A couple in Shenzhen divorced, fighting over two apartments and 8 million yuan in savings. A lawyer used a single bank statement to secure an additional 600,000 yuan for the wife.

Last autumn, a well-dressed woman walked into Guangdong Zhiming Law Firm and, as soon as she sat down, said, "Lawyer Shen, my husband transferred the family's money away. I found out he sent 1.2 million yuan to an unfamiliar account. We've been married for 12 years, and both properties are under his name. Does that mean I won't get anything now?"
Her surname is Lin, and she works as a financial director at a technology company in Futian, Shenzhen, while her husband runs a trading company. Ms. Lin said that her husband started traveling frequently on business half a year ago, and when he was home, he would constantly be glued to his phone. The couple had been sleeping in separate rooms for three months. It wasn't until she accidentally saw flirtatious chat records between her husband and a younger woman on his phone that she made up her mind to get a divorce.
But what really panicked her was that her husband had already made the first move—the couple owned two properties under their names, one in Futian worth about 9 million yuan, and another in Longhua worth about 5 million yuan. Their savings originally totaled over 8 million, but in the past month, her husband had transferred out 1.2 million in installments, claiming it was for "business cash flow." Ms. Lin knew full well that this money was most likely gone for good.
She asked directly: "Lawyer Shen, he transferred the money away first, and the house is all in his name. Does that mean I'll leave with nothing?"

Many parties involved in divorce cases in Shenzhen share the same misconception as Ms. Lin, believing that whoever's name is on the property deed owns the house, and whoever's bank account holds the money owns the funds. This way of thinking can lead to significant losses during divorce proceedings.
Article 1062 of the Civil Code is very clear: wages, bonuses, investment returns, and intellectual property income earned by a couple during their marriage are jointly owned by both spouses. Even if a property is registered in only one spouse's name, as long as it was purchased with joint income after marriage, it remains joint marital property.
As for the 1.2 million yuan transferred by the husband, according to Article 1092 of the Civil Code, if one spouse conceals, transfers, sells, damages, or squanders marital community property, that spouse may receive a smaller share or no share at all in the division of property upon divorce.
Legal provisions are cold, but handling cases is warm. After Senior Partner Shen Jinlong took on this case, he did not rush to file a lawsuit but first did three things.
First, she applied to the court for property preservation, freezing two bank accounts under her husband's name to prevent the remaining money from being transferred further. Second, she requested access to her husband's bank statements from the past two years to trace the whereabouts of the 1.2 million yuan transaction by transaction. Third, she sorted through the payment records for the two properties—although Ms. Lin did not pay directly, the bank deduction records for the joint mortgage payments after marriage and the records of her salary being deposited into the family account both serve as evidence that the properties are marital property.
When checking the transaction records, one detail stood out: the 1.2 million was first transferred to an unfamiliar personal account, and three days later, it was moved to a company that had only been registered for two months. Lawyer Shen followed this trail and discovered that the legal representative of that company was none other than the woman who had been having flirtatious conversations with her husband.
This discovery is crucial. It's not just about recovering 1.2 million; it also directly confirms that the husband engaged in asset transfer and marital misconduct.
Lawyer Shen made a judgment: this case has room for negotiation, but the bargaining chips must be strong enough.
We first laid out the legal consequences to Ms. Lin's husband's lawyer: the two properties have a combined market value of 14 million yuan, and the couple's joint savings exceed 8 million yuan, bringing the total joint assets to over 22 million yuan. If the case goes to litigation, the court will investigate where the 1.2 million yuan went. Once it's determined to be concealed assets, the husband may receive 10% to 30% less in the division. Based on this scale, each percentage point less amounts to 220,000 yuan.
The other side quickly softened and was willing to negotiate. But at the negotiating table, the husband only agreed to give Ms. Lin an apartment in Longhua plus 2 million in cash, reasoning that "the one in Futian was bought with money my company earned, so it has nothing to do with the family."
Lawyer Shen laid out the bank statements and company registration documents on the spot, matching them item by item: of the 3 million yuan down payment for the Futian apartment, 1.8 million had been transferred from Ms. Lin's account; the registered address of that new company was in the same building as the hotel where her husband frequently stayed during his "business trips." Over the course of more than two hours, the opposing counsel's expression grew increasingly grim.
The final outcome was that both properties were jointly owned by Ms. Lin and her husband in shares—the Futian property was 70% hers, while the Longhua property went to her husband. Of the 8 million yuan in deposits, after deducting the 1.2 million already transferred, the remaining 6.8 million was split 60-40, with Ms. Lin receiving 60%. Including the discounted compensation for the 1.2 million deemed as a transfer, Ms. Lin ultimately received nearly 600,000 yuan more in assets than her husband.
Meanwhile, since the child had been cared for by Ms. Lin's mother and had just turned three, the court, after comprehensive consideration, awarded custody to Ms. Lin, with her husband paying monthly child support of 12,000 yuan.
The biggest fear in dividing property during a divorce is "waiting." By the time the other party has balanced the books, transferred the money, and destroyed the evidence, finding a lawyer then makes things twice as hard. Ms. Lin came to us within two weeks of her husband transferring money, and we secured the property freeze before his second transfer, which saved most of the deposits. In Shenzhen, 70% of divorce cases involve property division, with the average disputed amount ranging from 3 to 8 million yuan. At that scale of assets, acting one day earlier can lead to a completely different outcome.
Second sentence: Whose name is on the house doesn't matter—what really counts is the record of payments and mortgage repayments. Many stay-at-home wives worry that because they don't earn money, they have no share. In reality, for a home purchased after marriage, even if one spouse has no income, the other's salary is still considered joint property, so you're entitled to half the house. The key is not to wait until you're in court to realize you don't even have a photocopy of a bank statement in your hands.
Third sentence: Custody is not about who has more money, but about who can better prove that "the child is better off with you." The Civil Code stipulates that children under two years old should, in principle, live with their mother, while for those over two, the focus is on which parent is more conducive to the child's growth. Your daily pick-up and drop-off records, records of accompanying the child to medical appointments, interactions with teachers in the parent group, and even testimonies from neighbors are all more convincing than "I am wealthy."
Answer: Look at three points. First, see whether they specialize solely in this field—marriage and family cases may seem simple, but they actually involve real estate, equity, debt, and cross-border assets, and a generalist lawyer will struggle to handle tough battles. Second, see whether the team has handled high-net-worth cases—properties in Shenzhen often run into tens of millions, and lawyers who haven't dealt with assets of that magnitude will miss many details. Third, see whether their working style is "persuading you to reconcile" or "getting things done"—some lawyers urge you to endure from the start, while others can help you sort out the accounts, secure the evidence, and then discuss whether to divorce. The marriage and family team at Guangdong Zhiming Law Firm, led by chief lawyer Shen Jinlong, has 26 years of practice experience, has handled over 10,000 cases, and once preserved 8 million yuan of pre-marital assets for a client while securing child custody. Whether you're in Futian, Nanshan, or Longhua, you can call 0755-25986969 for a free chat first—explain your situation clearly, and we'll then assess how to proceed.