Is there a high probability that Ningbo will sue for fraud and coercion to revoke the divorce agreement?

After the divorce, Ms. Li found that her ex-husband concealed a number of properties and deposits. She thought that the divorce agreement was signed under the condition of fraud and wanted to sue to cancel the property division agreement. In practice, there are quite a few lawsuits of this type—where parties reopen old disputes after divorce—but the outcomes vary considerably: some result in the successful annulment of the original settlement and a re‑division of assets, while most are dismissed due to insufficient evidence. First, give a conclusion: if the lawsuit is filed to revoke the divorce property division agreement on the grounds of fraud or coercion, the court will accept it, but whether the lawsuit can be won depends on whether the evidence is sufficient-it must be proved that the other party has deliberately concealed major property or committed coercion, and he signed the agreement against the true meaning. Those who are not satisfied with the division ratio and cannot produce evidence of fraud and coercion will almost certainly be rejected.

Dismantling of 1. Legal Basis and Revocation Elements

The direct basis of this kind of lawsuit is Article 70 of the Interpretation (I) of the Supreme People's Court on the Application of the Marriage and Family Code of the Civil Code of the People's the People's Republic of China of China: "If the husband and wife go back on their word on the issue of property division after divorce by agreement and request to cancel the property division agreement, the people's court shall accept it. If, after the trial, the people's court does not find that there was fraud or coercion in the conclusion of the property division agreement, it shall reject the party's claim in accordance with the law. "The first half of the article resolves" the court does not care "-control, and is applicable after registration of divorce and litigation divorce; The second half of the sentence is the key-the court examines whether there was fraud or coercion when the agreement was signed, not whether the agreement was fair.

The substantive rules of fraud and coercion come from Article 148 of the Civil Code (where one party fraudulently causes the other party to commit a civil juristic act against its true will, the defrauded party has the right to request revocation), Article 150 (coercion) and Article 151 (manifest unfairness). There are four levels of dismantling the elements of fraud: first, the other party has committed fraud, typically deliberately concealing, transferring or falsely reporting major property, or falsely reporting debts and income; Second, I fell into a wrong understanding and mistakenly thought that the property status had been fully disclosed. Third, the wrong understanding directly affected the signing decision-that is, "the concealed property is enough to affect the division plan"; Fourth, there is a causal relationship. The coercive element, on the other hand, requires the threat of imminent damage or the threat of violence, so that the other party is forced to sign the contract in fear, and in practice the threshold of establishment is higher than fraud.

How to go 2. several confusing situations

First, what the other party conceals is "the property that has not been dealt with at all in the agreement". In this case, there is no need to revoke the agreement, and the property may be divided again directly under Article 1092 of the Civil Code, and the other party may be claimed to be divided less or not, and the statute of limitations shall be three years from the date of discovery. The revocation agreement is aimed at the clause that "the agreement has been processed but the processing result is affected by fraud". The relief paths of the two are different, and choosing the wrong path will lead to more detours.

Secondly, the other side just takes advantage of the dominant position or poor information to talk about the division plan in their favor. If the degree of fraud and coercion is not reached, but the result of the division is obviously unbalanced and unfair, an attempt can be made to invoke Article 151 of the Civil Code to request revocation. However, judicial practice is very cautious in determining "obviously unfair"-agreed divorce itself is often accompanied by concessions, and the court will not revoke the agreement just because one party has less points.

Third, the separate provisions of the agreement are fraudulent, coerced. Whether the right of revocation extends to the entire property division agreement or only to the affected provisions shall be judged in conjunction with the severability of the provisions; in practice, if there is fraud in the treatment of only individual property, the court may only revoke or change the corresponding part, and the remaining provisions shall remain in force.

Fourth, the clause on the gift of children's property. If the agreement stipulates that the real estate will be donated to the children, and one party wants to go back on his word in the name of "revoking the gift" afterwards, according to Article 20 of the (II) for the Interpretation of Marriage and Family of the Civil Code, if the divorce agreement stipulates that the common property will be given to the children, the court will not support it (except for the consent of the other party); However, it can prove that there was fraud or coercion when signing the contract, A request to revoke the agreement may still be made.

