How long do you have to endure from filing a lawsuit to receiving the judgment? A breakdown of the Shenzhen divorce litigation timeline — if the other party absolutely refuses to divorce, can you still fight for and win property and child custody?

Last month, a woman from Nanshan, Shenzhen, approached Zhiming Law Firm and immediately said, "I have been married for 7 years, my child is 5 years old, and we bought the house together after marriage. I have been filing for divorce for two years, but he just didn't sign and said he would drag me down. Can I just wait for his consent? ”Her eyes were dark under her eyes, indicating that she had been suffering from insomnia for a long time.
I hear this question almost every week. In Shenzhen, when a marriage comes to an end, what is often most tormenting is not the relationship itself, but the helplessness and anxiety caused by 'the other party's non-cooperation.' Today I will take the matter of litigated divorce apart and explain clearly the time, cost, and key tactics.


Shenzhen handles about 50000 divorce registrations every year, but less than 10% of them actually go through the litigation process. This data indicates two things: firstly, divorce by agreement is the absolute mainstream; Secondly, once a lawsuit is initiated, the case will inevitably involve irreconcilable contradictions - either the amount of property is too large to reach an agreement, or one party's attitude is extremely firm.
We have conducted statistics and found that over 70% of divorce cases in Shenzhen involve property division, with an average dispute amount ranging from 3 million to 8 million yuan. What is the concept of this number? A typical residential property in Shenzhen is essentially the savings of an ordinary family for half a lifetime. So, when the other party drags on without getting divorced, often it's not about emotions, it's about bargaining chips - he's waiting for you to make concessions first or for changes in his financial situation.
Yes. The law has never stipulated that divorce must be agreed upon by both parties.
The provisions of the Civil Code on divorce through litigation are very clear: if the relationship has indeed broken down and mediation is ineffective, divorce should be granted. The key is how to prove the four words' emotional breakdown '. In practice, the standards recognized by the court are usually: bigamy or cohabitation with others, domestic violence, abandonment, gambling and drug abuse, repeated failure to reform, separation for two years due to emotional discord, or other situations that lead to the breakdown of the relationship.
But there is a practical problem here: many people have no awareness at all of collecting evidence. I have seen a client in Futian whose husband had long not come home. She only knew to be angry, but did not know to preserve evidence of separation—no lease contract, no chat records, no property management certification. As a result, the other party said in court that 'we were only temporarily having a quarrel,' and the judge, seeing insufficient evidence, directly ruled no divorce on the first filing.
Therefore, when the other party does not agree to divorce, the first thing you should do is not worry, but rather, starting from the day you file the lawsuit, consciously build a chain of evidence of 'breakdown of affection.'
This is the most frequently asked question by the parties involved. Divorce litigation in Shenzhen usually takes 3 to 6 months to complete the first instance procedure. However, it should be noted that "3 to 6 months" refers to a normal court scheduling situation. If the other party intentionally delays - such as refusing subpoenas, applying for jurisdictional objections, or requesting counterclaims - the timeline will be extended to 9 months or even a year.
The first lawsuit cannot be dismissed, and it will take 6 months to file another lawsuit. After the second lawsuit, the possibility of the court ruling for divorce will significantly increase, but the time cost has already accumulated to more than a year and a half.
So, we usually recommend that the parties prepare for both: while going through the litigation process at a fixed time point, they also evaluate the possibility of mediation. Mediation is not a compromise, but another way to fight for rights. As long as the property division plan is reasonable, mediation is often more cost-effective than forced judgment - saving time and effort.
First, regarding real estate. The basic principle for property division in divorce cases in Shenzhen is: the portion of joint mortgage payments made after marriage, along with the appreciation of the property, constitutes joint property, regardless of whose name appears on the property certificate. When making a specific division, the court will consider factors such as the proportion of capital contribution, mortgage repayment status, and child custody arrangements. A common approach is for the property to be awarded to one party, with that party providing cash compensation to the other.
