Post-PhD Signs a 10M RMB Divorce Contract With Her Husband
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Ms. Bai, a postdoctoral student, gained Beijing Hukuo and so is qualified to grant access to a family member to settle down in Beijing. Before agreeing to help her husband, Mr. Hu, settle in Beijing, she let him sign a "settlement agreement".
In it, it says that if they divorce, the husband must compensate her 10 Million yuan. And it didn't take too long for the two to file for divorce.
Ms. Bai and Mr. Hu met at school, after finishing their master's degree, Ms. Bai continued with PhD and then postdoctoral research while Mr. Hu took a job. Two years after they registered for marriage, Ms. Bai qualified for Beijing Hukou, as a spouse, Mr. Hu, can also be qualified to settle in Beijing through her.
What is Hukou?
It is a book that is like an internal passport that contains information about someone's household, as well as the village or city where the person is "settled". Benefits like health care, pension, and education for free are more accessible if the person is living where their household is registered.
It makes it hard to buy a property if the Hukou you are holding is not registered on the same place you are buying.
For some reasons, Ms. Bai gave her husband one condition for him to settle in Beijing using her as a relative, i.e. he must compensate her 10 Million yuan if they divorce. The two then signed an agreement which they believed was protected by the law.
After the marriage the two had numerous long-term misunderstandings and in 2020 Ms. Bai filed for divorce at Haidian District Court of Beijing. Along with divorce, she also sued her husband for the 10 Million yuan "settlement fees" from the agreement they signed.
Part of the agreement said:
Loose translation: Mr. Hu settled down in Beijing with Ms. Bai. If they divorce, Mr. Hu will pay Ms. Bai 10 million yuan as a compensation. This agreement is legally enforceable.
Haidian District Court of Beijing which was handling the case found that the "settlement agreement" of 10 Million yuan was invalid. It held that the settlement agreement was an agreement on economic compenstation.
From the signing process and the content of the agreement, it is neither an agreement on the husband and wife's property nor an agreement on the division of property due to divorce.
The "settlement agreement" presented by Ms. Bai has no legal basis in divorce proceedings.
Haidian District Court finally allowed the two to divorce, but rejected Ms. Bai's claim to deal with the division of husband and wife's property according to the "settlement agreement".
The judge pointed out that the "settlement agreement" in this case has something in common with the "loyalty agreement" between husband and wife, which has sprung up in recent years.
In recent years, it is more and more common for couples to sign "loyalty agreement". Generally speaking, "loyalty agreement" refers to the agreement reached by husband and wife after marriage, which requires that the party who violates the duty of loyalty must do something as the agreement said.
As for the validity of the "loyalty agreement" signed by the husband and wife during the existence of the marriage relationship, the Supreme People's court made it clear in the understanding and application of the succession part of the marriage and family part of the Civil Code:
Loose translation: The "loyalty agreement" signed between husband and wife should be performed voluntarily by the parties based on the principle of good faith. The law does not prohibit the signing of such an agreement between husband and wife, but does not give such an agreement the power of enforcement.
Considering the overall social effect, the court should not accept the "loyalty agreement" dispute between husband and wife.
Source: 上观新闻
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