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Ningbo court sentenced to return the bride price, the other party does not give how to do

Ningbo Author：LuXu WANG

Obtaining a final judgment ordering the return of betrothal gifts is only the first step. What truly causes anxiety often comes later: the other party drags out the repayment, or has even spent the betrothal gifts or transferred them to their parents’ or relatives’ names, leaving the court judgment as nothing more than a “paper right.” The first question many litigants ask when they come to the court is: “The court has ruled that the betrothal gifts must be returned, but the other party refuses to pay—what should I do?”

First give the conclusion:Once the judgment takes effect and the other party fails to comply within the prescribed period, you do not need to file another lawsuit; instead, you may directly apply to the court for enforcement. The court will check the other party's bank deposits, real estate, vehicles, securities, online payment accounts and other properties through the network inspection and control system. It can freeze the deduction and seal up the auction, and can also restrict the other party's high consumption and be included in the list of dishonesty. If the circumstances are serious, it can also be fined, detained, or even investigated for criminal responsibility for refusing to execute the judgment or ruling. If there is no property in the name of the other party and the court has not found out the exhaustive measures, the case will "end the execution procedure", but this does not mean that the debt is forgiven, and once new clues are found, you can apply for resumption of execution at any time. Below, I will explain the process step by step.

1. After receiving the judgment, first do three things.

(I) Confirm whether the judgment has taken effect.

You cannot immediately apply for enforcement upon receiving the judgment; you must wait until it “takes effect.” After the first-instance judgment is served, both parties have a 15-day appeal period; if either party appeals within these 15 days, the judgment will not take effect and will have to wait for the second instance; when the appeal period expires, both parties have not appealed, the first-instance judgment will take effect. The second-instance judgment is the final judgment and takes effect upon service. The prerequisite for applying for enforcement is that the judgment (or mediation agreement) has already taken legal effect. For example, the judgment in Yang's case states that "48000 yuan shall be returned within 15 days from the effective date of this judgment", which means that the starting point of the obligation of return is the effective date of the judgment, not the date of judgment.

(II) Keep a close watch on the last day of the "performance period".

The time limit for performance is generally stated in the judgment. There are two common expressions: one is "within 10 days after this judgment comes into effect", such as Zhao mou's cancellation of marriage judgment, the three defendants "return the bride price of 55000 yuan within 10 days after this judgment comes into effect"; The other is "within 15 days from the effective date", such as Yang's case. This deadline is of great importance, as it serves as the reference point for determining whether the other party has breached the contract, when interest for delayed performance begins to accrue, and when the period for applying for enforcement commences. As long as the other party fails to pay before 24 o'clock on the last day of the deadline, it constitutes overdue non-performance, you can apply for execution.

(III) Prepare the "three-piece set" of materials for applying for enforcement.

To apply to the court for enforcement, the core documents are actually quite straightforward:

  • Application for Execution: It states the basic information of the executor and the person subject to execution, the specific amount of execution requested, the case number of the judgment executed, and the fact that the other party has not performed.
  • the effective legal document: it is the judgment or the conciliation document (some courts require to attach the certificate of effectiveness or the certificate of service to prove that the judgment has been effective).
  • identity certificate: if the applicant is a natural person, submit the copy of id card; if the applicant is a company, submit the business license, legal representative identity certificate, etc.

In addition, those who can provide clues to the other party's property (such as knowing that the other party has a deposit in a certain bank, has the license plate number of a car under his name, and has a salary in a certain company) can be submitted together, which can greatly improve the execution efficiency. If property preservation measures have been taken in the past, you must also inform the enforcement judge of the status of such measures.

2. The entire process of applying for enforcement

(I) Which court should I apply to?

According to Article 235 of the Civil Procedure Law, legally effective civil judgments and rulings shall be executed by the people's court of first instance or the people's court at the same level as the people's court of first instance where the property is executed. As far as the bride price return judgment is concerned, you can either apply to the court of first instance that tried the case at the beginning, or apply to the court at the same level where the property of the person subject to execution is located, and choose whichever is more convenient and more conducive to finding the property.

