What should be done first to investigate the other party's property when divorcing in Ningbo

Ms. Liu is planning to get a divorce but doesn’t know how much property her husband owns. She wants to complete her own preparations before applying to the court for an investigation. In practice, many parties place their entire reliance on the court to locate assets, only to discover at the trial that the other party’s accounts have been transferred and there are no leads as to their property. The conclusion first says: when divorcing, the correct order of investigating the other party's property is "collecting clues by oneself before and investigating by public power after"-first checking the visible property certificates and traces of life in the home to form a list of property clues, then applying for an investigation order through the agent ad litem, requesting the court to investigate ex officio or applying for property preservation; Court investigation requires preliminary clues and cannot make indiscriminate inquiries. What you do first determines how much you can find out.

1. Legal Basis: Conditions and Boundaries for Requesting a Court Investigation

The second paragraph of Article 67 of the the People's Republic of China Civil Procedure Law stipulates: "The people's court shall investigate and collect the evidence that the parties and their agents ad litem cannot collect on their own due to objective reasons, or the evidence that the people's court considers necessary for the trial of the case. "Article 94 of the Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on the Application of the the People's Republic of China Civil Procedure Law further clarifies that the evidence that the parties may apply to the people's court for investigation and collection includes: archives kept by relevant state departments and subject to ex officio access by the people's court Materials; materials involving state secrets, trade secrets, and personal privacy; other materials that the parties and their litigation agents cannot collect on their own due to objective reasons.

Breaking down two key points:

1. “Inability to collect evidence independently due to objective reasons” is a prerequisite for the application.: Information such as bank deposits, real estate registration, vehicle registration, and securities accounts is held by financial institutions and administrative authorities, and the parties concerned are unable to obtain it on their own; this precisely constitutes a legitimate basis for applying to the court for an investigation or for an investigation order.
2. Preliminary clues must be provided: Court investigations are not “looking for a needle in a haystack”; the applicant should specify the subject of the intended investigation (e.g., a particular bank account), the scope, and the reasons therefor. An application that amounts to “searching through all of the other party’s assets” without any leads is unlikely to be granted.

In addition, articles 103 and 104 of the Civil Procedure Law stipulate the system of litigation preservation and pre-litigation preservation: in order to prevent the other party from transferring and concealing property, they can apply for sealing up and freezing their property during the prosecution or litigation, and apply for pre-litigation preservation when necessary (guarantee must be provided). Preservation and investigation should be coordinated—first secure and preserve the evidence, then conduct verification through investigation.

2. What to do first: the basic framework of the three-step approach

Step 1: Conduct an internal household inventory to create a list of potential assets.First, conduct a search for “visible assets”; this is the most cost-effective and efficient step:

1. Bank deposit certificates, bank cards, salary cards, and bank statements kept in home drawers or safes;
2. Real estate ownership certificate, house purchase contract, parking space contract;
3. Vehicle registration certificate, purchase invoice;
4. Stock account opening form, fund confirmation slip, insurance contract, and payment receipt;
5. Copies of the company’s equity documents, shareholder agreements, and industrial and commercial registration materials;
6. Alipay and WeChat transaction statements (screenshots, with the original devices retained), online banking transfer records;
7. Pay stubs, year-end bonus records, and records of housing provident fund and social insurance contributions;
8. Promissory note, external debt certificate.

Pay equal attention to new types of property, such as pets, game equipment, and virtual currency— the more comprehensive the list of property types, the more complete the subsequent division will be.

Step 2: Preserve the original storage medium of the electronic evidence.WeChat and Alipay transaction statements, as well as transfer confirmation SMS messages, are high-value evidence for tracing the flow of funds; however, “screenshots alone” carry weak evidentiary weight—screenshots can be tampered with and their source cannot be verified. The correct approach is to retain the original devices, such as mobile phones, and, if necessary, have the evidence notarized or demonstrate the login process in court.

