Insights

Who does Ningbo's pre-marital deposit financial income belong to? 3 types of income division.

Ningbo Author：LuXu WANG

At the time of marriage, there was a sum of money that had been saved for many years in the account. After marriage, I bought financial management, funds and a little stock one after another. Over the years, I made a lot of money. When it comes to the segmentation stage, there is often no dispute over the ownership of the principal, and the dispute is all about that part of the income, and the answers given by the law to different types of income happen to be inconsistent.

The demarcation between 1. yields, natural appreciation and investment returns

article 1063 of the the People's Republic of China Civil Code lists one party's premarital property as personal property, and the relevant judicial interpretation of the marriage and family code further clarifies that the income generated by one party's personal property after marriage shall be recognized as the joint property of husband and wife, except for fruits and natural appreciation. This sentence draws the boundary of all disputes, and the core of the judgment is whether the generation of income depends on the management of people.

The Caliber of the Law and Common Misreading

the most common misreading is to equate the principal to the individual with the return to the individual. In fact, only passively generated, do not need to put into labor part with the principal attribution.

2. Category I: Fixed income such as interest on deposits

interest on bank deposits is a typical statutory interest, which can be generated without any business, and the portion generated after marriage still belongs to the individual with the principal. Similarly, interest on government bonds and interest on borrowings with an agreed fixed rate are usually treated as yields. This type of income is the least controversial, but requires the retention of principal sources and account history.

3. Type II: Fund stocks and other income that need to be operated.

Buying and selling stocks, redeeming funds, and participating in private equity products all require judgment and operation. The income is generally recognized as investment operating income and belongs to the joint property of husband and wife. Even if all of the principal comes from pre-marital deposits, the other party can still claim a split of the profits generated by the post-marital transaction.

Whether to invest in management becomes the key

products in between are the most controversial, such as buying and holding long-term banking that has never been operated. In practice, we will comprehensively examine whether the holding period is subject to redemption, whether the portfolio is adjusted, and whether the income fluctuates with the market to determine whether it is closer to yield or operating income. Fixed income products that have not been touched once are more likely to be recognized as fruits.

4. third category: real estate precious metals and other natural value-added

property and gold purchased before marriage have increased in value due to rising market prices, which is a natural appreciation and still belongs to the individual. However, if the joint property is used to repay the loan, renovate or lease the business after marriage, the corresponding repayment portion, value-added share and rental income, the other party may claim the corresponding rights.

How to restore the capital chain after 5. mixing.

Mixing is the most deadly problem in such cases. The transfer of pre-marital deposits to the family's daily account, which is repeatedly intertwined with wages and operating income, makes it easy for personal attributes to be identified as having been eliminated. The method of restoration is to extract a screenshot or statement of the account balance on the day of marriage registration, and then track the whereabouts of the funds one by one, forming an uninterrupted chain. Take Ningbo as an example, you can apply to the counter of the bank where you open your account with your ID card to print the account history details from the date of marriage registration and affix the bank business seal. At the same time, you can keep the balance statement on the date of marriage registration as the first-hand documentary evidence to restore the capital chain. Involving the other party's account funds, you can apply for a court investigation order in divorce proceedings or request the court to obtain it ex officio.

Role of Dedicated Accounts

the most effective prevention method is to open a separate account for pre-marital funds, which can only be used for the daily income and expenditure of the family. Accounts that are independent and clear, personal attributes can usually be maintained over the long term; conversely, even a few hedges with a payroll account can obscure the characterization of the entire fund.

Fixation and agreement of 6. premarital property

article 1065 of the Civil Code allows spouses to agree in writing on the ownership of property. If a written agreement is concluded before marriage or within marriage, it is clear that the respective investment income belongs to each other, and the agreement is binding on both parties and takes precedence over the legal presumption. This is the least costly and most effective arrangement.

7. case proof

in practice, if one party's premarital deposit is always deposited in a separate account after marriage and only generates interest on the deposit, the principal and interest are recognized as personal property. If the same fund is used for frequent transactions in stock accounts, the profit generated after marriage is generally recognized as the common property of husband and wife. Take the profit of 800,000 yuan as an example, the other party can claim about 400,000 yuan. In similar cases, the amount of division or compensation is usually in the range of $100000 to $3 million, depending on the size of the property and the circumstances of the evidence.

