For the NEET group, premarital property notarization is a double-edged sword

When love between a couple fades away, the division of property becomes a focus. As housing prices surge, numerous spouses heading towards a divorce usually pay most attention to the ownership of their housing units.

Situations now, however, have become more complicated as "some parents buy a housing unit for their married or unmarried children while some other parents only settle the down payment for their children." There are more and more disputes resulting from unclear ownerships.

How to solve these problems in the judicial system?

Situation 1

What if the parents have bought the housing for their children before their marriage?

Wang Gang and Xiao Li met in 2007 and shortly after, fell into love. Finally, Wang Gang’s parents bought a housing unit for the young couple before the wedding ceremony was held.

In 2009, disputes related to the ownership of the housing unit arose between the young couple, who had decided to get a divorce.

Wang Gang believed that the housing unit should not belong to Xiao Li because it was bought by his parents and then given to him. On the other hand, Xiao Li believed that her father-in-law previously bought the unit for them both, so the unit should be equally shared.

They raised a lawsuit. A relevant court ruled that the housing unit belongs to Wang Gang because it was bought by Wang Gang's father before Wang Gang and Xiao Li were married.

Situation 2

Can a couple equally own a housing unit bought by one side’s parents after their marriage?

Zhang Jing and Li Jia were married on June 23, 2004. In 2006, the couple was interested in a housing unit in Daxing District, Beijing. As the president of a company, Zhang Dayuan, Zhang Jing’s father, is a rich businessman, so he bought the unit for his son and daughter-in-law.

In 2008, problems began to occur between Zhang Jing and Li Jia. Zhang Dayuan feared that Li Jia might claim half-ownership of the housing unit once his son divorced her.

In August 2009, Zhang Dayuan filed a lawsuit against his son and daughter-in-law, urging them to return the 800,000 yuan which he previously used to buy the housing unit. In court, Zhang Dayuan produced a certificate of indebtedness written by Zhang Jing and said that he only lent the money to the young couple. During court trial, Zhang Jing admitted that what his father said is true and he would try his best to return the money. However, Li Jia said that she would not return the money because her father-in-law bought the housing unit and then presented it to her and her husband voluntarily at that time, and she knew nothing about the certificate of indebtedness.

The court could not conclude that the debt belongs to the couple as Zhang Dayuan is Zhang Jing's father and Li Jia did not sign the certificate written by Zhang Jing. At the same time, the court ruled that Zhang Dayuan had presented the housing unit to the couple because he bought it after they got married. Therefore, the court rejected the litigant requests made by Zhang Dayuan.