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One of our clients called recently, he said he was going to get married to his Chinese fiancé. He wanted to know what’s the Chinese Marriage Law’s provision about family assets and asked if there is anything like prenuptial agreements in China. Generally speaking, a married person’s assets could be divided into family assets and personal assets. According to the Chinese Marriage law, if not otherwise agreed by the couple:1. The following assets incurred during the marriage shall be family assets jointly owned by the couple, including:b. any income incurred from production or management; c. any income incurred from intellectual property; d. any property inherited or bestowed. However, if the deceased or donor failed to express specifically that the inheritance or bestowal will only benefit the inheritor or donee instead of their spouse, then the property only belongs to this specified person.So if there is no agreement between the couple specifying otherwise, most of the income during the marriage should be jointly owned by the couple, even if only the husband or wife make money while the spouse have no income at all. Both husband and wife shall have equal rights in the disposal of the jointly owned assets.Besides, if the couple get divorced, the family assets will be divided between the couple fifty-fifty. But it could be a relief to most of the husbands, because there is no rule about alimony for ex-wives in China. Though the marriage law does say if one party has financial difficulty, the other party shall provide some assistance from his/her personal assets.a. the pre-marital assets that is owned by one party;
b. the payment for medical treatment or living subsidies for the disabled arising from bodily injury on either party;
c. the articles of living specially used by either party,
d. others.3. A written prenuptial agreement will be binding to the couple.The marriage law makes a general rule about what assets will be treated as family assets and what assets are personal assets, but the marriage law also specifies that the couple could come to an agreement otherwise. In another words, prenuptial agreements are allowed in China. The couple could specify in the prenuptial agreement if the assets during or prior to the marriage would be owned by each party jointly or separately. The agreement should be in writing, but not have to be notarized to be effective. If not all assets are jointly owned by the couple, it’s a smart move to draft a detailed list of assets and include the list as attachment to the agreement. Also, it’s highly recommended to specify clearly how to pay the family expenses when the assets are not jointly owned by the couple.Related provisions in Marriage Law of the PRCArticle 18 The following property shall be owned by either the husband or the wife:
a. the pre-marital property that is owned by one party;
b. the payment for medical treatment or living subsidies for the disabled arising from bodily injury on either party;
c. the articles of living specially used by either party;
d. other property that shall be used by either party.Article 19 Husband and wife may come to an agreement whether the property incurred during the existence of marriage or prior to marriage to be owned by each party, to be jointly owned or partially owned by each party and partially owned by both parties. The agreement shall be made in written form. Where there is no such agreement or it is not explicitly agreed upon, the provisions of articles 17 and 18 shall apply...