In practice, if the premarital deposit is remitted to the family's common account after marriage, mixed with wage income for a long time and cannot be restored one by one, the court usually finds that it has been mixed and treated as a whole according to the joint property of the husband and wife. In similar cases, the amount of division or compensation is usually in the range of $100000 to $3 million, depending on the size of the property and the circumstances of the evidence.

According to the divorce dispute between Chang and Meng heard by Ningbo Jiangbei Court, the court divided houses, vehicles, insurance policies, etc. according to the confirmed value, and did not accept one party's claim that the other party transferred property but the evidence was insufficient-the property characterization eventually returned to documentary evidence and running water, and the same was true for the attribution of pre-marital deposit financial income, which was difficult to obtain support only by oral claims.

8. Risk Alert

  • no registration date certificate: lack of proof of account balance on the day of marriage, no proof of the size of the principal before marriage.
  • The principal is mixed: the pre-marital deposit is remitted to the family account, and the personal attribute is easily eliminated after the salary is intertwined.
  • The misconception that the gains are all yours: operational gains such as equity funds are common property, and insistence on full exclusivity is often rejected.
  • The oral agreement is true: if the property agreement is not in writing, there is little support for the claim.
  • Ignoring the loan repayment deduction: using pre-marital funds to repay the common mortgage without leaving a trace, it is difficult to claim the corresponding compensation afterwards.
  • Pro-litigation before sorting out water: bank water transfer has a limited number of years, delay may lead to the key period without evidence.

9. FAQ

A million deposits before marriage, after marriage interest to each other?

No need. Interest on deposits is a legal interest, with the principal belonging to the individual, provided that it can be proved that the principal is indeed from before marriage and not mixed with family property.

Can the other party share half of the money earned from pre-marital stock trading?

Generally can. Stock trading requires investment judgment and operation, the proceeds are mostly recognized as investment operating income, belongs to the joint property of husband and wife, usually equally divided, the principal part still belongs to the individual.

Who is the income from the financial products that have not been touched since they were bought?

There is a dispute, need to be combined with the nature of the product judgment. If the fixed income category has never been adjusted for redemption, it is closer to the yield and tends to be identified as an individual; if there are traces of active operation, it tends to be common property.

Is it still useful to sign a property agreement now?

Useful. A written property agreement entered into within marriage is also legally binding and may agree that the proceeds of their respective investments will be owned by them thereafter, but generally does not go back to the common property that has been formed in the past.

Practical Experience of 10. Lawyers

the principal is yours, and the proceeds are not necessarily all yours, which is the most misunderstood part of this type of controversy. The criterion for judgment is one: whether the generation of this income uses human management and management. The interest of the deposit bank and the fixed interest of buying treasury bonds are passively generated and usually follow the principal. The money earned from buying and selling stock funds, frequently applying for redemption and choosing the target at the right time is generally recognized as common property after being put into operation and management. As for the appreciation brought about by houses and precious metals rising with the market, most of them belong to natural appreciation and also belong to the original. First, classify your income and then talk about how to divide it.

The core of proof is to keep the capital chain. Where the principal comes from, how much is in the prenuptial account, who is operating after marriage, and whether the money is mixed with common property, all of which can be restored with account flow and transaction records. The most troublesome situation is to put the pre-marital savings and post-marital income into the same account back and forth, and it is impossible to tell which is which after a few years. In this case, the unclear part often has to bear the adverse consequences. So from now on, the pre-marital funds separately collected, separate bookkeeping, is the most convenient and most effective method of self-insurance.

Negotiations and arrangements are also exquisite. If the source can be clearly separated, it is claimed by category: the yield and natural appreciation are attributed to the principal side, and the operational income is taken out to discuss; if the confusion is serious and unclear, it is better to focus on other assets in the other party's account to avoid time-consuming on a muddled account. For those who have not yet divorced but have begun to have concerns, the written property agreement before or during marriage is the most direct tool. It is much more cost-effective to write clearly the ownership of the principal and income than to go to court afterwards. It's better to split the bill early than anything else.