Invalid Gift Agreement Dispute: Husband Cheats and Gifts Property to Third Party, Tang Yunhong Lawyer Represents the Spouse in Litigation for Rights, Shenzhen Futian Court: Gift Invalid, to Be

Mr. Zhou and Ms. Feng registered their marriage in 1994. In 2020, Mr. Zhou met Ms. Zeng online and they quickly established a relationship. During this period, under Ms. Zeng's persuasion, Mr. Zhou secretly sent money to Ms. Zeng through WeChat, bank transfers, and gift-giving. In 2023, Ms. Feng coincidentally discovered the relationship between Mr. Zhou and herself, and after confronting him face-to-face, she found that Mr. Zhou had made multiple transfers to Ms. Feng with special amounts such as "520," and contacted Ms. Feng to demand repayment. However, Ms. Feng immediately canceled her WeChat account and disappeared.

Subsequently, Ms. Feng found the Dao Hua Family Law Firm through a friend's introduction and entrusted the lawyer Tang Yunhong to represent her in filing a lawsuit against the third party to ensure her property interests.

Second,Dispute focus and investigation process

(1) After Tang Yunhong, the lawyer, got involved in the case, he understood the situation of the case and clarified the transfer details.

This case involves a dispute over the invalidation of a gift contract. Tang Yunhong, a lawyer with extensive experience in marital and family litigation, quickly identified two key dispute points in the case:

1. Did Mr. Zhou and Ms. Zeng establish a relationship as boyfriends and girlfriends?

After Mr. Zhou and Ms. Zeng terminated their relationship, the WeChat chat records between them were not preserved, and with Ms. Zeng's active cancellation of the WeChat account, it caused great difficulties in evidence collection.

How much is the amount of gift property that Ms. Zeng should return?

In reviewing the case details, Lawyer Tang Yunhong learned that Mr. Zhou had repeatedly gifted items to Ms. Zeng through online shopping in addition to bank transfers, and the composition of the gifted property was complex, including bank transfers, cash deposits, and online shopping items, etc., which imposes a heavy burden of proof on our side.

(Second)Based on the focal point of the case dispute, formulate a litigation plan:

1. Tang Yunhong lawyer and his team carefully reviewed the transfer records of Mr. Zhou and Ms. Zeng, found multiple "520" special amounts and transfers during special holidays, and submitted an application for investigation and evidence collection, confirming that the WeChat account is in the name of Ms. Zeng, thereby proving the relationship between the boyfriend and girlfriend.

2. According to the provisions of our Civil Code, property that needs to be returned due to invalid gifts should be repaid at a discounted price if it is indeed impossible to return. Lawyer Tang Yunhong, through the organization of online shopping orders, proved that the online shopping items were indeed received by Ms. Zeng based on the delivery address and recipient of the online shopping orders, and it should be presumed that she accepted the gift. The part of the gift should be repaid at a discounted price.

(3)The courtroom was filled with sharp-tongued debates and fierce arguments.

This case was heard in the First Instance Court of Futian District, Shenzhen. Lawyer Tang Yunhong meticulously analyzed the case, argued with reason, reconstructed the facts of the case through evidence details, successfully proved that Mr. Zhou and Ms. Zeng established an extramarital affair, and determined that the gift contract was invalid.

Three,Investigation results

The Futian District People's Court of Shenzhen issued a judgment on March 3, 2025, with the following favorable judgment:

Four, insights from law enforcement

In marriage cases, it is not uncommon for one party to violate the obligation of fidelity and infringe upon the joint property of the couple. The joint property of the couple is an indivisible whole, jointly owned by both parties. The act of one party making a substantial gift of the joint property to a third party is contrary to the provisions of the Civil Code and violates public order and good customs, which is intolerable by social morality. 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 and implemented this year also explicitly stipulates that if one party to the marriage violates the obligation of fidelity and gifts the joint property to another person, and the other party claims that such civil legal act violates public order and good customs and is invalid, the people's courts shall support this claim. Before the promulgation of the aforementioned judicial interpretation, although there were no explicit provisions for such cases, there were numerous cases across the country supporting the original spouse's lawsuit to recover the property. Therefore, it is crucial to ensure the property interests of the original spouse as the victim.

Attorney Tang Yunhong believes that in handling cases involving the protection of marital property, it is necessary to be meticulous and rigorous in the process of evidence collection, litigation, and legal application. Only by providing comprehensive and solid evidence can we fully support our arguments and, in turn, maximize the fulfillment of the client's demands.

(Tang Lawyer)

Five,Legal regulations

Article 157 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China: Civil legal acts are invalid. The property acquired by the party due to such acts shall be returned; if it cannot be returned or there is no need to return it, compensation shall be made at a fair price. The party at fault shall compensate the other party for the losses incurred; if both parties are at fault, they shall bear corresponding responsibilities.

Article 1062 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of ChinaJoint Property of Husband and Wife: The following property acquired by husband and wife during the course of their marriage relationship shall be considered as joint property, jointly owned by both husband and wife:

(1) Salary, bonuses, remuneration for labor;

(2) Income from production, operation, and investment.

(3) Income from intellectual property rights;

(4) Property inherited or gifted, except as provided for in the third item of Article 1063 of this Law.

(5) Other property that should be jointly owned.

Husband and wife have equal rights to handle the joint property.

Article 7 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: Where one party to a marriage, for the purpose of bigamy, cohabitation with another person, or other violations of the duty of fidelity between husband and wife, donates the joint property of the husband and wife to another person or disposes of the joint property of the husband and wife at an obviously unreasonable price, and the other party claims that such civil legal act violates public order and good customs and is invalid, the People's Court shall support this claim and handle it in accordance with Article 157 of the Civil Code.

Dao Hua Marriage and Family Law Firm, ten years focused on · major property marriage and family legal services, expert in marriage inheritance and family disputes (mediation/trial), is [Shenzhen nativeOne of the influential brands in marriage inheritance and wealth management legal services.The team has handled over 1,000 cases related to marriage inheritance.With rich mediation and litigation experience in controversial areas such as complex marriage and family matters, inheritance disputes, will drafting, and family property distribution, he applies local wisdom to handle difficult divorce property division cases, will drafting and notarization, and inheritance disputes involving Shenzhen's small property houses and village committee shares, winning unanimous praise from clients.

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