(II) remember the hard line "two years"

Article 250 of the Civil Procedure Law stipulates that the period of applying for execution is two years. This period shall be counted from the last day of the period of performance stipulated in the legal document; in the case of performance by stages, it shall be counted from the date of expiration of the last period of performance; if there is no period of performance, it shall be counted from the date of entry into force of the legal document. The limitation period for applying for enforcement may be suspended or interrupted. The judgment of Zhao's case even directly stated that "the plaintiff can apply to this court for enforcement within two years from the second day of the expiration of the performance of this judgment", which is to remind the parties not to sleep with their rights. If the application is made more than two years later, enforcement will be hindered once the opposing party raises the defense of limitation.

What to do after the (III) court files a case

After the court receives the application for execution, the execution officer will issue an execution notice to the person subject to execution, ordering him to perform within the specified time limit, and report the property status (Article 251 and 252 of the Civil Procedure Law). At the same time, the court will activate the online execution inspection and control system, and issue inquiry notices to financial institutions, vehicle registration departments, securities institutions, online payment institutions, real estate registration departments, etc., to inquire about the deposits, vehicles, securities, and online funds under the name of the person subject to execution., Real estate and other information. In the case of Li, Li and Cui, the court has taken this measure.

3. If the other party refuses to repay the money, what measures can the court take?

(I) Freezing and transferring deposits and online funds

According to Article 253 of the Civil Procedure Law, the court has the right to inquire about the deposits, bonds, stocks, fund shares and other properties of the executed person from the relevant units, and seize, freeze, transfer and change the price according to the circumstances. In practice, funds held in online payment accounts such as WeChat Pay and Alipay can likewise be frozen or seized. In the case of Li, the court had already frozen the judgment debtor’s bank deposits and online payment accounts; it only proceeded with further measures because the balances were insufficient.

(II) Seizure and auction of real estate and vehicles

According to Article 255 of the Civil Procedure Law, the court has the right to seal up, seize, freeze, auction and sell off the property of the part of the obligation that the person subject to execution should perform. Vehicles and real estate are the most common objects of enforcement. In Cui's case, there was only one "Changan brand" small ordinary passenger car under the name of the person subject to execution. The court auctioned it on Taobao on August 26, 2015 and finally sold it for 71736.8 yuan. This means that—even if the other party “appears to have no assets”—once a car or a house under their name is discovered, it may be seized and sold to satisfy the debt.

(III) Detention and withdrawal of income

If the person subject to execution has fixed income such as salary, bonus, rent, etc., the court may withhold and withdraw the income of the part of his obligation, but the necessary living expenses of the person subject to execution and his dependent family members shall be reserved (Article 254 of the Civil Procedure Law). For individuals who have stable jobs yet refuse to repay their debts, this measure serves as a powerful deterrent.

(IV) Restriction of high consumption; inclusion on the list of discredited persons.

These are the two measures that are most frequently used and have the most direct impact on the actual life of the person being executed. After being restricted from consumption, the other party cannot take airplanes, first-class high-speed rail seats, stay in star-rated hotels, go to high-consumption entertainment venues, and children cannot attend high-fee private schools. After being included in the list of untrustworthy persons subject to enforcement (commonly known as "blacklist"), they will also be restricted in government procurement, bidding, financing and credit, market access, and serving as corporate executives. In Li's case, Li's case and Cui's case, the court took measures to restrict consumption and include them in the list of dishonesty.

(V) fines, detention

If the person subject to execution refuses to report or falsely reports the property, the court may fine or detain him according to the seriousness of the case (Article 252 of the Civil Procedure Law). Those who conceal or transfer property to resist enforcement may likewise be subject to fines or detention. In the case of Cui, the court imposed measures on the judgment debtor who refused to comply, including restrictions on high‑value consumption, inclusion on a list of discredited persons, and a fine.

