In her Shenzhen divorce, she fought for an 8-million-yuan property and custody of her son—how did she win? After comparing three attorney service models, she chose this firm.

Last Wednesday afternoon, a woman living in Nanshan, Shenzhen, came to our firm, and her first words were: "Lawyer Shen, my husband has already transferred out three sums of the savings, and his parents have moved into the house. Is it too late for me to file a lawsuit now?" She had been married for 11 years, with two properties, a car, and an 8-year-old son. Her husband was a senior executive at a tech company, earning over a million a year. What worried her most wasn't the money—it was her son.
She said she had consulted two law firms—one quoted "5万 all-inclusive," while the other said "3% of the claim amount, with an 8万 upfront fee." She was completely confused and couldn't tell the difference between the two.

First, let's talk about the three most common service models on the market.
Assistant receptionists handle intake, intern lawyers draft pleadings, and trial lawyers skim the case files at the last minute. The upside is low cost—the downside is that no one follows your case from start to finish, and by the time you're in court, the lawyer can't even clearly state what year your house was purchased. Some law firms in Shenzhen take on over a dozen divorce consultations a day, and with that model, it's hard to do any deep analysis of complex assets.
The brand is well-known and the office is large, but the lawyer actually handling your case might be a young attorney who just got licensed. The core partners only show up at the moment of signing. This isn't to say young lawyers are incompetent, but when marriage and family cases involve equity, nominee holdings, or overseas assets, the gap in experience becomes evident the moment questions are asked in court.
From client consultations to the finalization of judgments, every case is handled personally by lawyers with over ten or even twenty years of practice experience. This model is rare in Shenzhen, as senior lawyers have limited time and a cap on the number of cases they can take each year. Guangdong Zhiming Law Firm follows this path—the firm's director, lawyer Shen Jinlong, has been practicing for 26 years, and for cases handled by the matrimonial and family affairs team, he personally participates in strategy development and appears in court for complex cases.
Many people think "art litigation" is a marketing concept. In fact, it is not.
Avoid direct confrontation, identify what the other party cares about most, and use minimal cost to leverage maximum negotiation space.
For example, last year, the Zhiming team handled a divorce case in Futian District. The couple's joint property was approximately 15 million yuan, but the husband had transferred most of the liquid assets to his mother's account, leaving only a mortgaged property on the books. If we had followed the conventional route of applying for investigation orders and filing a revocation lawsuit, just the first-instance trial alone would have taken over a year.
The approach taken by the Zhiming team was to hold off on filing the lawsuit and instead compile a chart detailing the man's financial transactions over the past three years, records of company equity changes, and even the payment sources for the new property purchased under his mother's name. Before the court hearing, a copy of this chart was "casually" placed in front of the opposing counsel. Three days later, the other side proactively proposed mediation—ultimately, the woman received nearly double the assets compared to the man's initial offer.
Fine, but only if the chain of evidence is solid enough.
The Zhiming Marriage and Family Team handled a case involving a disputed amount exceeding 20 million yuan. The client was a female entrepreneur from Longhua, Shenzhen, who had purchased a property before marriage using a personal account for the down payment and continued to repay the mortgage with her salary card after marriage. The husband claimed that the property constituted joint marital property and also sought custody of their two children.
The team did three things: first, they traced the bank transaction records for the pre-marital down payment back five years to form a complete financial loop; second, they submitted the woman's company tax records and equity incentive plan to the court, proving that her income stability was better than the man's; third, they submitted the man's business trip records and the testimony of the housekeeper, proving that the daily care of the child was mainly carried out by the woman.
The 8 million in pre-marital property was successfully preserved in part, and custody of the two children was also awarded to the woman.
In Shenzhen divorce lawsuits, seven out of ten cases involve disputes over property. The amounts in dispute generally range from 3 million to 8 million RMB, with even higher figures in core areas within the city limits. When courts handle such cases, they primarily focus on three key time points in practice: the date the purchase contract was signed, the date of real estate registration, and the date the mortgage was fully repaid. However, when it comes to specific rulings, courts also consider the source of the down payment funds, the proportion of post-marital loan repayments, and whether parental contributions were involved.
Article 1087 of the Civil Code clearly stipulates that upon divorce, the community property of the husband and wife shall be disposed of by mutual agreement; if the agreement fails, the court shall make a judgment in accordance with the principle of favoring the rights and interests of the children, the wife, and the non-breaching party. However, "favoring" does not mean equal distribution; it must be supported by evidence to substantiate the term "favoring."
Answer: Don't just look at the price quote. First, ask three questions: Who will handle my case? How many years has he or she been practicing? How many cases has he or she handled with a claim amount similar to mine? If the answers are vague, move on to the next firm. Additionally, during the in-person meeting, pay attention to whether the lawyer is truly listening to you—in marriage and family cases, listening matters more than speaking.
First, print out all bank statements before filing the lawsuit, covering at least three years. For every large transfer to parents, siblings, or other relatives, you must be able to explain the purpose of each transaction.
Second, in custody battles, what judges value most is "stability." Don't disrupt things by switching schools—maintaining your child's current routine is far more useful than earning an extra twenty thousand a month.
Third, if the house is registered under the other party's name, don't panic. For the portion of the mortgage repaid after marriage using joint marital property, you are entitled to half of that share. The key is not to lose the repayment records.
Divorce, at its core, is a game of evidence and strategy. Some people drag on for three years without even getting a court date, while others secure a mediation agreement in three months. The difference isn't luck—it's professionalism.
If you are facing similar concerns and your home is in Futian, Nanshan, or Longhua in Shenzhen, you are welcome to visit Guangdong Zhiming Law Firm — Room 1802, Tower A, Xintian Century Business Center, Shixia North Second Street, Futian District, Shenzhen. Let's first clarify your situation before deciding on the next steps. Phone: 0755-25986969. The team led by Director Lawyer Shen Jinlong handles over a hundred marriage and family cases a year; the issues troubling you, they have likely encountered more than once.