Let's talk about custody. The core standard of the court is "conducive to the growth of children", but in practice, for children under 2 years old, they should follow the mother's wishes. For children over 8 years old, the child's wishes should be respected. Between 2 and 8 years old, it depends on both parties' upbringing conditions, companionship time, and educational plans. In another case we represented, the man had a high income but traveled frequently, while the woman had an average income but picked up and dropped off the child every day. The court ultimately awarded the child to the woman.
Last year, in a divorce case we handled, the client was a mother from Longhua. Her husband, a senior executive at a company, owned a school-district property in Futian and a residential property in Longhua. The husband refused to agree to the divorce and was unwilling to divide the properties, attempting to use delaying tactics to force the wife to leave the marriage with nothing.
After taking over, we did one thing: first, we helped her organize a complete chain of evidence for the breakdown of the relationship, including records of the man's long-term absence from home, rent transfers during the separation period, and proof that the child had been taken care of by the woman. Then actively apply for mediation to the court, putting the cost on the table: if we force a fight, the time, energy, and emotional consumption of both parties will be enormous; If mediated, an agreement can be reached within three days.
The mediation process went back and forth over two rounds. Initially, the man was only willing to give up the Longhua property and remained adamant about not conceding the Futian school-district apartment. We presented a market value assessment report for Shenzhen school-district properties, along with the legal basis for custody determination, and finally the man agreed: the Futian school-district apartment goes to the woman, the Longhua residence goes to the man, the woman waives all other property claims, custody of the child goes to the woman, and the man pays monthly child support.
It takes three months from filing the case to receiving the mediation agreement. This result is faster than the judgment and more in line with the core interests of our party.
Back to the woman from Nanshan at the beginning. I asked her: 'What are you most afraid of now?' She said: 'That it will drag on too long and he will transfer the assets.' I said, then what you should do most now is not wait for him to agree, but act immediately.
When a relationship breaks down and the other party disagrees, the biggest fear is not filing a lawsuit, but waiting. Lawsuits should at least have a fixed time frame, freeze the status of assets, and establish a chain of evidence. Waiting will only give the other party enough time to make financial arrangements. Divorce lawsuits in Shenzhen have an average dispute amount of over 3 million yuan, and with each month of delay, risks accumulate.
Zhiming Law Firm has been working in Shenzhen for 26 years, and its marriage and family affairs team has been dealing with such divorce disputes for a long time. Director Lawyer Shen Jinlong has 22 years of practice experience, and his resume as a lawyer after transitioning from a state-owned enterprise executive has given him a more acute judgment on the equity, real estate, and implicit income involved in property division. If you are struggling with divorce issues, you may call 0755-25986969 to talk to a lawyer about your specific situation - at least, clarify your situation and options first.
Q: What will the court do if the other party keeps failing to appear in court during a divorce lawsuit?
**Answer:** If a party who has been served with a summons fails to appear in court without justifiable reasons, the court may render a default judgment. However, if the case involves personal status relationships, the court will generally exercise greater caution. In practice, the other party's failure to appear may actually work in your favor—it is deemed as waiver of their rights to present a defense and submit evidence. Of course, the prerequisite is that your evidence must be solid; you cannot expect the judge to advocate on your behalf.
**Q: How are the fees usually calculated for divorce litigation in Shenzhen?
**Answer: * * The fees are determined based on the type of business and workload, with clear pricing. A written contract is signed before commissioning, and receipts are issued for charging. The workload of divorce cases varies greatly: the size of the disputed subject matter, whether to conduct a property investigation, whether there is a custody dispute, and whether the other party will delay the process, all of which will affect the process and time invested. Therefore, the quotation needs to be discussed after reviewing the materials. Zhiming Law Firm adopts a "one-on-one" case handling mode, and the cost composition will be written into the contract item by item. It is recommended to first call 0755-25986969 to explain the case.