(VI) to pursue criminal responsibility-Refusal to execute judgment, conviction

This is the strictest level. Article 313 of the Criminal Law stipulates that if a people's court is capable of executing a judgment or ruling but refuses to execute it, if the circumstances are serious, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention or a fine; if the circumstances are especially serious, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than seven years. Interpretation [2024] No. 13 on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Handling Criminal Cases of Refusal to Execute Judgments and Rulings, which came into effect on December 1, 2014, further refines the situation of "having the ability to execute but refusing to execute, if the circumstances are serious"; it also specifically stipulates that in order to evade the obligation of execution, the perpetrator hides or transfers property after the litigation starts and before the judgment takes effect, if the judgment is verified to be true after the judgment takes effect and still refuses to be executed, the crime of refusal may be investigated; if an outsider knows that another person refuses to execute and still conspires with him or assists in hiding and transferring property, he shall be punished as an accomplice in the crime of refusal to execute. This directly hits the most common "transfer of property" pain point in the execution of the bride price.

4. Special difficulties in enforcing the payment of betrothal gifts

The difficulty in the execution of the judgment of returning the bride price lies in the "particularity" of the bride price itself ". Compared with ordinary loans or trade receivables, betrothal gifts present several significant enforcement challenges.

(I) Dowry is mostly paid in cash, leaving few traces.

In many places, the bride price is paid in cash, gold jewelry and other physical goods, there is no bank flow, the ownership is difficult to verify. In Zhang's case, the court finally determined that the bride price was a combination of bank transfer and cash gift: 200,000 yuan was transferred through the bank and marked with "bride price", and 10,001 yuan was a cash gift, totaling more than 210000 yuan. In contrast, for bride-prices paid entirely in cash without any supporting documentation, once enforcement begins, it is often difficult even to determine where the money has gone.

(II) The betrothal gifts are easily spent, and ownership "evaporates."

Once the betrothal gifts are accepted, they are often quickly used to purchase jewelry, host wedding banquets, and cover everyday expenses. In Zhang's 1 case, the defendant argued that the bride price had been used to buy gold and silver jewelry, travel, physical examination, etc., and the court found that these were "all personal consumption behaviors". In Zhao's case, the man paid 180,000 yuan, but the woman's family argued that the matchmaker still had 80,000 yuan, while the three defendants actually received only 100,000 yuan. These circumstances have led to the fact that, although the judgment is directed towards the return of the bride price, the enforceable property is no longer in the name of the recipient.

(III) The woman's name often shows "no assets found"

The recipients of the bride price are often the woman or her parents, and this kind of person to be executed often has no real estate, no vehicle, little account balance, and even has no fixed income. At the time of execution, the result of the inspection and control system is often "no property found for execution", and the execution is deadlocked.

What if (IV) property is transferred to a relative

This is the most challenging issue in the implementation of betrothal gifts, and it is also the one that requires the most proactive action. If the person subject to execution transfers gifts, deposits, vehicles, etc. to relatives such as parents, brothers and sisters, the person applying for execution can take two paths:

  • Exercising the right of revocation: if the other party transfers the property without compensation or transfers the property at an obviously unreasonable low price, which damages the interests of creditors, it can request the court to revoke the transfer and recover the property for execution in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Civil Code.
  • Apply for additional person subject to execution: in the execution procedure, if it is found that the relationship between the subject receiving and occupying the property and the person subject to execution meets the legal conditions, it can apply to the court to add him as the person subject to execution and expand the scope of the executable property.

Especially after the implementation of the Law Interpretation [2024] No. 13, the transfer of property by the perpetrator after the start of the lawsuit and before the judgment takes effect, as well as the conspiracy of outsiders to assist in the transfer of property, may directly touch the crime of refusal to execute, which has an obvious effect on deterring "early transfer.

5. "cannot be executed" and terminate this execution

When the court exhausts the measures of property investigation and does not find any property available for enforcement, or the property found cannot be disposed of temporarily, it will rule to "terminate this enforcement procedure", which is often called "final copy". This is the most frustrating result of the implementation of the bride price, but a fundamental problem must be clarified first.

Final (I) does not amount to debt forgiveness

The final version is just the end of this implementation procedure, not the cancellation of the debt. The ruling of Li's case is very clear: the person subject to execution "has the obligation to continue to perform the debt to the person applying for execution","if the person applying for execution finds that the person subject to execution has property available for execution, he may apply to this court or other courts with jurisdiction to resume execution", and "the application for resumption of execution is not limited by the limitation period of application for execution". The execution of Li's case is another example: the court froze the bank and online capital accounts of the person subject to execution and took measures to limit the height. However, "up to now, the execution of this case has been in place in 1329 yuan, but not in place in 16671 yuan", and the final result was due to the fact that the person subject to execution "does not have the conditions for execution for the time being. The figure of 1,329 yuan reflects the helplessness of enforcement when it becomes clear that “the other party truly has no assets.”

