ownership. Such agreements not only embody mutual affection but also satisfy the pursuit of personal independence. In particular, for a spouse who devotes themselves fully to family affairs, a marital property agreement can alleviate life concerns and worries.
It is nevertheless important to remind the public that a valid marital property agreement must be reached through equal consultation between husband and wife. It shall not involve concealment, fraud or duress; otherwise, the agreement may be deemed invalid on the ground that it fails to reflect the true intent of the aggrieved party.