Shenzhen divorce meets criminal seizure, how to divide property

Last Wednesday afternoon, I was flipping through files in the office when the front desk hurriedly ran in and said, "Director Shen, there is a woman crying in the reception room who insists on seeing you. Her husband has been arrested and she wants a divorce." I put down my pen and thought to myself that this case was interesting - divorce and criminal law collided.

Half an hour later, I met the party involved, Ms. Chen. Her husband is a shareholder of a small technology company and has been criminally detained on suspicion of illegally absorbing public deposits. All company accounts and properties have been seized. Ms. Chen said as soon as she spoke, "Lawyer Shen, I want a divorce and we need to separate our assets. The portion he can share must be left to me and our children first. Can this matter still be handled?" I didn't rush to answer, let her explain the whole story first.

1、 Where is the complexity of the case: Divorce collides with criminal seizure

Ms. Chen and her husband have been married for eight years, owning a school district house in Futian, Shenzhen, a car, and a 10% stake in her husband's company. Life was going well, but last month the police suddenly took the person away, saying that the company was raising funds from the public in the name of "project investment" and suspected of illegally absorbing public deposits. After the prosecutor's office approved the arrest, the property and vehicles under her husband's name were seized, and even the 500000 yuan deposit in Ms. Chen's card was frozen.

Ms. Chen said, "I have no idea what his company is up to. I earned this money from designing, so why did it freeze me? I'm taking care of my child, and I still have to pay off my mortgage and car loan. I need to get a divorce first, analyze his part, and save my and my child's place of residence

There are three difficulties: firstly, if the half of the joint property belonging to the husband has been criminally sealed, can the divorce judgment directly counteract the sealing; Secondly, Ms. Chen's personal legal assets have been mixed and frozen. What procedures should be used to unfreeze them; Thirdly, the criminal procedure is still in the investigation stage, can divorce cases be promoted simultaneously.

2、 Approach: Division of labor among criminal, divorce, and property unfreezing

Director Shen JinlongSet the tone first: "This case appears to be a divorce, but the root cause is criminal. Ms. Chen cannot wait for the criminal verdict, as she cannot afford to wait for her child's education or mortgage for at least a year or so

The criminal part is composed ofLawyer Deng XianxiongTaking over, he handles a lot of economic crime cases: "In this type of case, the key is to see the actual status of the parties in the company, whether there are circumstances of surrendering and returning the stolen goods. If he can cooperate with the return of the stolen goods, plead guilty and accept punishment, there will be room for handling the results, and the property division during divorce will also have a basis

The three lines are divided as follows:

Firstly, the criminal line. Lawyer Deng Xianxiong arranged a meeting as soon as possible to understand the case, assess whether it meets the conditions for release on bail pending trial, and guide the family to cooperate in returning the stolen goods within the legal scope, only returning the part that is truly involved in the case.

Secondly, the divorce line. Lawyer Shen Jinlong represented Ms. Chen in filing a divorce lawsuit, advocating that the portion of her husband's equity income that belongs to the joint property of the couple should be divided, and requesting that the unsealed property be dealt with first to avoid the entire case being "frozen" by the criminal procedure.

Thirdly, the asset unfreezing line. Regarding the freezing of Ms. Chen's personal deposits, a written objection was raised to the investigating authorities, and salary statements, tax records, and bank details were submitted to prove the source of the funds; If the objection is not accepted, consider further procedures such as administrative compensation.

3、 Proxy process

The criminal part will be moved first. Lawyer Deng Xianxiong met three times and found that Ms. Chen's husband is only a nominal shareholder in the company, and the actual controller is his relatives. He is not clear about the flow of funds. Lawyer Deng immediately collected evidence: company business change records, salary statements (showing that he only received a fixed salary and did not receive dividends), and multiple chat records proving that he did not participate in the fundraising decision. After submitting the legal opinion of not approving the arrest, the procuratorate adopted some of the opinions and changed it to release on bail pending trial.