(II) Resume enforcement and provide clues about assets.

After the end of the book, the initiative is actually still in your hands. The key is not to "lie flat", but to continuously collect the property clues of the person to be executed, and once found, immediately apply for the resumption of execution. Common effective clues include: the other party's newly found work unit, newly opened bank or online payment account, newly purchased vehicle real estate, income from its business, demolition compensation, dividends, housing provident fund, and even the common property under the name of his spouse. The ruling of the Li Moumou case also specifically reminded that the compulsory measures taken in the execution have a time limit, and the person applying for execution should apply in writing 30 days before the time limit expires to continue freezing or seizure, and failure to apply within the time limit is deemed to be a waiver-this is easy to be ignored, But it directly affects the continuation of rights.

6. Two special considerations regarding the judgment debtor

(I) who is the subject of the obligation to return

who should return the bride price is directly related to whether we can "put the responsibility into practice". Article 4 of the Law on the Judicial Interpretation of the Law on the 2024 of the bride price stipulates that in a property dispute over the marriage contract, one party to the marriage contract and the parents who actually paid the bride price may act as co-plaintiffs; the other party to the marriage contract and the parents who actually received the bride price may act as co-defendants. This rule means that it is often not enough to "list the woman as a defendant"-the parents who actually receive and possess the bride price may also be eligible defendants and may be listed as co-defendants or apply for addition. However, it should be noted that whether parents can be listed depends on "whether they actually receive bride price". In the Zhang 1 case, the court did not support the parents of Zhu 1 to bear the obligation of return precisely because the bride price "the actual recipient is the defendant Zhu 1". In Yang's case, Zhang 1 and Zhang 2 were both sentenced to jointly return 48000 yuan because they were related to the reception of bride price.

(II) Essential living expenses must be retained.

Execution is not about "driving the other party into a dead end." Articles 254 and 255 of the Civil Procedure Law explicitly stipulate that, when withholding or extracting income or seizing and impounding property, the necessary living expenses and essential items for the life of the person subject to enforcement and their dependents shall be retained. In other words, even if the other party’s wages are to be garnished, their basic living expenses must be preserved. This is both the legal bottom line and a specific issue that often requires communication and calculation with the judge during enforcement.

7. Besides the execution of the judgment, what other avenues are available?

(I) Pre-litigation and in-litigation property preservation

Rather than exhausting yourself trying to enforce the judgment after it is rendered, it is better to take action at the time of filing the lawsuit. In the case of Zhang Mou1, upon the plaintiff’s application, the court ordered the preservation of property under the defendant’s name up to the amount of RMB 246,186 during the litigation; in the case of Zhao Mou, the plaintiff also applied for property preservation. Property preservation allows you to “freeze” the other party’s real estate, vehicles, and bank deposits in advance, preventing them from being transferred during the litigation and paving the way for future enforcement. This is one of the most effective preliminary measures for enhancing the success rate of enforcing betrothal gift-related cases, and it is worth planning for at the litigation stage.

(II) Mediation and Execution of Settlement

Enforcement is not limited to “compulsory enforcement” alone. During the enforcement process, both parties may voluntarily enter into a settlement agreement, stipulating installment payments or a reduction of part of the amount, which shall be recorded in the court minutes. The case of Zhao is a typical example: the amount of the betrothal gift to be returned was confirmed by the court at 55,000 yuan after both parties “reached a consensus” during the proceedings, thus resolving the matter more quickly than if they had continued to engage in adversarial litigation. If the other party is willing to perform but is temporarily facing difficulties, a practical and feasible settlement agreement is often more cost-effective than prolonging the case through final adjudication.

8. Frequently Asked Questions

1. The judgment has just become effective, and the other party says they will appeal. Can I still apply for enforcement?

No. The judgment has not yet entered into force during the appeal period and will not take effect until the appeal period has expired (first instance) or the judgment of the second instance has been served (final instance). Effective and after the performance period the other party still does not perform, can apply for execution.

