How are properties divided in a divorce in Shenzhen? Who gets the savings and child custody? A lawyer explains it all in one go based on case-handling experience.

Last month, a woman living in Nanshan, Shenzhen came to us. She had been married for 11 years, her husband earned an annual salary of one million, they owned two properties, and had seven-figure savings. But when it actually came to divorce, she realized she couldn't even say how much savings the family had, and the school-district apartment in Futian under her husband's name didn't even have her name on the property deed. With red-rimmed eyes, she asked, "Lawyer Shen, am I going to leave with nothing?"
This question, I hear almost every week. In divorce cases in Shenzhen, property division and child custody are always the two most fiercely contested issues. Today, I won't beat around the bush—I'll just address the questions people ask most often.

The answer may surprise many: when Shenzhen courts divide property, they look at "whether the house is joint marital property," not "who contributed more money."
Under Article 1062 of the Civil Code, a house purchased after marriage with joint marital property is considered community property, even if the property certificate only bears one spouse's name, and is generally divided equally. However, Shenzhen's situation is unique—housing prices are extremely high, and many properties involve a down payment made by one spouse before marriage with joint loan repayments after marriage. In such cases, the house belongs to the party who made the down payment, but the other spouse is entitled to half of the portion of the joint loan repayments made after marriage, as well as the corresponding appreciation in value.
For example, we once represented a couple. In 2018, the husband made a down payment of 2 million yuan on a property in Longhua, and after marriage, the couple together repaid 600,000 yuan of the mortgage. Now the property has appreciated to 9 million yuan. Many people assume the wife could only get 300,000 yuan from the loan repayments, but in reality, the court would count both the 600,000 yuan repaid after marriage and the corresponding appreciation on that amount toward the wife, and in the end, she took back nearly 1 million yuan. The key comes down to one word: calculation. This calculation can't be done off the top of your head—you need a lawyer to help you sort out the bank statements, repayment records, and the property appreciation ratio clearly.
Yes, and the probability is not low. Many people have a misconception that the child will be awarded to whoever earns more money, but that is completely wrong.
Article 1084 of the Civil Code is very clear: after divorce, for children under the age of two, the principle is that they shall be directly raised by the mother. In practice, Shenzhen courts follow the standard that for children under two, unless the mother has a serious illness, drug addiction, or other legally defined circumstances making her unfit for custody, the child is almost always awarded to the mother. For children aged two to eight, the court will consider who has a deeper emotional bond with the child and who provides a more stable living environment. For a full-time mother who has long been responsible for the child's daily care, this is actually a significant advantage.
We have a client who was a full-time mom in Futian for five years. Her husband had an affair and filed for divorce. His income was ten times hers, and he even threatened to use his money to force her to "give up" the children. We helped her organize hundreds of records from the past five years—school drop-offs and pickups, parent-teacher meetings, and taking the kids to medical appointments. In the end, the court awarded her custody of both children. So don't be afraid of having no income—the court looks at who is more suitable to raise the children, not who has more money.
This question is asked by a lot of people, especially young professionals in finance in Shenzhen.
Stocks and funds purchased before marriage, if you never touch them after getting married, are considered personal property, and the other party cannot take a share in a divorce. However, if you actively trade after marriage—buying today and selling tomorrow—the profits may be deemed "post-marital investment income," which counts as joint marital property. In plain terms, the law does not encourage you to "speculate" with pre-marital assets during the marriage; any gains from such trading are considered shared by both parties.
So our advice to clients is that if you have significant assets before marriage, either sign a prenuptial agreement or strictly separate pre-marital and post-marital accounts. This isn't about hurting feelings—it's about protecting yourself. Last year, our team handled a divorce case for a client where the other party tried to claim the gains from Tencent stocks he bought before marriage. Thanks to a complete chain of evidence, the court ultimately ruled it as personal property, successfully preserving 8 million yuan in assets for him, and he also won custody of the child.
This issue is actually more important than choosing a house. When selecting a lawyer, it's not about picking the most expensive one, but about choosing someone who understands how Shenzhen courts operate. Courts in different districts of Shenzhen have subtle differences in their standards for property division and child custody determinations. For example, Futian Court handles residency rights for school-district housing differently than Longgang does. A lawyer who has practiced locally for over a decade would know, even with their eyes closed, how a judge would think about your case.
Guangdong Zhiming Law Firm has been rooted in Shenzhen for 26 years, handling over 10,000 cases. The firm's director, lawyer Shen Jinlong, is himself a seasoned attorney with 26 years of practice. We have dealt with numerous divorce cases involving high-net-worth individuals and know well that the trickiest part of asset division isn't real estate, but those easily overlooked equities, stock options, and overseas accounts. If you're troubled by these issues, rather than piecing together fragmented information online, why not come to Room 1802, Building A, Xintian Century Business Center, Shixia North Second Street, Futian District, for a face-to-face consultation. Call us at 0755-25986969.
One last thing from the bottom of my heart: divorce is a "settlement" of both assets and emotions—don't make decisions when emotions are running high, and don't give up what you're entitled to out of fear. Leave the professional matters to the professionals; all you need to do is figure out how you want to live your life going forward.