The father sued for divorce and requested to divide the 260,000 yuan in New Year's money from his two sons.
Lawyer: New Year’s money is the child’s personal property and he has no right to dispose of it at will
During the Chinese New Year, the happiest thing for children is to get the lucky money. Some parents will open an account with their children's lucky money and deposit it in the bank. So, who should own the new year's money? What will happen to this money if the parents divorce?
On February 20, the People's Court of Jiangbei District, Chongqing City announced a typical case. A man, Cai, sued for divorce and requested the division of the couple's common property and the corresponding bank deposits in the names of his two sons. The deposits in the names of the two sons were from when the two were growing up. The income received from donations from others totaled more than 260,000 yuan.
In the end, the court held that the relationship between the two parties had indeed broken down and supported Cai's request for divorce. The joint property of husband and wife is divided equally between the two, but Cai’s request to divide the deposits in the names of his two sons will not be supported. The above-mentioned deposits are property gifts made by the elders to the younger ones based on kinship, and the deposits should belong to the minors themselves. . The property divided in a divorce case should be the joint property of the husband and wife, and the New Year's money is not the joint property of the husband and wife.
The divorced father's lawsuit to split the savings in his two sons' names was rejected
In 2006, Cai and Wang met at a friend's wedding. The following year, they officially registered their marriage, and gave birth to their eldest son Cai A and their second son Cai B in 2012 and 2014 respectively.
As time went by, the differences between the two on family issues such as children's education became more and more obvious, and cracks gradually appeared in the relationship between the couple. In April and July 2020, Wang and Cai filed for divorce respectively, but both were rejected by the court. After more than 400 days of separation, Cai sued for divorce again and requested the division of the common property of the couple and the corresponding bank deposits in the names of Cai A and Cai B. Among them, the deposits in the names of Cai A and Cai B were received by them when they were growing up. The income from donations from others totaled more than 260,000 yuan.
The court held that the relationship between the parties had indeed broken down. Support Cai’s request for divorce. The joint property of Cai and Wang is divided equally between them, but Cai’s request to divide the deposits in the names of Cai A and Cai B is not supported. The above-mentioned deposits are property transfers made by the elders to the younger ones based on kinship relations. As a gift, the deposit should belong to the minor himself. As the guardians of the minor, Cai and Wang have no right to dispose of the ward's property at will. The property to be divided in a divorce case should be the common property of the husband and wife, and the New Year's money is not the joint property of the husband and wife. Therefore, Cai's request to divide the deposits in the names of his minor children Cai A and Cai B in the divorce case has no legal basis and is therefore rejected. this litigation request. After the verdict, neither party filed an appeal.
The court also held that in this case, although Cai A and Cai B did not have full capacity for civil conduct when they accepted the gift, from the perspective of protecting the property rights of minors, even if they had no civil conduct when the minors were under 8 years old, In the capacity stage, the intention to accept the gift is made by the guardian, and it cannot change the result that the property belongs to the minor. Therefore, in a divorce case, neither spouse can request the division of the legal property belonging to the minor as a guardian. It can be managed by a legal guardian, and the ownership of the property itself still belongs to the minor.
The lawyer explains that the New Year's money belongs to the child's personal property and the guardian has no right to spend it at will.
Regarding the ownership of the New Year's money, lawyer Lin Xiaoming, a partner of Sichuan Yishang Law Firm, said that in daily life, the New Year's money is a property gift from elders to younger generations, including minors. After the donation is completed, the New Year's money has been It is under the control of the recipient, and the ownership of the relevant money belongs to the recipient of course.
In daily life, guardians have the right to keep legal personal property of minors, including lucky money, and minors can determine on their own that their personal property will be kept by one or both parents. However, for convenience, in daily life, the guardian who directly raises the minor is usually kept on his behalf.
Wang Yingzhan, a lawyer at Sichuan Zongmu Law Firm, believes that New Year’s money is a gift from elders to children during the Chinese New Year, so the nature of the New Year’s money belongs to the child’s personal property. As the court determined in this case, the gifts received by Cai A and Cai B were their personal property, and their parents had the right to keep them but not to freely dispose of them. During the relationship between husband and wife, the New Year's money is directly kept by the parents. If the parents divorce, then since the child is directly raised by one party, the New Year's money should also be handed over to the party who directly raises the child for safekeeping.
So, how to use the children’s lucky money? If the person has no capacity for civil conduct, in principle, the New Year’s red envelope must be handed over to his or her guardian for safekeeping. If the person has limited capacity for civil conduct, the Civil Code stipulates: A person with limited capacity for civil conduct may independently carry out civil legal acts purely for profit or Civil legal acts commensurate with their age and intelligence. Collecting New Year's red envelopes is a typical pure profit-making behavior. Children can use the New Year's money in behaviors that are suitable for their age and intelligence, such as buying stationery, books, etc. They cannot buy large items or reward anchors with large amounts. etc., all of which require the consent or ratification of the guardian.
In addition, the child can also give the red envelope to the guardian and ask him to help keep it. However, for the guardian, keeping the lucky money for the child does not mean that he can use it casually. If it is purely for the benefit of the child, such as buying insurance for the child, participating in specialties It's OK to use it for training, buying new clothes, etc., but it's not OK if it's used for playing cards, buying bags, buying wine, etc. Of course, if you are a person with full capacity for civil conduct, you can keep and control the lucky money received by yourself.
Zhou Yalong, a lawyer at Sichuan Youdu Law Firm, said that according to Article 657 of the Civil Code, giving New Year's money to children is legally a gift. When the child or his guardian expresses acceptance and the money is transferred, the New Year's money is Ownership belongs to the child. At the same time, while the guardian is keeping the lucky money, he shall perform his guardianship duties in accordance with the principle that is most beneficial to the ward. The guardian shall not dispose of the ward's property except to safeguard the interests of the ward. In other words, parents can help their children keep their "new year's money", but they do not have the right to directly confiscate or dispose of their children's "new year's money" at will, let alone use the money for their own consumption, damaging the property rights of the ward.
Chengdu Commercial Daily-Red Star News reporter Wang Chao Yang Ling