Step 3: Apply for property preservation and an investigation order. If there are preliminary clues indicating that the other party may transfer property, apply for property preservation (freezing accounts and sealing up real estate vehicles) at the time of prosecution to prevent "finding and failing to implement"; When it is necessary to obtain the data held by the other party, such as bank running water, real estate registration, vehicle information, etc., entrust the litigation agent to apply to the court for an investigation order, and hold the order to go to the bank, real estate registration agency, DMV.

3. List of property leads: ten common dimensions

1. Bank deposits: Provide the name of the account-holding bank and the account number (which can be traced back from old bank statements or transfer records). Requesting a bank statement will help reconstruct the flow of funds.
2. Real Estate: Verify ownership through the real estate registration authority using the property certificate number or address information; pay attention to any leads regarding real estate held in another person’s name during the marriage.
3. Vehicle: License plate number, make and model, verified through the vehicle administration office registration.
4. Securities and Funds: Provide the securities account number and the brokerage firm where the account was opened; holdings can be verified through China Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation or the brokerage firm.
5. Insurance: Policy number, insurance company; the cash value is subject to division (see the section on policy division).
6. Equity and the Company: Use the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System to check the other party’s shareholding, positions held, and capital contributions.
7. Housing Provident Fund and Social Insurance: Account balances are considered marital property and can be verified through the Housing Provident Fund Center.
8. Wealth Management and Trusts: Holding records for bank wealth management products and third-party wealth management platforms.
9. Alipay and WeChat Pay balance and transaction statements: The transaction history can reflect daily income and expenses, as well as any unusually large outgoing transfers.
10. Virtual Assets and New Forms of Property: Virtual Currencies, Game Items, Online Store Operating Rights, etc.

4. The boundaries of court investigations and three practical issues

1. Court investigations require preliminary leads and cannot involve indiscriminate inquiries.The mere assertion that “he certainly has money” is insufficient; specific,directivity information—such as account details, locations, or institutional affiliations—must be provided before the court can issue a subpoena or obtain such information ex officio.

2. Personal privacy is protected by law, and investigations must be conducted in accordance with the law.Evidence obtained through illegal means, such as unauthorized tracking, surreptitious photography, password theft, or unauthorized access to another person’s mobile phone, may not be admissible in court and could even give rise to liability for infringement. The boundary of investigations is “legitimate leads + official procedures.”

3. Investigating and enforcing actions related to overseas assets is particularly challenging.Where the matter involves overseas accounts or equity interests in foreign companies, evidence collection and enforcement are subject to cross-border judicial assistance procedures, which are costly and time‑consuming; such cases should be assessed separately as part of the litigation strategy.

4. You should also check the other party’s liabilities. While investigating the property, we should know the situation of the other party's external liabilities-the loan beyond the daily needs of the family is required to be proved by the creditor according to Article 1064 of the Civil Code, and the spouse's knowledge of the liabilities is helpful to deal with the joint debt claim.

The acquisition channels of property clues can be further refined: the real estate can be inquired through the real estate registration agency (with ID card and inquiry application, the spouse can apply for investigation order to obtain the real estate under the name of the other party in the lawsuit); the vehicle can be inquired and registered through the DMV; the deposit can be inquired through the bank (need account clues or court investigation); the securities position can be inquired through the China Securities Depository and Clearing Co., Ltd; company equity through the national enterprise credit information publicity system and market supervision files; insurance through the industry association policy inquiry platform or insurance company customer service. The inquiry authority of each channel is different. Those that can be inquired by themselves (public information of industry and commerce and real estate) will be completed by themselves first, while those that need public power intervention (bank flow and securities details) will be investigated by investigation order or court, and will be promoted according to the order of "easy before difficult", thus using the limited investigation resources on the cutting edge.

