Husband's Affair for 12 Years and Illegitimate Child, Gifts Lover Nearly 4 Million! Court: Violates Public Morality, Wife Has Right to Recover!

Case basic situation:

The husband had an affair for over a decade and had a child with a third party, who is now 10 years old. During this period, the husband gave nearly 4 million yuan to the third party. The wife sued the court, requesting the confirmation of the invalidity of the gift between the two and demanding the third party to return the full amount. During the lawsuit, the third party claimed that she was unaware that the other party was married, identifying herself as a victim, and also stated that the transferred money was child support. The court did not accept any of these claims, and ordered the third party to return the full amount in accordance with the law. The Shenzhen senior marriage and family lawyer team - Daohua Marriage and Family Lawyer Team, led by Chief Lawyer Tang Yunhong, analyzes the legal relationships involved in the case.

How should the act of a spouse privately disposing of property without permission during the marriage relationship be identified?

The court determined after trial that from 2013 to 2020, a total of over 1.47 million yuan was transferred to a third party. In 2012, 800,000 yuan in cash was withdrawn and in 2014, 650,000 yuan in cash was withdrawn to purchase two houses for the third party. In 2013, a small car worth 8.7 million yuan was purchased for the third party, totaling over 3.79 million yuan. The aforementioned acts of disposing of property were not agreed upon by the wife and were not subsequently recognized by her.

During the existence of the marriage relationship, both husband and wife have equal rights to the joint property, jointly owning the property without any division of shares, and neither party has the right to dispose of the joint property of the couple alone. Any private gift of the joint property of the couple to a third party by one party infringes upon the property rights of the spouse and violates the principles of public order and good customs, and the gift is invalid.

In addition, couples have the obligation to be faithful to each other. Privately gifting large amounts of property to an affair partner seriously undermines the trust and affection between the couple and violates the obligation of fidelity between them. They should be condemned. If a third party benefits from such behavior, it upends the public order and good customs of society, to some extent bringing negative impacts, and should not be protected.

Dowah Lawyer Analysis:

One spouse's act of gifting to another person based on an improper relationship should be deemed invalid due to its violation of public order and good customs. In the daily handling of substantial assets, before making important decisions on the joint property of the couple that are not due to daily needs, both spouses should engage in equal consultation and reach a consensus before disposing of the property. If one spouse, based on an improper relationship, unilaterally gifts the joint property of the couple to a third party, it actually expresses the intention to maintain the improper relationship for a long time, which is completely contrary to the traditional Chinese concept of marriage and family, severely challenges public order and good customs, and also damages the legitimate rights and interests of the spouse. In such a situation, the giver is considered to have improperly reduced the joint property of the couple, and the other party can claim compensation or a redivision of property from the court at the time of divorce or after discovering the situation.