Recently, the Xuanwei Municipal People's Court of Yunnan Province heard a case of marital property dispute. The parties agree to divorce, but because the amount of the bride price paid at the time of marriage is relatively large, which has a certain impact on the man's life, and the two parties have lived together for a short time, the judgment is to make the woman return half of the bride price.
In November 2022, Cao (male) and Chen (female) met and fell in love, Chen had a son with others, and Cao bought a ring worth more than 2,000 yuan to Chen. In early January this year, Cao paid a bride price of 86,000 yuan to Chen and his parents according to rural customs, and Chen and his parents returned 2,000 yuan on the same day according to custom, and the remaining 84,000 yuan was taken by Chen. In February of the same year, Cao and Chen held a wedding in accordance with rural customs and went through marriage registration. Later, due to trivial matters, Cao went out to work in June of the same year, and Chen left the plaintiff's house in July, and the two parties have lived separately until now. During this period, Chen was pregnant, but did not give birth to a child. It was also ascertained that during the love marriage, Cao transferred 14,185 yuan to Chen.
After trial, the court held that the law not only made corresponding provisions on the circumstances under which the bride price should be returned, but also expressly prohibited the use of marriage to solicit property, that is, whether the bride price should be returned should be considered in light of the specific circumstances such as the duration of the marital relationship between the parties, the efforts made by both parties to maintain the marriage, and the degree of fault of both parties for the divorce.
In this case, the plaintiff and the defendant registered their marriage on February 14 this year, and separated in June of the same year, after which the plaintiff sued for divorce and dissolved the marriage relationship through court mediation. Combined with the time both parties have lived together and the objective situation of the woman's pregnancy after marriage, it is appropriate to determine that Chen and his parents should return 50% of Cao's bride price, that is, 42,000 yuan should be returned to the plaintiff.
After the verdict was pronounced, the parties did not appeal. The defendant took the initiative to go to the court to fulfill the obligation to return the bride price.
Judge reminds. The essence of the bride price is not in wealth, but in "ceremony". The party receiving the bride price should not ask for a high amount of money or property under the pretext of marriage, and the party who paid the bride price should also do what he or she can, and must not blindly compare. The payment of bride price should be voluntary, and the law strictly prohibits arranged marriages, buying and selling marriages, and prohibiting the extortion of property under the pretext of marriage. When paying the bride price, the payer should do what he can in combination with his or her own family economic situation, do not let the bride price become a heavy burden in the future, and avoid disputes arising from the return of the bride price in the event of divorce.