Voluntary divorce with no assets, regret comes too late

[2] Compiled from: Linshu County People's Court
 
Case review
Aguo (male) and Ahxiang (female) registered their marriage in November 2007. After marriage, due to incompatible feelings, they applied for divorce registration at the marriage registration office in September 2021. After the one-month divorce cooling-off period expired, both parties signed a divorce agreement, stipulating that a self-built house would belong to the woman, and the man voluntarily waived his rights to it, with no debts during the marriage. In July 2022, Aguo filed a lawsuit with the Linshu Court, claiming that the house in question was built before the marriage and belonged to his personal premarital property, and that it was a gift to Ahxiang during the divorce. He requested to revoke the property division agreement and to have the house confirmed as his own.

 

After trial, Linshu Court held that the divorce agreement signed between A Guo and A Xiang had taken effect after both parties completed the divorce procedures. The agreement was an overall arrangement made by both parties based on the premise of divorce, covering matters such as child custody, property division, and handling of debts and claims. After the divorce cooling-off period, A Guo went to the marriage registration office to sign the divorce agreement and complete the divorce procedures with A Xiang, and he should have understood and accepted the legal binding effect of this action. When A Guo signed the divorce agreement, he voluntarily gave up ownership of the house involved to A Xiang, and there is no evidence showing that there was fraud, coercion, or other similar circumstances in the property handling. Additionally, property handling agreements made for the purpose of divorce often involve emotional factors and compensatory elements, reflecting the parties’ consideration of interest balance, and cannot be understood as a major misunderstanding or manifestly unfair situation in general civil contracts. Therefore, A Guo's claim to revoke the property division agreement and have the house assigned to him is not supported, and the Court legally dismissed A Guo's lawsuit request.
 
After the A State was dissatisfied with the judgment, it filed an appeal. After examination, the Linyi Intermediate Court rejected the appeal and upheld the original judgment.
 
 
Civil Code of the People's Republic of China
Article 1076
If both spouses voluntarily agree to divorce, they shall sign a written divorce agreement and personally apply for divorce registration at the marriage registration authority. The divorce agreement shall state the mutual intention of both parties to divorce voluntarily and their agreed opinions on matters such as child custody, property, and debt handling.
 
 
Supreme People's Court Interpretation (I) on the Application of the Marriage and Family Part of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China
Article 70
If both parties of a marriage regret the division of property after agreeing to divorce and request to revoke the property division agreement, the people's court shall accept the case. After accepting the case, if the people's court does not find any circumstances such as fraud or coercion when the property division agreement was made, it shall reject the party's lawsuit request according to law.
 
 
[1] The author's perspective
A divorce agreement is an agreement reached by both parties expressing their intention to divorce voluntarily and having reached a consensus on matters such as child custody, property, and debt handling. Signing a written divorce agreement is a statutory requirement for an agreed divorce. According to the law, the provisions regarding property and debt handling in a divorce agreement legally signed by the parties are legally binding on both men and women, and both parties should adhere to the principle of good faith and fulfill their commitments as agreed.
 
In this case, the divorce agreement voluntarily signed by A Guo and A Xiang represents the true intention of both parties, with no fraud, coercion, or other such circumstances involved. It is legally valid, and cannot be unilaterally altered or revoked without mutual consent of both parties. Therefore, in an agreed divorce, one must not act on emotion, and the division of property must be carefully considered.