After 11 years of marriage, a 7 million RMB apartment in Shenzhen and custody of their son — how did she get all of it? A lawyer's case notes

One late autumn last year, a woman in a beige trench coat sat in the reception room of Zhi Ming Law Firm, her fingers unconsciously twisting the strap of her handbag. She had lived in Meilin Yicun, Futian, Shenzhen for 11 years, and her son had just turned 8. She and her husband had built a trading company from scratch that now generated an annual revenue of over ten million yuan. The family owned two properties, two cars, and held a 30% equity stake in the company.
She said, "Attorney Shen, last month my husband transferred 1.8 million yuan out of the company account, saying that since I haven't worked all these years, the money was all earned by him."
What she feared most wasn't the money. She was afraid of losing custody of her son—because in her husband's eyes, a stay-at-home mom with "no source of income" was simply unqualified to raise the child.

The couple's property is actually not complicated: a school-district apartment in Futian (market value approximately 7 million), a nearly new home in Longhua (market value approximately 4 million), company equity, and the 1.8 million yuan in savings that was transferred away.
But her husband took a hard line: the house was purchased after marriage, but his parents had contributed 1.2 million yuan toward the down payment, so he should receive the larger share; the savings came from the company's operations, and as the legal representative, he had the authority to allocate those funds; as for their son, he argued that his higher income would allow him to provide the child with a better education.
The deadlock dragged on for two months. Her husband even went so far as to say, "Go ahead and sue me. Drag it out for a year or two — let's see who can outlast whom."
When she came to us, her most pressing concern was just one: does the law actually protect a wife like her who "doesn't work"?
The answer is that it is protected. Under Article 1088 of the Civil Code, if one spouse bears more obligations in raising children, caring for elderly parents, or assisting the other spouse's work, that spouse has the right to request compensation from the other spouse upon divorce. In practice, courts in Shenzhen have shown increasing support for full-time mothers' compensation claims year after year. Simply put, raising children and managing the household is not "doing nothing" — the law recognizes this contribution.
After the Zhiming Marriage and Family Team took over the case, Lead Attorney Shen Jinlong's strategy was not to rush into litigation, but to first carry out two steps: securing assets and preserving evidence.
First, regarding the 1.8 million yuan that was transferred away, we applied for pre-litigation property preservation. The key to this move lies in "speed"—once the husband moves the money to a third-party account or even overseas, the difficulty of recovering it doubles. After the court received the transfer records and preliminary ownership documentation we provided, it froze the husband's bank accounts within 48 hours.
Second, regarding custody, our approach was not to attack the father for "not having time to spend with the child." Instead, we put together a complete chain of evidence: every parent-teacher conference record from the son's kindergarten through elementary school showed that she was the one who attended; every signature on the medical records for the child's doctor visits was hers; even the homeroom teacher's comments noted that "the child has a cheerful personality and his mother has been more involved in his upbringing." Individually, these details may not seem significant, but taken together, they form a compelling demonstration of who the primary caregiver is.
As for that school-district apartment in Futian, the husband insisted that the 1.2 million yuan contributed by his parents should be deducted first. We obtained the bank transfer records from back then and found that the money had passed through the husband's own account before being transferred into the property purchase account. Under the judicial interpretation of the Marriage and Family Part of the Civil Code, where the nature of parental contributions is not clearly agreed upon in such circumstances, the contribution is deemed a gift to both spouses. This detail became the breakthrough that shattered his illusion of receiving a larger share of the property.
The case was settled through mediation at the Futian District People's Court in Shenzhen. The final arrangement: the school-district property in Futian was awarded to her, and the property in Longhua went to the husband; she retained the company equity but transferred it to the husband, who paid her a buyout amount; the 1.8 million yuan that had been transferred away was to be returned in full. Most importantly, she was granted custody of their son, with the husband paying monthly child support. Additionally, because she had borne a greater share of household responsibilities, the court separately ordered the husband to make a one-time payment of 120,000 yuan as compensation for domestic labor.
On the day she received the mediation document, she broke down in tears at the law firm. She said that what she feared most was not actually walking away without money, but having her 11 years of dedication to the family denied. The 120,000 yuan in compensation was not a large sum, but it represented the law's recognition of her worth.
After this case is wrapped up, I'd like to share a few details with the sisters in Shenzhen:
First, protection of pre-marital property. If you own property or savings in your name from before marriage, don't assume they automatically merge into marital assets once you tie the knot. Keep the bank transaction records and the property certificate timeline for your pre-marital assets, and if necessary, consider having a prenuptial property notarization done. We handled another case where a woman used her pre-marital savings to buy a new property after marriage. Because the flow of funds was clearly traceable, all 8 million yuan was recognized as her separate personal property—not a cent was divided.
Second, in custody disputes, the court looks at "who is fulfilling the daily parenting responsibilities." It's not about who earns more. In principle, children under two years old stay with the mother (Article 1084 of the Civil Code), and children over eight years old have their wishes respected. For the ages in between, the deciding factor is evidence of companionship.
Third, if you discover the other party is transferring assets, apply for preservation immediately. In Shenzhen divorce cases, over 70% involve real estate division, with the average disputed amount ranging from 3 to 8 million RMB. At this scale of assets, every single day of delay increases the risk.
Answer: Look at two things. First, whether the team has handled cases of a similar subject amount; second, whether the lawyer is willing to listen to you finish what you have to say. Zhiming Law Firm is located at Suite 1802, Building A, New Century Business Center, Futian District. Over the past 26 years, it has handled more than a thousand marriage and family cases, and Director Lawyer Shen Jinlong himself has 26 years of practicing experience. When it comes to divorce, hiring a lawyer is not about burning bridges—it is about finding a way to carry on with life after the feelings have run their course.
If you encounter similar issues in Shenzhen—whether it's property division, tracing bank deposits, or child custody—feel free to visit us at Room 1802, Block A, Xintiandi Century Business Center, Shixia North 2nd Street, Futian District. You can also reach us at 0755-25986969. Assets can be calculated, but your devotion should never be written off.