The term "pseudo-divorce" does not come from a legal text, but is a colloquial term for a social phenomenon. It describes the decision of a husband and wife to temporarily dissolve their marriage for some common or separate motive and to resume it after a specific goal has been achieved.
In real life, many couples choose this strategy, perhaps to qualify for a home, to avoid some of the couple's financial responsibilities, or to pursue other forms of interest. But many times, this strategy can have unintended consequences, especially if one partner is ultimately unwilling to remarry, leading to a complete breakdown of the relationship.
So, how do we view the legal effect of the divorce agreement reached by the parties through the civil affairs department in this situation? Should the marital property be divided according to this agreement? Does the section on "marriage and family" in the Civil Code clearly stipulate this situation?
These are legal issues worthy of in-depth study, not only about the rights and interests of individuals, but also reflecting the change in the concept of marriage in the midst of social changes.
Case review
Wang and Lin got married in 1985 and have a daughter and a son, and now the children are adults. In 2016, they signed a "Statement", indicating that the reason why they went through the divorce procedures was only to facilitate the No. 201 house located in a community in Haidian, and emphasized that other properties in their names were still joint property and would not be divided. The following day, the two parties signed a "Letter of Agreement", confirming that No. 201 of a community in Haidian District and No. 506 of a newly purchased house in a community in Chaoyang District were their joint property. On the same day, they officially went through the divorce formalities.
However, soon after the divorce, Wang changed his attitude, was no longer willing to remarry, and asked for a redivision of the joint property of the husband and wife. Lin insisted on remarrying, and negotiated with Wang many times, but failed to reach an agreement. In the end, Wang filed a lawsuit for a post-divorce property dispute, claiming that their divorce agreement with the Civil Affairs Bureau was false and demanding a redistribution of the joint property of the husband and wife.
According to the "Divorce Agreement" filed by Wang and Lin at the time of the divorce by the Civil Affairs Bureau, Building No. 201 of a community in Haidian District was owned by Lin, while Wang stated that he had no joint property and no debts and debts.
Wang believes that the real purpose of their divorce is to avoid taxes and fees when they house in Haidian District, and in fact, they did not really divide the joint property. Therefore, he argued that the money for the house in Haidian District and the newly purchased house in Chaoyang District should be regarded as the joint property of the husband and wife. However, Lin has a different view. In her view, the Divorce Agreement was signed after the Explanation and therefore should be more effective than the Explanation. Accordingly, she argues that the house in Haidian District should be regarded as her personal property after the divorce and should not be redivided.
Court decision
The effective judgment issued by the court confirmed that the parties had registered their divorce with the civil affairs department, and therefore their marriage had been officially terminated. However, on the day of the registration of the divorce, the two parties signed a "letter of agreement", which clearly stated that the houses in Haidian District and Chaoyang District were their joint property. In addition, the day before the divorce, the two parties also signed a "Statement", explaining that the reason why they chose to divorce was only to facilitate the house in Haidian District, and the other properties in their names were not divided.
Considering the time of the house in Haidian District and the time of purchase of the house in Chaoyang District, it can be inferred that the real motive of the parties for divorce is to pursue the economic benefits brought by the divorce and to circumvent the state's control policies.
Therefore, the court finally ruled that the house in Haidian District belonged to the joint property of the parties during the marriage. At the same time, the house in Chaoyang District purchased with the sale proceeds and the remaining house money shall also be regarded as the joint property of both parties and shall be divided. The specific division ratio will be determined on the basis of factors such as the contribution of both parties during the marriage and the degree of fault.
Case Analysis
1. Assessment of the effectiveness of the dissolution of marriage
Article 1080 of the Civil Code "Marriage and Family" clarifies the effective time of the dissolution of the marriage relationship: "The marriage relationship shall be dissolved when the divorce registration is completed, or when the divorce judgment or mediation document takes effect. This signifies that a registered divorce has the same legal effect as a litigated divorce. Once the divorce is registered, the marriage is terminated immediately. This provision gives full consideration to the particularity of divorce, which is a civil legal act involving the vital interests of the parties and will lead to fundamental changes in marriage and family relations. This includes the formal review of the civil affairs organs, the credibility of the registration and publicity, and the application of the principle of good faith, once the divorce is completed, the identity relationship is irreversible.
According to the relevant provisions of the "Marriage and Family Section" of the Civil Code, three conditions must be met for divorce by agreement: the parties must have civil capacity, and the husband and wife must have a clear intention to divorce, and reach an agreement on issues such as child support, property division and debt disposal, and sign a written divorce agreement. This provision emphasizes the importance of written agreements and sets out in detail the main contents that should be included in written divorce agreements, aiming to further standardize divorce registration procedures and review standards.
Therefore, from a legal point of view, as long as the parties have full civil capacity at the time of divorce, voluntarily sign a divorce agreement and complete the divorce registration, regardless of their true purpose, they have the legal effect of dissolving the marriage relationship. In this case, Lin and Wang jointly handled the divorce registration, which complied with the above-mentioned legal provisions and should be deemed to have dissolved the marriage relationship between the two parties. In view of the fact that the real purpose of the divorce is to pursue economic interests and circumvent national policies, and both parties have a clear understanding of the legal effects of divorce and actively pursue it, it should be deemed that the parties have the same intention on the dissolution of the marriage relationship.
2. The performance of the division of property in the divorce agreement
The divorce agreement is an important form and carrier of registered divorce, which covers many aspects such as identity and property. Although the essence of the marital relationship is a status relationship, this relationship is accompanied by a legal property relationship. The husband and wife can change this legal property relationship through an agreement, which is a contract on the ownership of property.
Therefore, when dealing with the division of property in a divorce agreement, not only should the provisions of the "Marriage and Family Section" of the Civil Code be applied, but also the principle of the "Contract Section" should be referred to in the absence of conflicts. In "sham divorce" cases, sometimes one party will argue that the divorce is not for the purpose of restoring the marital relationship, but because the division of property has not been carefully considered or in order to circumvent the policy, resulting in the division of property not in line with his or her true wishes, or even increasing the burden, and therefore requesting a redistribution of property.
When hearing such cases, the court usually treats the status relationship separately from the property relationship. Although the effect of a divorce by mutual agreement on the treatment of status relationships will be confirmed, the true intention of the division of property in the divorce agreement will still be examined. If no fraud, coercion, etc. is found, the court will usually reject the party's claim. However, if the evidence shows that the property division agreement in the divorce agreement is not the true will of both parties and violates the principle of consistency of rights and obligations, the court will redistribute the joint property of the husband and wife in accordance with the law.
In this case, Lin and Wang signed the Explanation before the divorce and signed the Agreement on the day of the divorce, both of which clearly stated that the agreement on the division of property in the divorce agreement filed by the civil affairs department between the two parties was false. Combined with the fact that the sales and purchase contracts of the houses in Haidian District and the houses in Chaoyang District were signed during the marriage of the two parties, which is consistent with the contents of the Explanation and the Agreement, it can be determined that these two documents can better reflect the true intentions of the parties at that time. Therefore, the court finally adopted Wang's proposition and held that the house in Haidian District was the joint property of the parties during the marriage, and the house in Chaoyang District and the surplus house purchased with the sale proceeds of the house belonged to the joint property of both parties and should be divided. In the specific division, it is also necessary to determine the proportion and amount of the division based on factors such as the fault of both parties during the marriage and their contribution to the marriage.