Introduction: In marriage and family disputes in Shenzhen, the Greater Bay Area, the division of property and custody are often the two biggest headaches for the parties involved. Many families are trapped in a long-term stalemate due to failed negotiations, which not only consumes energy but also harms parent-child relationships. Lawyer Tang Yunhong, the head of the Dahuawu Marriage and Family Law Firm and a Shenzhen divorce lawyer, took on a divorce case in May 2025. The property involved in this case for the two parties includes a Shenzhen property worth 4 million yuan, a Mercedes-Benz vehicle, company shares, securities accounts, and other assets. The two parties were at a stalemate over the division of property and custody. After accepting the委托, Lawyer Tang and his team adopted the “litigation to promote mediation” strategy as the core, through evidence collection and pre-trial negotiation, ultimately pushing the court to mediate. The successful resolution of this case not only reflects the “professional, efficient, and empathetic” service level of Lawyer Tang's team but also proves the advantages of the “litigation to promote mediation” strategy in divorce disputes —— it can both rely on the law to protect the legitimate rights and interests of the parties and reduce confrontation through mediation, thereby minimizing the harm to individuals and families caused by disputes. (All names, locations, and other information in this article have been technically processed.)

Keywords: Shenzhen Marriage Mediation, Property Divorce Division, Custody Dispute, Divorce Lawyer, Tang Yunhong Lawyer (Guangdong Dahuawu Law Firm)

I. Case Summary

Lady Shen and Mr. Jiang registered their marriage in Shenzhen in 2023. Not long after, they had a daughter named Xiao Rong. However, since the child's birth, the two have frequently erupted into arguments due to conflicts over personality, values, and other beliefs. What was even more unacceptable to Lady Shen was that, while organizing the family's finances, she unexpectedly discovered that Mr. Jiang had been burdened with nearly 500,000 yuan in online loan debt before marriage, and he had deliberately concealed it after marriage. He even tried to repay the personal debt using the couple's joint savings. This complete breakdown of trust solidified her determination to divorce. But as they could not reach an agreement on the distribution of several properties, including a 4 million yuan house in the Shenzhen central area, a Mercedes-Benz vehicle, a 4 million yuan Shenzhen property, another Mercedes-Benz vehicle, company equity, and a securities account, as well as the custody of their daughter, their numerous negotiations ended in arguments. In this situation, Lady Shen, to avoid further escalation of conflicts, hastily left her luggage and valuable jewelry at home and returned to her parents' house with her daughter.

While Lady Shen hopes to get rid of this marriage as soon as possible, she is also worried that the other party may take extreme actions that could harm her rights and interests. In the end, with the recommendation of a friend, she found Lawyer Tang Yunhong at the Guangdong Daohua Law Firm, hoping to use professional legal assistance to properly resolve the dispute.

II. Dispute Focuses

1. Division of the residential property and Mercedes-Benz vehicle purchased after marriage

In this case, although the property and vehicle in question were both purchased as joint property after the marriage, Mr. Jiang's mother suddenly claimed that she had lent money to Mr. Jiang and the family of Ms. Shen

3 million yuan is allocated for the purchase of real estate and vehicles. According to Article 8 of the "Interpretation (II) of the Supreme People's Court on the Application of the Marriage and Family Article of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China" promulgated this year, for real estate purchased with funds from one party's parents, the ownership of the property and the amount of compensation to the other party at the time of divorce shall be determined based on the source and proportion of the funds. Therefore, if Ms. Shen claims the division of the house and vehicle, she will face the risk of assuming a 3 million yuan debt.

2. Custody of the Child

The custody of the child is directly related to the child's growth environment and future development and is one of the most contentious issues between the parties. According to Article 1084 of the "Civil Code of the People's Republic of China"

"The principle is that children under two years of age shall be directly cared for by the mother after divorce" as stipulated, in this case, Xiao Rong is under two years old, and Ms. Shen, as the main caregiver for Xiao Rong, has a higher probability of legally obtaining custody. Therefore, Mr. Jiang is likely to take the approach of not agreeing to the divorce in the first divorce lawsuit to delay the time until the daughter turns two years old, bringing the daughter to live with him to create a fact of joint custody in order to achieve the goal of obtaining custody.

