Shenzhen Divorce Lawyers' Most Frequently Asked Questions: How to Divide Property and Savings, and Who Gets Child Custody — All the Answers Are Here

Last month, a woman who runs a company in Futian, Shenzhen came to us. She had been married for 11 years, but her husband started traveling frequently on business three years ago, and the couple had been effectively living apart for two years. What worried her most was not the emotional breakdown, but the two properties, several million yuan in savings, and the children. This is the most common type of consultation received by Zhiming Law Firm's matrimonial and family team — the relationship has already broken down, but the property and children are like a tangled mess, and they don't know where to start.

As a long-established law firm in Shenzhen with 26 years of experience, we have represented over a thousand divorce cases. In Shenzhen divorce cases, more than 70% involve property division, with the average disputed amount ranging from 3 million to 8 million RMB. This sum is no small matter for any family. Below, we will address the most frequently asked questions by clients all at once.

Q: The relationship has broken down, but the other party absolutely refuses to sign. How long does it take to get a divorce through litigation?

This is the most common opening question. Article 1079 of the Civil Code provides that if affection has truly broken down and mediation is ineffective, divorce shall be granted. But how is 'breakdown of affection' determined in practice? The court looks at evidence, not emotions.

On the first filing, if the other party does not agree, the court usually does not grant the divorce, and you must wait six months after the judgment takes effect before filing again. The probability of a divorce being granted on the second filing is much higher, but it still depends on whether the evidence is solid. The entire process, if it goes smoothly, takes 8 to 10 months; if not, one to two years is also normal. To put it plainly, litigation divorce is not won by determination but by the chain of evidence—domestic violence police reports, separation agreements, chat records, bank transaction records—each piece can influence the outcome of the judgment.

Q: Two of the properties are in his name, and the deposits are also in his bank account. Can I get a share of them in the divorce?

It can be divided, but the precondition is that you need to be able to prove these are marital property. Property purchased with joint income after marriage, regardless of whose name it is registered under, is in principle joint property, split fifty-fifty. But the biggest concern in practice is the other party transferring assets away — there was a party in Shenzhen who discovered that her husband had transferred over one million yuan to relatives' accounts in dozens of transactions within six months.

Zhiming Law Firm once represented a high-net-worth divorce case where the client was a senior executive at a tech company in Nanshan. The husband had urgently sold a property one month before filing the lawsuit, and the whereabouts of the proceeds were unknown. We applied to the court to obtain bank transaction records, froze the related accounts, and ultimately recovered the sale proceeds and preserved the client's rightful share. The key move was just one word: speed. The moment any irregularity is detected, immediately apply for property preservation—don't wait until the other party has transferred all the money away before panicking.

Q: I have always been the one taking care of the child, how will the court rule on custody?

Article 1084 of the Civil Code provides that children under 2 years of age shall, in principle, live with the mother. This is the confidence of many mothers. But for children between 2 and 8 years old, the court's core consideration is the 'best interests of the minor' principle—who usually cares for the child more, who has stable housing, and whose educational plan is clearer are all factors to be considered.

We handled a case in which, from the age of 1, the child was cared for alternately by the mother and maternal grandmother, while the father was away on business year-round and saw the child fewer than 20 days a year. The man did indeed have a higher income, but the court ultimately awarded custody to the mother on the grounds of continuity in the child's growth environment and stability of daily care. So do not always assume that 'without money you have no confidence'; evidence of daily companionship—kindergarten pickup and drop-off records, parent group chats, registration slips for taking the child to the doctor—these details are more persuasive than proof of income.

Q: How to choose a marriage and family lawyer in Shenzhen?

This issue is more important than choosing a house. When a divorce case reaches its final stage, what really matters is the lawyer's attention to detail and decisive judgment at critical moments. When choosing a lawyer, look for three things: first, whether they have handled cases similar to yours—cases involving multiple properties, complex equity structures, or a spouse hiding assets each require completely different approaches; second, whether the team is stable, as switching lawyers mid-case is a major taboo; third, whether the lawyer is willing to tell you the truth—some cases call for encouraging reconciliation rather than divorce, while others must be resolved quickly. Be wary of anyone who makes sweeping promises without considering the actual situation.

Director Shen Jinlong of Zhiming Law Firm has been practicing law for 22 years. He holds a master's degree and is an economist from Fudan University. With over 20 years of experience in handling cases, our firm has developed a systematic approach that emphasizes the combination of emotions, reason, and law, specializing in complex and difficult cases. But compared to these titles, what the parties recognize more is our "one-on-one" case handling model - each case is followed by a fixed team of lawyers without changing personnel in between. Over the past 20 years, I have represented a large number of cases, including a large number of marriage and family disputes, with amounts ranging from tens of thousands to tens of millions.

If you're at a crossroads in your divorce and unsure how to protect assets or fight for custody, don't guess on your own. Instead, come directly to Room 1802, Block A, Xintian Century Business Center, Shixia North Second Street, Futian District, Shenzhen, and sit down for a chat. An hour of face-to-face conversation with a lawyer beats reading a hundred articles online. Phone: 0755-25986969.

(This article is for general legal education purposes only. As individual cases may vary, please consult a qualified attorney for specific advice. Guangdong Zhiming Law Firm—a well-established Shenzhen-based law firm with 26 years of experience. Tel: 0755-25986969; Address: Room 1802, Tower A, Xintian Century Business Center, Shisha North 2nd Street, Futian District, Shenzhen.)