5. What should you do if you discover the other party concealing or transferring assets?

1. Preserve evidence in a timely manner: Be sure to secure written evidence such as bank transfer records, property ownership change records, and sales contracts before filing a lawsuit, as oral statements and mere speculation are unlikely to be accepted by the court.
2. Application for Property Preservation: Upon detecting any signs of asset transfer, immediately apply to freeze bank accounts and seize real estate and vehicles to prevent further transfers.
3. advocates less division or no division: Article 1092 of the Civil Code stipulates that if one spouse hides, transfers, sells, destroys or squanders the joint property of the husband and wife, or forges the joint debt of the husband and wife in an attempt to occupy the property of the other spouse, the spouse can be divided less or no division during divorce and division of the joint property of the husband and wife. The claim for a smaller share must be based on evidence.
4. make use of the property declaration system: some courts in ningbo (such as yinzhou court) implement the property declaration system in divorce proceedings. the court orders both parties to truthfully declare their common property, and concealing the declaration may be regarded as concealed property and bear adverse consequences, which is an important starting point for "low-cost property investigation.

For property declaration, the practical suggestion is "active declaration + reverse check": after receiving the declaration order, declare the joint property of husband and wife truthfully and completely according to the requirements of the court, and fill in the declaration form item by item without leaving "other" vague items; check the contents of the declaration to the court item by item with the evidence in their possession, and the discrepancy between the declaration and the evidence is the breakthrough point for the subsequent claim of little or no distinction. If the other party disposes of property by surprise in the lawsuit (transfer of equity at a low price, transfer of large amounts to relatives, redemption of financial management), it may report to the court and require it to explain the whereabouts of the funds, and if necessary, apply for freezing the corresponding account and revoke the malicious disposition. If the other party still refuses to return or conceal the property after the judgment or mediation takes effect, it may apply for enforcement and request the court to include it in the dishonesty list. The ultimate consequences of concealing property are clearly set forth in Article 1,092 of the Civil Code—namely, a reduced share or no share at all. This provision serves both as a deterrent and as a tool for the injured party, but its application always hinges on the prior presentation of evidence.

6. Common Misconceptions

Misconception 1: The court will proactively investigate and ascertain all assets.Correct answer: In divorce litigation, the principle is that the parties bear the burden of proof; any court investigation must be initiated upon application by the parties and with the provision of relevant leads. If no application is filed and no leads are provided, the court will neither take the initiative nor have any means to conduct a comprehensive inventory of the other party’s entire property.

Misconception 2: You can freely access someone else’s private information.Correct answer: Investigations must be lawful and based on reasonable grounds. Evidence obtained through surreptitious filming, account theft, or illegal tracking may be excluded, and the perpetrator may also be held liable for infringement.

Misconception 3: Once the other party transfers their assets, there’s nothing that can be done. Correct solution: you can apply for property preservation to block the transfer, and you can claim that the other party has less or no division according to Article 1092 of the Civil Code; some courts in Ningbo implement the property declaration system, and concealing the declaration can be determined to conceal the property and bear the adverse consequences.

Misconception 4: Screenshotting chat logs and bills is enough to serve as conclusive evidence.Correct answer: Electronic evidence must retain its original medium; a screenshot alone carries weak evidentiary force. Written proof such as transfer records and bank statements has stronger evidentiary value, and important electronic evidence should be promptly notarized or demonstrated in court.

7. Frequently Asked Questions

If you don’t know the other person’s bank account number, can you find out how much money they have in their account?

can explain the source of clues to the court (such as the salary card seen during the family living together, the account number on the transfer receipt) to apply for an investigation order or the court to obtain; if there is no clue at all, the court can apply to order the other party to declare the property truthfully (property declaration system) and conceal the adverse consequences of the declaration. In practice, it is common to trace back to the linked bank cards through Alipay and WeChat transaction records.

Is a security deposit required when applying for property preservation?

