Insights

Ningbo divorce found that the other party's hidden inheritance can be divided? Lawyer's answer.

Ningbo Author：LuXu WANG

Only when I got divorced did I hear that the other party's hometown had divided the house and received compensation, but I had never seen any money-whether this kind of "sudden inheritance" could be divided depends on whether the inheritance occurred before or after marriage, and whether the will was designated only for one party.

Basic Principles of 1. Inheritance

the Civil Code stipulates that the property inherited or donated by the husband and wife during the marriage is generally the joint property of the husband and wife and belongs to the husband and wife. Therefore, the inheritance inherited after marriage can, in principle, be divided as common property in the event of divorce.

Inheritance before marriage is usually personal

if the inheritance began before marriage and the estate was actually acquired before marriage, this part is generally recognized as the personal property of one party before marriage and does not participate in the division in the event of divorce. The limit lies in the "time when the inheritance begins", not the time when the formalities are completed.

Exceptions to the designation of a party 2. a will.

If the decedent has made a will that clearly states that the estate belongs only to the child and not as the joint property of the husband and wife, then even if the inheritance occurs after marriage, it will be owned by one party personally. So the same inheritance after marriage, whether there is a "designated party" will result in a completely different outcome.

The key evidence is the will and succession start time.

If you want to claim that a certain inheritance is personal, you must produce the original text of the will or the materials that can prove that the inheritance began before marriage; if you want to claim that it is common, you must prove that the inheritance occurred after marriage and there is no designation of "only one party. Both types of claims spell time lines and documentary evidence.

The Legal Consequences of Concealed Inheritance in 3.

If one party hides, transfers, sells, destroys or squanders the joint property of the husband and wife, or falsifies the joint debt of the husband and wife in an attempt to occupy the property of the other party, the party may be divided less or not at the time of divorce and division. If it is discovered after the divorce that the other party has concealed the inheritance, the other party may still request another division.

Do not exceed the time limit for re-division

the discovery of concealed acts should be followed by a reasonable period of time to advocate for re-division, too long delay will increase the burden of proof and the statute of limitations. Finding clues and fixing the evidence in the first place is much more important than arguing afterwards about "whether or not to divide.

Path of proof after 4. discovery

start with the household registration, the distribution notice of the village committee or neighborhood committee, and the record of the change of real estate ownership to prove that the estate does exist and occurs after marriage. If real estate is involved, the registration file can be used to reverse the inheritance time. According to Yinzhou Court's White Paper on Trial of Marriage and Family Cases (2019-2021), electronic evidence such as WeChat in Ningbo family cases has many defects in proof and is difficult to be accepted, involving the concealment of inheritance communication records and transfer vouchers. It is suggested to keep the original carrier and fix it in time, and apply to the court for obtaining real estate registration files, bank running water and other supporting evidence when necessary.

5. the difference between pre-marital inheritance and post-marital inheritance

if the inheritance occurs before marriage, the property acquired belongs to the individual, and the natural value-added part of the value-added after marriage still belongs to the individual; if the inheritance occurs during the existence of the marriage relationship, it belongs to the joint property of the husband and wife in principle, except that the will clearly belongs to one party. The time of judgment is when the heir dies, not when the transfer is processed.

Look at the time of death, not the time of transfer.

Many people think that the transfer of ownership of the house after marriage must be common property. In fact, if the old man dies before marriage, the inheritance right has been obtained at that moment, and the transfer of ownership is only a procedure.

6. case proof

in practice, about 1.2 million yuan of house demolition compensation inherited by one party after marriage was not disclosed at the time of divorce. After the other party's divorce, it was found and proved that the inheritance began during the existence of the marriage relationship and the will did not specify only one party. The court supported the re-division and awarded it to Zhang Fang at 50%. The limitation of action for the request is 3 years from the date of discovery.

In practice, one party knew before the divorce that the inheritance was about to be inherited but deliberately concealed it, and the transfer was actually handled only after the divorce. The court found that it had the intention of concealment, and the concealment party was treated with a small score when it was divided again. The small score range of similar cases is usually between 20% and 40%, so as to reflect the negative evaluation of dishonest behavior.

7. Risk Alert

  • just look at "whose name is on the real estate certificate" and ignore the real boundary of the start time of inheritance.
  • The other party took out a suspicious will and believed it, without verifying the authenticity and the specified scope.
  • It is found that long-term inaction after concealment will miss the favorable opportunity to divide again.
  • Without any written clue of inheritance and distribution, empty claims are difficult to be accepted.
  • Mistaking pre-marital inheritance as common property to divide, but exposing their own weak evidence.

8. FAQ

must inheritance after marriage be common property?

In principle, it is, unless the decedent's will expressly specifies that it belongs only to the child. Whether there is a "designated party" will is the core of the judgment.

After the divorce, it was discovered that the other party inherited the house. Can it be divided?

Can. If it is discovered after the divorce that one party has concealed the inheritance, he may request a re-division; if it can be proved that he had knowingly and deliberately concealed the inheritance before the divorce, he may also claim a small share.

The other party said that the will was written to him personally. How can I verify it?

The original will may be requested to be viewed and, if necessary, verified with a notary or custodian; if there is a dispute over the authenticity, an application may be made for identification or review by the court through litigation.

Inheritance occurs before marriage, but who gets the certificate after marriage?

Generally belongs to the individual, the boundary is the time when the inheritance begins, not the time when the certificate is issued.

After the divorce, it was discovered that the other party had hidden the estate. How long will it take to sue?

It is filed within 3 years from the date of discovery, which is a statute of limitations rather than a one-year exclusion period. The point of proof is to prove that the inheritance began during the marriage and that the will or gift was not expressly designated to be owned only by the other person.

Practical Experience of 9. Lawyers

only when I got divorced did I hear that the other party's hometown had divided the house and received compensation. Whether it could be divided depends on two points: whether the inheritance occurred before or after marriage, and whether the will stated that only one party belonged to one party. Inheritance inherited within marriage is, in principle, presumed to be jointly owned by the husband and wife; however, as long as the will or gift contract expressly specifies that "only one party", even if the inheritance occurs after marriage, it also belongs to one party. This judgment depends entirely on the timeline and written documents, so the first step is to find out when the inheritance starts, whether there is a will and the contents of the will, and don't draw conclusions based on impressions.

The concealment of such property by the other party is itself a fault that can be claimed. The party who hides or transfers the common property may be divided less or even divided at the time of divorce division; if it is discovered after the divorce that the other party has concealed the inheritance, the other party may still request another division. So don't think you're unlucky just because you 've left, and don't let the clues go. After discovering clues, it is necessary to claim within a reasonable period of time. The longer the time is delayed, the greater the difficulty and risk of proof, and the easier it is to be dragged by the other party.

The proof should be fixed along the line of inheritance: the time of death of the decedent, the acquisition and transfer record of the estate, the original or copy of the will, and the flow of funds are all key to supporting the claim. To claim that an inheritance is personal property, produce a will or materials that can prove that the inheritance began before marriage; to claim that it is common property, it proves that the inheritance occurred after marriage and there is no designation of "only one party. The two claims are all evidence. While the clues are still available, the materials should be collected as soon as possible so as to safeguard the rights.