3. exclusion period: one year, without interruption or suspension

The right of revocation is not indefinite. According to Article 152 of the Civil Code, if the right of revocation is enjoyed due to fraud, it shall be exercised within one year from the date when the cause of revocation is known or should be known; if it is due to coercion, it shall be exercised within one year from the date of termination of the coercive act; if the party concerned fails to exercise the right of revocation within five years from the date of occurrence of the civil legal act, the right of revocation shall be extinguished. The right of revocation belongs to the period of exclusion, and the suspension or interruption of the statute of limitations is not applicable. If the lawsuit is filed after more than one year, the court will determine that the right of revocation is extinguished-this is the most common reason for "procedural loss" in this type of case. It is necessary to file a case first and then supplement the evidence, rather than wait and see.

4. case perspective: winning or losing depends on evidence

When Ms. Zhou and Zhao agreed to divorce, they agreed that the property would be divided equally and the deposit would be in their respective names. Two years after the divorce, Ms. Zhou accidentally learned that Zhao transferred a 800000 yuan time deposit to her mother's account and canceled it six months before the divorce. Ms. Zhou sued to rescind the property division agreement and redivide the deposit. After examination, the court held that the deposit was the joint property of husband and wife that had not been dealt with at the time of divorce and did not belong to the category of "agreement divided clause". after explanation, ms Zhou changed the application to "re-division". the court ordered Zhao mou to pay ms Zhou 480000 yuan (less points for it) and bear the legal costs according to article 1092 of the civil code. This deduction suggests: first distinguish whether to "revoke the divided clause" or "divide the missing property", the path is chosen right, the probability of winning the case is very different.

In contrast, in a post-divorce property dispute (public judgment) tried by Ningbo Jiangbei Court, the plaintiff requested to revoke part of the terms of the divorce agreement, and the court rejected it when it found that the evidence was insufficient, and informed that it could claim to change the custody in another case. The case and the judgment of "heavy burden of proof, lack of evidence and high probability of rejection" confirm each other: the revocation lawsuit must be organized around the two core elements of "the other party intentionally concealing significant property + concealing influence agreement signed", and the general proposition that "he lied to me at that time" without specific clues, it is difficult to obtain support.

5. Common Misunderstandings and Positive Solutions

Misconception 1: As long as the other party has concealed assets, the agreement can be revoked.Correct answer: It must be proven that the concealed property is of substantial value and that such concealment affected the execution of the agreement. If the concealed property is not within the scope of the agreement, it should take the path of "re-division" rather than "cancellation of the agreement"; if the concealed amount is small and does not affect the overall division plan, the court usually does not support cancellation.

Misunderstanding 2: The probability of winning the case of revocation is very high. Positive solution: The burden of proof is on the party who advocates fraud and coercion, and the court's review is strict. In practice, a large number of cases are rejected due to insufficient evidence, and the success or failure depends on the chain of evidence rather than "truth". Misunderstanding 3: More than one year can also sue for revocation. True Solution: The revocation right excludes the reprimand period of one year, counting from the date when the cause of revocation is known or should be known. When the revocation right expires at the end of the period, suspension and interruption are not applicable, and the entity relief will be lost if the overdue lawsuit is sued. Misunderstanding 4: If you cancel it successfully, you can rescore it according to your own plan. positive solution: after the revocation, the court is "re-divided according to law", and still deals with it according to the principles of taking care of the rights and interests of the children, the woman and the innocent party, which does not necessarily satisfy the plaintiff's demands.

6. evidence material list and operation steps

1. The clue evidence of the other party's concealment of property: bank flow before and after the divorce, transfer records (focusing on large, frequent, transfer to relatives' accounts six months to one year before the divorce), real estate registration query records, vehicle registration information, securities and financial account statements.
2. Evidence to prove "no knowledge at the time of signing the contract": the chat record, total conversation recording and witness testimony during the negotiation of divorce agreement are especially good to prove that the other party deliberately avoids and falsely claims that "there is no other property.
3. Evidence of coercion: threatening SMS, WeChat record, alarm receipt, medical record, etc.
4. Prosecution materials: divorce certificate or divorce judgment, original divorce agreement, identity certificate, property clue list; if the clue is not specific, apply to the court for investigation order after filing the case or apply to the court to investigate the other party's real estate, vehicle and deposit in Ningbo ex officio.