2. Do I have to pay a fee to apply for enforcement? How long will it take to receive the funds?

Generally, the application fee is not paid in advance when applying for execution. The execution fee shall be borne by the person subject to execution, and shall be deducted from the execution payment when the execution is in place. As for how long it will take to get the money, it depends on whether the other party has enforceable property and whether the property is well disposed of. The short term is a few weeks, and the long term may enter the final book.

3. The other party transferred the bride price to my parents. Can I ask my parents to return it together?

Yes, but there must be a basis for it. If the parents are "actually receiving the bride price", they may be listed as co-defendants or apply for addition in accordance with the judicial interpretation.

4. If the property cannot be found under the name of the other party, is it impossible to execute it?

No. The court will issue a ruling terminating the enforcement proceedings, but the debt does not cease to exist. You can continue to provide property clues to apply for resumption of execution, and resumption of execution is not limited by the two-year application period (note the time limit for renewal).

5. What should I do if the other party is still spending and traveling normally?

This is the point. Evidence of high consumption and new property clues can be submitted to the court to apply for the resumption of enforcement, and request further measures such as high limit, dishonesty, fine detention, etc.; if the circumstances are serious, the crime of refusal to execute can be promoted.

6. Does the "double payment of interest on delayed performance of debt" mentioned in the judgment require a separate application?

There is no need to prosecute separately, and it can be claimed together in the execution procedure. The court will, in accordance with Article 264 of the Civil Procedure Law, calculate double interest for the period of delayed performance according to the statutory standard and enforce it together with the principal amount you have applied to have enforced.

Practical experience of 9. lawyers

Once a court judgment ordering the return of the betrothal gifts becomes effective, many people assume the matter is resolved; in reality, the real tug-of-war often begins with enforcement. First of all, we should focus on two points in time: whether the judgment has taken effect or not, the first instance will have to wait for the expiration of the appeal period, and the second instance will take effect when it is served. As well as the last day of the performance period stated in the judgment, if the other party fails to pay within the time limit, it will constitute an overdue period. You can directly apply to the court for enforcement without having to fight another lawsuit. If you don’t count these two steps correctly, you’ll easily end up making a wasted trip.

The materials for applying for execution are actually not complicated: application for execution, effective legal documents, plus identification; those who can attach clues to the other party's property should be handed in together as much as possible, such as salary issuing units, common banks, license plates under their names, stores or companies operated. If the preservation has been done, the enforcement judge shall be informed of the preservation together. During the enforcement phase, the court will check deposits, real estate, vehicles, securities and online payment accounts through the Internet, and may freeze deductions, limit high consumption and include them in the list of dishonest. The special difficulty in bride price cases is that the money has often been spent or transferred to parents, relatives and friends, so you should take the initiative to recall the flow of money and give clues to the judge in time.

If the other party does not have any property in his name and the court has not found it through exhaustive measures, the case will end this execution procedure, but this does not mean that the debt is forgiven, and if new clues are found in the future, he can apply for resumption of execution at any time. So don't take the closing of the case as the end point, pay attention to the changes such as changing jobs, buying a car and buying a house, and starting a company. If the two sides do come to an agreement, they can also reach a phased settlement in the implementation, but before the settlement, they should weigh the other party's ability to perform and write clearly how to resume the implementation after the breach of contract, so as not to let the wait become an indefinite delay.

The Ningbo court ordered the return of the bride price, but the other party did not give it. The correct action was not to continue to make noise, butObtain the final judgment and immediately apply for compulsory enforcement.. Do three things firmly: first, calculate the effective date and performance period, and don't let the two-year application period slip away; The second is to hand over the property clues that can be provided to the court at one time when applying for execution, and make good use of the tools of network investigation and control, freezing and deduction, seizure and auction, high limit and dishonesty, fine detention and even refusal to commit crimes. The third is to lay out the bride price problem of "transferring property and having no property, apply for property preservation at the time of prosecution, keep an eye on clues at any time during execution, and apply for renewal of the freeze on a regular basis. Even if it comes to the end, it does not mean that the money will not be returned, but only that the recovery will be turned into a "protracted war". Active, timely and strategic are the three key points for the implementation of bride price.