The male party is missing, has been separated from the female party for two years, the property is registered in the male party's name, and the female party has filed a divorce lawsuit with the court. How should the property be divided?

Case Summary

After getting to know each other in Shenzhen, Feng and Huang confirmed their romantic relationship shortly thereafter. They did not have a deep understanding of each other, and due to their ages being over thirty, they got married impulsively. After marriage, Feng had no knowledge of Huang's work and family background. Feng had repeatedly proposed visiting Huang's workplace, but was always refused. Later, Feng was transferred to work in Huizhou for a period of time due to work reasons, and the couple saw each other less often, thus they did not establish a strong marital bond.

After marriage, the couple purchased a property in Shenzhen, registered in Huang's name, and took out a mortgage loan of 388,000 yuan from the China Construction Bank in Huang's name. However, starting from January 2009, Huang left the home and has been unreachable since then, and has also stopped paying the mortgage. When Huang left, Feng was working in Huizhou and was unaware of the situation. Later, under the bank's urging, Feng was forced to deposit more than 2,000 yuan per month into Huang's mortgage account and has been repaying the loan ever since. In May 2010, Huang's credit card debt with the China Construction Bank was overdue, and as the bank could not find Huang, they contacted Feng listed as the contact person on the application. Helplessly, Feng had to pay off the credit card bill on Huang's behalf. After that, Feng tried to contact Huang's family, but they also replied that they could not reach Feng. After a long search, Feng finally decided to file for divorce in the People's Court and claimed the ownership of the property purchased during the marriage.

Judgment Result

After the People's Court conducted a trial in accordance with the law, it ruled that the divorce should be granted, and the property purchased after marriage and registered in Huang's name should be owned by Feng. Huang should assist Feng in handling the property transfer registration procedures within fifteen days from the date when the judgment takes effect. Feng should pay Huang 40% of the total price of the house as compensation within fifteen days from the date when the judgment takes effect.

Analysis by Daohua Lawyer

1. How to prove that the other party has been missing and the couple has been separated for more than two years, thus meeting the conditions for divorce? Let's see how the evidence is presented in this case?

Evidence One: The Record of Reporting and the Receipt of Accepting Report. Feng reported to the Yuanshi Police Station of the Shenzhen Public Security Bureau that he had lost contact with Huang for three years and now wanted to divorce Huang but could not find him, so he came to the police station to report. The police station made a Record of Reporting for Feng and registered the acceptance of the report. Evidence Two: A Certificate issued by the community. The content states that Huang has not lived in the property purchased by the couple for the past two years, and the property has been lived in by Feng alone; Evidence Three: A Notice issued by the court due to Huang's involvement in another case. This notice was posted at the property due to a brokerage contract dispute case between a certain real estate agency (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. and Huang, and it was stated that there was no one to sign for the delivery of the case at the property.

Considering the above evidence, the court determined that the couple had been separated for more than two years and granted the divorce.

2. How should the ownership of the house be determined?

Although the house was purchased during the marriage and registered in Huang's name, and the loan was applied for and repaid in Huang's name, it does not affect the determination that the property is the joint property of the couple. Then, how should the property be divided?

As the couple has been separated for more than two years, considering that Feng has been living in the property for nearly two years and evidence such as the invoice for the initial payment of the property, bank statements for repaying the mortgage, and passbooks can prove that Feng has made significant contributions to the property during the separation, in conjunction with the living conditions of the house and the principle of caring for the female party's rights and interests, the property should be owned by Feng, and Huang should assist Feng in handling the property transfer procedures. The ownership of the property should be determined as Feng owning 60% and Huang owning 40%, so Feng only needs to pay Huang 40% of the compensation.

Special Note

1. The above content is for general reference only and does not constitute legal advice or basis for specific matters;

2. Copyright of Daohua Law Firm. Please indicate the source and author if reproduced.