Process: collect evidences → file a case within one year's exclusion period → apply for property preservation to prevent the transfer of the other party → apply for an investigation order/order the other party to declare the property truthfully → provide evidence around the two elements in the court hearing → apply for execution according to the judgment. Ningbo Yinzhou and other courts have implemented a property declaration system for divorce proceedings (according to Ningbo Intermediate People's Court's 2014 "Innovative Reform Plan for the Trial of Family Cases"), which may request the court to order the other party to declare truthfully, and the false declaration itself constitutes favorable evidence.

7. Jurisdiction, preservation, and enforcement implementation

The procedural link determines whether the relief can be realized. In terms of jurisdiction, the lawsuit for the cancellation of the divorce property division agreement and the property dispute after the divorce shall be under the jurisdiction of the people's court of the defendant's domicile in accordance with the general territorial jurisdiction rules; if the defendant's domicile is inconsistent with his habitual residence, it shall be under the jurisdiction of the people's court of his habitual residence (Article 21 of the Civil Procedure Law). If the defendant lives outside Ningbo, he shall verify his habitual residence before filing the case to avoid going to the wrong court. At the level of the cause of the case, such cases are mostly filed according to the "post-divorce property dispute", the legal basis of the claim is the right of revocation and the right of re-division of the claim, the indictment should also set out the time of signing the agreement, conceal or coerce the facts, the specific provisions of the request for revocation, to avoid a general request for "revocation of the entire agreement".

At the same time of filing a case, it is suggested to apply for property preservation: apply for sealing up and freezing the deposits, real estate, vehicles and securities accounts under the name of the other party, so as to prevent further transfer during the litigation period. Property preservation must provide guarantee or take out preservation insurance. The scope of preservation shall be limited to the litigation request. Property clues (bank account, real estate location, etc.) shall be attached to the application. If the clue is not specific, you can apply for a court investigation order after filing the case, or request to order the other party to declare truthfully according to the property declaration system of Ningbo Yinzhou and other courts. The case acceptance fee is calculated in sections according to the subject matter of the property case, the larger the subject matter, the higher the cost, the cost can be calculated before the prosecution.

In the aspect of execution landing, if the other party fails to perform after the judgment takes effect, it can apply for compulsory execution within two years (the limitation of execution is calculated from the last day of the performance period stipulated by the legal document); in the execution, it can apply for the inquiry of hidden property clues (the court network check and control system covers bank deposits, real estate, vehicles, securities, etc.), and if the circumstances are serious, can apply for inclusion in the list of dishonest, limit high consumption. What needs to be reminded is that after the cancellation of the lawsuit is won, the court is "re-divided according to law", the division plan is still determined according to the principle of taking care of the rights and interests of the children, the woman and the innocent party, and if the other party has disposed of the property to a bona fide third party, the difficulty of recovery will increase significantly-the discovery of clues as soon as possible to preserve, is the key to prevent "win the lawsuit can not get money.

class case reference: the burden of proof shall be borne when requesting to revoke the divorce property division agreement on the grounds of fraud or coercion. The People's Court of Zhenhai District of Ningbo City determined that the divorce agreement is a comprehensive agreement that integrates personal, property, and support relationships, and should be regarded as a true expression of intention; the plaintiff claimed false divorce and was coerced by fraud to request the cancellation of the property ownership agreement, and the evidence was insufficient. The property division clause is binding on both parties. Trial Court: Ningbo zhenhai district People's Court Case No.:(2020) Zhejiang 02

11Minchu No. 1252

8. FAQ

If it is found that the ex-husband transferred the deposit before the divorce, is it to sue for cancellation of the agreement or for re-division?