3. How to Retrieve Personal Gold Jewelry

According to Article 1063 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China

“The pre-marital property of one party, as well as the personal daily necessities used exclusively by one party, shall be deemed as the personal property of that party.” According to this provision, the personal valuable jewelry that Ms. Shen hurriedly left behind during the separation is her personal property, and Mr. Jiang should return it in accordance with the law. However, in practice, the plaintiff who requests the return of valuable items often faces difficulties in proving their case (such as proving the quantity, value, and existence of the jewelry at the defendant's residence), while Mr. Jiang may dispute that there are no valuable items as described by Ms. Shen in his home, or claim that some of the jewelry is the joint property of the couple. Even if the court ultimately grants the plaintiff's claim, there may be delays or refusals to deliver the items during the actual enforcement process.

III. Case Handling Process

（1）Fully Understand the Parties' Demands and Develop an Individualized Case Handling Plan

After accepting the委托 from Ms. Shen, Tang Lawyer engaged in in-depth communication with Ms. Shen to understand the status of their marriage, the root causes of the conflict, the specific circumstances of the property, and Ms. Shen's core demands. Considering that the litigation process is time-consuming and may exacerbate the conflict between the parties, which is not conducive to the growth of the child, Tang Lawyer first attempted to resolve the dispute through mediation:

1. Based on the previous communication and negotiation between Ms. Shen and Mr. Jiang, a comprehensive analysis of the key points where the parties could not reach an agreement was conducted, and professional verbal guidance and communication strategies were provided to Ms. Shen in conjunction with Mr. Jiang's personality characteristics.

2. Many couples often communicate the terms of divorce through face-to-face or telephone conversations, and often, driven by emotions, the content of the terms cannot be implemented, resulting in the waste of time spent on communication and negotiation. Therefore, Tang Lawyer and his team drafted a written divorce agreement in accordance with Ms. Shen's demands at the beginning of the mediation guidance, to facilitate the confirmation of the negotiation content during the negotiation process.

(II) Comprehensive evidence review, initiate litigation immediately after the mediation fails

However, in the preliminary negotiations, Mr. Jiang was inflexible and categorically refused to agree to a divorce, claiming that if the divorce were to proceed, custody of the daughter must be awarded to him, leading to a deadlock in the mediation. After analysis, Lawyer Tang Yunhong believes that mere negotiation is unlikely to break the impasse and advises Ms. Shen to file a lawsuit in accordance with the law to promote the resolution of the dispute through judicial procedures. To gain the initiative in the lawsuit, Lawyer Tang has formulated

a strategy of "addressing core demands first and supplementary demands later", asserting only the demands for divorce, custody of the daughter, division of real estate and vehicles at the time of the lawsuit, and not mentioning the return of gold items or the division of equity and stock accounts.

(3) Strategically adjusting the demands to precisely grasp the timing for breaking the deadlock and promoting mediation.

After the case entered the litigation process, Tang Lawyer concurrently perfected the evidence chain for properties such as gold items, equity stocks, and other assets. On the day of the trial, before the court session was presided over by the judge for pre-trial mediation, Tang Lawyer strategically applied to the court to increase the claims, demanding that Mr. Jiang return the personal valuable jewelry he did not take away during the separation, and to legally divide the equity and stock account properties under both parties' names. This move caught Mr. Jiang off guard, and under the judge's inquiry, Mr. Jiang admitted to indeed holding valuable jewelry belonging to Ms. Shen and the fact that there were equity and stock account properties under both parties' names.

During the mediation process, Tang Lawyer focused closely on Ms. Shen's core demands, while also fully considering Mr. Jiang's reasonable interests. After analyzing the mediation plan, Tang Lawyer emphasized to Mr. Jiang that, as the daughter was still young, it was more conducive to her physical and mental health to be raised by her mother. Tang also proposed a practical visitation plan to ensure Mr. Jiang's visitation rights, allowing him to regularly accompany his daughter. Ultimately, under the guidance of the judge and the communication of Tang Lawyer, Mr. Jiang's attitude gradually softened, and both parties reached a consensus on all controversial issues.

On the day of the successful mediation, Ms. Shen, accompanied by Lawyer Tang Yunhong, went to Mr. Jiang's home to retrieve all her personal items and jewelry.

Four, Case Outcome

Under the guidance of the court, the parties reached a mediation agreement, and the court issued a civil mediation document, the specific content of which is as follows:

1. Ms. Shen and Mr. Jiang agree to dissolve their marital relationship;

2. Daughter Xiao Rong will be directly cared for by Ms. Shen, and Mr. Jiang shall pay child support of 3,000 yuan per month before the 10th of each month until Xiao Rong, the legitimate daughter, reaches the age of 18.

……

4. The property located in Futian District, Shenzhen, shall belong to Mr. Jiang, and he shall be responsible for repaying the remaining bank loan on the property. Mr. Jiang shall repay the loan after the effectiveness of this mediation agreement.