In litigation, the court may require the applicant to provide security; in pre-litigation preservation proceedings, security must be provided. Guarantee forms include cash, surety bonds issued by insurance companies, and guarantees provided by guarantee companies, among others. If the preservation is indeed wrong, the applicant shall compensate the respondent for the loss suffered as a result of the preservation, so the application for preservation should be based on the initial ownership and transfer clues to avoid abuse.

What should you do if the other party transfers their assets to their parents’ or relatives’ names?

can apply to the court to retrieve the transfer flow, fix the evidence of "free or obviously low-cost transfer to close relatives", claim that the transfer is the concealment and transfer of the joint property of husband and wife, and request less or no division of the transfer party; if it involves malicious collusion, it can also be prosecuted in another case to confirm that the transfer is invalid.

What is the difference between an investigation order and a court investigation?

An investigation order is a document issued by the court to a litigation agent, authorizing the agent to obtain evidence from relevant entities; this method is relatively efficient. Evidence obtained by the court on its own initiative or upon application is collected directly by court staff. Both require the provision of preliminary clues and justifiable grounds. A party who has not retained a litigation agent may apply to the court to conduct an investigation ex officio.

8. Practical Insights from a Lawyer

When trying to investigate the other party’s assets, the most common mistake is placing all your hopes on the court and a subpoena. In practice, the order is precisely the opposite: first, take action on your own, and then seek assistance from public authorities. The first step is to thoroughly gather all property-related documents you can find at home—property deeds, vehicle registration certificates, insurance policies, stock certificates, bank account numbers and the names of the issuing banks, pay stubs, and provident fund accounts. Even seemingly insignificant items like delivery receipts or payment bills may point to a particular asset. The second step is to trace the clues left by daily life: projects the other party has mentioned, places they frequent, and contracts and invoices that have appeared at their home. Compile all of this into a checklist so you know exactly what to check and where to look, and can provide specific details when applying.

Only with a lead can we proceed to request an investigation. A court’s investigation is not a blanket search; whether conducted pursuant to a subpoena or ex officio, it must specify the entity to be investigated, the matters to be examined, and the facts to be proven. A vague request such as “examine all accounts under his name” will generally be rejected. Therefore, based on the leads, you should narrow down to specific targets: since you know he regularly receives his salary from a particular bank, request access to that bank’s transaction records; since you have discovered that he is employed by or holds shares in a certain company, request the company’s business registration and equity information. In terms of timing, filing the application as soon as possible—either before filing a lawsuit or after the case has been registered—and coordinating it with property preservation measures can help freeze the other party’s assets before they have a chance to transfer them. This step often proves more valuable than pursuing recovery afterward.

If you have found that the other party is hiding or transferring property, don't panic and don't give up. One is to fix the evidence of transfer as soon as possible and sort out the traces of running water, transfer, house transfer or low-price disposal. The second is to put pressure on the other party through preservation application and evidence hindering rules, and the transferring party may face adverse consequences when dividing. Third, even if the hidden property is found only after divorce, another case can claim to divide it again, and the tail of the right has not been cut off by a knife. Finally, a reminder: in the negotiation stage, don't easily reveal the clues of your own property. As soon as the card is lit, the other party will have room to arrange in advance. Both evidence collection and negotiation should pay attention to rhythm, and the first hand is often more useful than the volume of sound.

The correct sequence of divorce property inspection is "self-inspection first, keeping up with the preservation, and ending the public right": the first step is to check the vouchers, bills and living traces at home to form a written property clue list; the second step is to apply for property preservation simultaneously when filing a lawsuit to prevent transfer; the third step is to apply for an investigation order or court investigation on bank flow, real estate, vehicles, etc., and use the property declaration system to exert pressure; the fourth step is to find the hidden transfer, fix the evidence and claim less or no points. Investigations must be conducted in accordance with the law: Preserve the original evidence and follow proper procedures; illegally obtained evidence is not worth the risk. The earlier and more detailed the property list is established, the more complete the division scheme-listing every account and warrant is the most basic responsibility for one's own rights and interests.