Check first to see if the deposit has been processed in the divorce settlement. If the agreement is not handled, is missing or concealed, the common property shall be directly divided again in accordance with Article 1092 of the Civil Code and the other party shall be claimed to have less or no division. The limitation period shall be three years from the date of discovery. If the agreement has been divided but was concluded due to fraud or coercion, the corresponding clause shall be revoked and shall be subject to the one-year exclusion period.

When does the one-year period for revocation begin?

The case of fraud is counted from the date on which the cause of the revocation is known or ought to be known, and the case of coercion is counted from the date on which the coercive act is terminated. In practice, the determination of "should know" has a certain degree of flexibility, but the court strictly grasp-found abnormal transfers, inquiries to the concealment of registration after a long period of non-prosecution, will be found to know the date has been more than one year.

The divorce agreement has been fulfilled (the property has been transferred), can it be revoked?

can be sued, and the right of revocation will not be eliminated after the transfer is completed. However, if the property has been transferred to a bona fide third party and registered, it will be more difficult to re-divide the property, and the prosecution should apply for property preservation at the same time to prevent the other party from continuing to dispose of the property during the litigation.

Does it need to cancel the divorce registration before suing to cancel the divorce agreement?

No. A claim for rescission is directed at the provisions of a property division agreement and does not affect the validity of the divorce itself—where the marital relationship has already been dissolved, one may seek to rescind or modify only the property division portion. The court examines whether there was fraud or coercion in the signing of the agreement (Article 70 of the Interpretation of Marriage and Family), not the divorce itself.

Practical experience of 9. lawyers

The court will accept the request to cancel the divorce property division agreement on the grounds of fraud or coercion, but the outcome of this kind of litigation depends almost entirely on the evidence. The most common statement of the parties in the consultation is that the division is unfair and they have suffered losses, but they are simply dissatisfied with the division ratio, which does not constitute a legal reason for revocation. Only if you can prove that the other party intentionally concealed significant assets or subjected you to duress, and that you signed the agreement against your true will, is there a reasonable chance that your request will be granted.Distinguishing between unfairness and revocability is the first step in deciding whether to fight this lawsuit.

Time is extraordinarily cruel in such cases. The period of revocation is a fixed period of time that does not advance or retreat. It starts from the time when you know or should know that your rights have been damaged. Once it is exceeded, it is difficult to recover. Therefore, once it is suspected that the other party has concealed real estate, deposits or other property during the divorce, it should immediately start to collect clues, rather than repeatedly negotiate with the other party and hope for a private settlement. There are two directions of proof: to prove that the other party has concealed or coerced behavior, and to prove that the behavior directly led to their own non-true intention at the time of signing the contract. Scattered suspicions need to be collated into material that corroborates each other in order to stand in court.

If you decide to sue, you should also arrange the supporting actions: apply to the court for an investigation order to verify the property clues under the name of the other party, apply for preservation if necessary to prevent the property from being disposed of again, and consider how to implement the subsequent implementation. In the lawsuit, the other party often deals with the fact that you signed it voluntarily and the property did not exist in the first place. At this time, the time point, the trace of funds and the knowledge of both parties are the core of the confrontation. You should also leave yourself a retreat: if the evidence is indeed insufficient, instead of fighting a lawsuit that is likely to be dismissed, you should focus on the identified property and find a more secure division or compensation plan.

It is legally feasible to revoke the property division clause in divorce agreement, but the threshold is high: first, we should grasp the two legal reasons of "fraud and coercion"; second, we should have solid evidence; third, we should start within one year. As far as the parties concerned are concerned, it is better to fix the property list at the stage of divorce by agreement than to file a lawsuit of revocation after divorce: both parties list the real estate, deposit, vehicle and equity item by item and sign for confirmation, stating that "this list is the common property of all husband and wife of both parties without omission", and there will be a clear benchmark for revocation or re-division in the future. If fraud or concealment has been found, it is recommended to immediately fix the evidence around the two elements and prosecute as soon as possible, while applying for property preservation.