High-Net-Worth Couple in Shenzhen Divorce: 8 Million Yuan in Premarital Assets Nearly Taken Away? Lawyer Uses This Move to Successfully Protect Them

"When Lin Lan (a pseudonym) pushed open the door of Guangdong Zhiming Law Firm, he held a piece of bank running water in his hand and his fingertips turned white. She teaches at a university in Futian, Shenzhen, and her husband, Zhou Yuan (a pseudonym), runs a technology company with annual revenue of tens of millions. After nine years of marriage, she never thought that she would one day sit in front of a lawyer and investigate the whereabouts of the person at the pillow."
""He transferred 2.6 million from the account three times last month, saying it was debt repayment, but I checked, the money did not go into the company's public account at all. Lin Lan's voice was exhausted. Heru201c he u201dwas her husband of nine years. It has been more than a year since their relationship broke down, and they have been separated for 3 months. She did not mention the divorce, but the other party moved the money bag first."
"The contradiction erupted completely on the day she decided to sue for divorce. Zhou Yuan made a condition: the house belongs to him, and the child belongs to him, giving her 2 million "compensation". The two houses were one in Nanshan, with a market value of about 15 million. The other was in Longhua, with a market value of about 6 million. Both were purchased after marriage. Lin Lan could not accept it. What scared her even more was that the 2.6 million transferred away from "debt repayment" in Zhou Yuan's mouth was just the tip of the iceberg she found - she suspected that her husband still had at least 3-5 million dollars to go to unknown destinations."
"When she found a lawyer, the biggest anxiety was not the property, but the $8 million that her mother left her when she died last year."
""Lawyer Shen, the money my mother left me is in my name. It's been 9 years and I haven't moved it. This is my personal property, right? Lin Lan asked. She heard that if the marriage is more than 8 years old, the premarital property may become common property, and she had no idea."
"Article 1063 of the Civil Code clearly stipulates that the property determined to be the property of one party in a will or gift contract is the personal property of one of the spouses. * * Your mother died without leaving a will, and this deposit is a statutory inheritance. Although it took place within the marriage, the inheritance took place at the moment of your mother's death and there is no evidence that your mother gave it to both of you, so it is still your personal property."
"Lin Lan breathed a sigh of relief, but immediately asked, "What if he claims that the money was used by me to live together when he divorced, and wants to divide it?""
"u201cSo we have to fix the chain of evidence. Lawyer Shen gave a three-step agency strategy."
"The first step is called quarantine. Transfer the $8 million immediately to a newly opened personal account that is completely separate from your Family profile and turn off online transfers. This action is not to transfer the property, but to prevent the other party from accidentally freezing the money when applying for property preservation during the lawsuit."
"The second step is' forensics'. Shen's team applied for a court investigation order and collected Zhouyuan's public water and tax records for nearly 3 years. They found that of Zhou Yuan's 2.6 million li of "debt repayment", 1.9 million actually flowed into a private fund account that he personally controlled. This money belongs to the typical "concealment and transfer of the couple's common property" behavior."
"The third step is u201cbargaining chips.u201d Before the trial, Mr. Shen sent a copy of the evidence on the flow of funds investigated to Zhou Yuan's attorney. At the same time, Lin Lan submitted a certificate of contribution to the two sets of real estate - including her marriage salary card used to repay the monthly supply of water, a total of 48 months, a total of 736,000 yuan."
"The results were reversed. On the day of the trial, Zhou Yuan finally agreed to mediate: the two properties are owned by Lin Lan, and the child custody rights are owned by Lin Lan, and Zhou Yuan pays 12,000 yuan of maintenance every month until the child is 18 years old. Lin Lan's 8 million prenuptial deposit was fully secured and no pennies were lost. The 1.9 million funds transferred by Zhou Yuan were identified by the court as acts of concealing property due to the timely collection of evidence, and were given a small portion in the division."
""In Shenzhen divorce cases, more than 70% involve property division, and the average disputed subject is between 3 million and 8 million. Director Shen Jinlong analyzed that in fact, the win and loss of marriage and family disputes are often decided three months before the prosecution. Waiting for the other party to flatten the account, transfer the money, destroy the evidence, and then go to the court to appeal, it was already halfway late. Many parties have a misunderstanding and feel that they have a marriage license, and the other party's money is their own money. In fact, the law protects" clear property boundaries "rather than" emotional confusion "."
"A: You can't just not return it. Article 1064 of the Civil Code stipulates that debts incurred by the husband and wife through joint signatures or joint intentions such as subsequent recognition by one of the spouses shall be joint debts of the husband and the wife. If the debt exceeds the daily needs of the family, and the creditor cannot prove that the debt is used for the husband and wife to live together and jointly produce and operate, the other party shall not be liable for repayment. However, in practice, the Shenzhen court's determination of operating debt is more meticulous. For example, if Zhouyuan Company uses a family real estate mortgage, Lin Lan signs it, which is responsible."
"A: You can't find it. You can only find the details through the bank counter and WeChat flow, and you can't find the total amount of all the bank cards in the other party's name. By virtue of the investigation order, lawyers can go to the head offices or sub-branches of major banks in Shenzhen to retrieve specific account flows, but only if you provide clear clues, such as the card number of the other party in a bank. If there is not even a card number, the court usually needs to cooperate with the "property declaration order". If the other party does not cooperate, it may face the consequences of small points or irrelevant property. Therefore, accumulating screenshots of transfer records is far more effective than ex post speculation."
"A: Look at the running water. If this account has 1 million deposits before marriage and has not been moved after marriage, then 1 million belongs to the premarital property. However, if you have bought stocks and funds after marriage, and there are many entries and exits, and the funds are mixed, the court will generally split the "pre-marital principal" and "post-marital income". The recent jurisprudence of Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court tends to say that the natural yield (such as interest) generated by the premarital principal belongs to personal property, but the income generated by the active investment belongs to the common property. So, the best thing to do is to keep your prenuptial funds on a separate card and never mix them up."
"Looking out the window at Futian's traffic, Shen reminded Lin Lan that divorce was the beginning of true independence. For marriage and family cases in Shenzhen, the house, children, tickets, and pile parts are all hard battles. Don't expect a "clean house" TV drama plot, and don't fantasize about the other person's conscience. All decency is based on good evidence and good strategy."
"The phone rang in the office of Zhi Ming Law Firm, 0755-25986969, another consultation about marital confusion. Director Shen Jinlong put down the file in his hand - in the past 26 years, he has represented more than 10,000 cases. He knows that behind every number, there is a story of a family from broken to reborn."