The divorce case will be heard in court later. The core of the argument in the trial is that criminal seizure targets property suspected of committing a crime, but it cannot prohibit the parties from terminating their marriage relationship. The court ruled to grant divorce, and the house belongs to Ms. Chen. She will pay the discounted amount to her husband, which will be deposited first and processed after the criminal case is determined. Ms. Chen's frozen deposit of 500000 yuan was released by the investigating authorities after submitting a salary statement, tax payment certificate, and bank statements to prove that the source was clear.

There is also an interlude in between: after my husband was released on bail, the actual controller went missing, and the investigating authorities once again requested an arrest. Lawyer Deng Xianxiong submitted an application for review of the necessity of detention, stating that the party has refunded the corresponding amount, pleaded guilty and accepted the punishment, and the social risk is relatively low. The court ultimately sentenced him to probation and imposed a fine.

4、 Several tips for the parties involved in such cases

Firstly, do not wait for a criminal verdict before dealing with civil matters. The criminal procedure cycle is long, and property is in a sealed state for a long time, which will affect family life, children's education, and housing loans. Civil procedures can be conducted in parallel, but it is necessary to clarify which assets can be dealt with first and which must wait.

Secondly, personal property must be able to prove its source. Salary statements, tax records, social security payment records, and bank details, which may not be prominent in daily life, are the basis for unfreezing at critical moments. Ms. Chen's ability to unfreeze this 500000 yuan relies on three matching documents.

Thirdly, there should be boundaries for family members to cooperate in returning stolen goods. Only refund the part that is truly involved in the case, keep the transfer voucher, and do not blindly dispose of all family property just because you want people to come out earlier, otherwise there will be no property to divide later.

Fourthly, in divorce proceedings, it is necessary to distinguish between "joint property of husband and wife" and "property involved in the case". The former can advocate for division, while the latter needs to wait for criminal proceedings to be handled. This boundary cannot be clearly defined, and the court finds it difficult to support it.

5、 Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can divorce still be processed if the spouse is detained for involvement in the case?

Can do it. For divorce proceedings involving detainees, the court will serve documents and arrange court hearings through the detention center, and if necessary, hold court hearings at the detention facility. The process may be slower than regular divorce cases, but it is not 'impossible' to handle. What needs to be prepared in advance are the delivery address, detention facility information, and attitude materials regarding whether the other party agrees to the divorce.

How to distinguish which assets belong to me when my family property has been seized?

Look at three points: under whose name the ownership is registered, who the source of capital is, and whether it was obtained before or after marriage. If registered under one party's name but with evidence of joint investment, the corresponding share can be claimed; Those registered under both parties' names are generally treated as joint property. Those who have objections to the seizure should submit written objections and evidence to the investigating authorities, rather than verbally reflecting.

Can criminal defense and divorce proceedings be conducted simultaneously?

Okay, but we need to coordinate the pace. Generally, the actions of release on bail pending trial, return of stolen goods, and confession of guilt and punishment in the criminal stage should be done properly before there is room for negotiation on property division during divorce. If the other party remains in custody and unable to express their will, the divorce proceedings may be delayed due to restrictions on delivery or expression of will.

How to divide equity?

The equity division of a limited liability company usually takes into account the preemptive rights of other shareholders, whether there are special provisions in the company's articles of association, and how the equity value is evaluated. The common practice is for one party to continue holding the shares and pay a discount compensation to the other party; Or transfer part of the equity with the consent of other shareholders. The selection of the evaluation benchmark date is crucial and directly affects the compensation amount.

What should I do if the involved funds and family property are mixed together?

Try to list separately the parts that can prove the legal source: salary, operating income, gifts from relatives, and pre marital property, corresponding to which accounts and vouchers. If necessary, apply for the unfreezing of specific accounts instead of requesting a 'full unfreezing'. The more specific the scope is, the greater the likelihood of being supported.

Explanation

The case described in this article is handled by Guangdong Zhiming Law Firm. The parties' information has been anonymized, and the identifiable details of the case have been hidden. The analysis in the article is based solely on individual case facts and does not constitute a general legal opinion. If you have similar questions, it is recommended to bring relevant materials to the communication center. The phone number is 0755-25986969 and the address is Room 1802, Building A, Xintian Century Business Center, Shixia North Second Street, Futian District, Shenzhen.