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New regulations on marital property debts in 2022
Time:2025-08-28 Views:909
Article 24 of the latest Interpretation of the Marriage Law stipulates the debts of husband and wife as follows:
Where a creditor asserts rights in respect of a debt incurred by one spouse in his or her personal name during the existence of a marital relationship, such debt shall be treated as a joint debt of the couple. However, this does not apply if one spouse can prove that the creditor and the debtor have explicitly agreed that the debt is a personal debt, or if they can prove that the circumstances stipulated in Paragraph 3 of Article 19 of the Marriage Law fall under such circumstances.
Where one spouse colludes with a third party to fabricate debts and the third party asserts rights, the people's court shall not support such claims.
Where a third party claims rights for debts incurred by one spouse in illegal or criminal activities such as gambling or drug abuse, the people's court shall not support such claims.
When it comes to determining that debts incurred during the marriage are personal debts, the key still lies in the evidence. Marital joint debts refer to the debts incurred by both or one of the spouses for the common life of the couple during the marriage. Therefore, to prove personal debts, one can approach it from two aspects: one is to demonstrate that the debt did not occur during the marriage, and the other is to prove that the debt was not used for the common life. It is better to prove that it did not occur during the marriage, so there is no need to elaborate further. The proof that debts during the marriage were not used for the common life can be demonstrated from two aspects:
Where the creditor and the debtor have explicitly agreed that the debt is a personal one, the debtor himself shall bear the responsibility for repayment.
2. Where both husband and wife adopt the system of agreed property, if the creditor is aware of such an agreement in advance and establishes a creditor-debtor relationship with one of the spouses, it shall be recognized as a personal debt and settled with the debtor's personal property.
From this, it can be known that personal guarantees, since they are not used for the common life, generally should not be presumed as joint debts. In addition, the "Minutes of the 2015 National Civil Trial Work Conference" clearly increased the burden of proof for the debtor. The spouse who borrowed money in an individual's name is responsible for providing evidence to prove that the borrowed debt was used for the common life of the couple. If the evidence is insufficient, the spouse shall not bear the responsibility of repayment.
(1) Debts incurred by one party for the purchase of property that has been converted into the joint property of the couple before marriage;
(2) Debts incurred by the couple for the common life of the family;
(3) Debts incurred by the couple in their joint production and business operations, or debts incurred by one party in their production and business operations where the business income is used for family life or shared by the spouse;
(4) Debts incurred by one or both spouses for medical treatment or for medical treatment of persons with legal obligations;
(5) Debts incurred for raising children;
(6) Debts incurred for supporting elderly people for whom one has the obligation to support;
(7) Debts incurred to pay for the educational or training expenses of one or both spouses;
(8) Debts incurred to pay for legitimate and necessary social interaction expenses;
(9) Debts agreed upon by the couple as joint debts;
(10) Other debts that should be recognized as joint debts of the couple.
If in a divorce by agreement or through court mediation, the assumption of debts is shared, that is, each of the original spouses is responsible for one or several debts, then such debts should be repaid by the agreed debtor, but the original spouse shall bear joint and several liability for repayment. During the trial, the original couple may be listed as co-defendants, or the person who agreed to repay the debt may be listed as the defendant, with the original spouse as the third party. The original spouse shall be ordered to repay the debt and bear joint and several liability for repayment. The above-mentioned method of handling is only applicable to the following two situations: First, the form of divorce must be divorce by agreement or divorce through court mediation, except for divorce by court judgment. Second, it has made a clear agreement on who will repay a certain joint debt. This is because:
Joint debts are indivisible. Without the consent of the creditors or as stipulated by law, joint debts cannot be converted into personal debts. Although the original couple made an agreement on the assumption of the debt through consultation when they divorced, which reflected the true will of both parties, this cannot change the nature of the debt.
2. It should reflect a full protection of the interests of creditors. At present, in some divorce cases, the phenomenon of parties intentionally or unintentionally evading the law and evading debts occurs from time to time. When getting divorced, all the joint property belongs to one party, while the vast majority or even all of the debts are borne by the other party, resulting in the legitimate claims of creditors being unable to be fully and timely recovered. This situation is not conducive to the establishment and development of China's socialist market economy.
3. The method of bearing joint debts agreed upon through self-negotiation is an internal agreement for the creditor. Unless the creditor consents, the transfer of creditor's rights and debts cannot occur.
The above is all the content about the new regulations on marriage, property and debts in 2022 brought to you by the editor of Faneng Law Firm. Of course, not all debts can be borne with marital property; they must fall within the scope of joint debts of the couple. If you have more legal questions, you are welcome to consult the relevant lawyers of Faneng Law Firm. They will provide you with professional answers. Sichuan Faneng Law Firm is dedicated to serving you.