According to the People’s Court of Weidu District, Xuchang City
On January 10, the topic #人 broke up after living together for four days and asked for the return of the bride price# caused heated discussion. It is reported that the incident was a betrothal dispute disclosed by the Weidu District Court of Xuchang City, Henan Province. When the man was living together, he paid the woman more than 70 grams of "three gold" originally purchased for his ex-girlfriend and transferred the money to her through Alipay. 10,000 yuan. But only four days after living together, the man broke up with the woman. When the court heard the case, it supported the man's request and ruled that the woman should return 10,000 yuan and the man should return more than 70 grams of three gold coins at the same price.
Many netizens expressed confusion about this, believing that the breakup was initiated by the man. The woman did not cheat on the marriage or obtain gifts, and she also made corresponding contributions during the cohabitation period. She should not be included in the divorce. The bride price was fully refunded. "What's more, the things given by the man were gifts during the relationship and should not be repaid."
In response to this statement, many professional lawyers explained to Red Star News reporters In this case, the man and woman were interacting for the purpose of marriage, which is not the same concept as the occasional "cohabitation" phenomenon common in today's society. "The gifts in this case are indeed betrothal gifts. Since there is no possibility of marriage between the two parties, the woman should give them "
The woman was "broken up" after four days of living together
The property previously given by the man was also claimed
On January 9, Xuchang, Henan Province The city's Weidu District Court's WeChat public account disclosed a case involving a bride price dispute. At the end of July 2022, Mr. Wang and Ms. Li met through an online dating platform, and the two later added each other as WeChat friends. On July 31, 2022, the two met, and due to chatting and speculation, they began to live together and talk about marriage. During the period of cohabitation, Mr. Wang paid Ms. Li more than 70 grams of gold that he originally bought for his ex-girlfriend, and transferred 10,000 yuan to her through Alipay. On August 3, 2022, Mr. Wang proposed a breakup.
After the breakup, the two had a dispute over three gold items and money. Mr. Wang sued Ms. Li in November 2022, claiming that he met Ms. Li for the purpose of marriage and gave gifts to the woman in accordance with folk customs. Now that there is no possibility of marriage between the two parties, Ms. Li is required to return the three sums of money and the money. In this regard, the defendant Ms. Li argued that the three gold coins and cash were gifts given to the plaintiff during their relationship and should not be repaid. He was forced to break up with the plaintiff. This case is not a conditional gift. The three gold coins are not considered as betrothal gifts, so they should not be returned.
The Weidu District Court held during the trial that betrothal gifts generally refer to large amounts of property closely related to the conclusion of a marriage that one party and his family pay to the other party and his family according to local customs. In this case, the three golds paid by the plaintiff to the defendant were gifts conditional on the conclusion of the marriage relationship and a type of betrothal gift. After the two parties broke up and the conditions for the conclusion of the marriage relationship were not fulfilled, the party receiving the gift should return it.
In addition, regarding the return of the 10,000 yuan claimed by the plaintiff, the defendant argued that the 10,000 yuan had been used for daily consumption during the relationship and would not be returned. Considering that the plaintiff and defendant only got along for 4 days, the WeChat chat mentioned many times about betrothal gifts, and the amount of 10,000 yuan was relatively large, and the payment of three golds occurred on the same day, it can be inferred that it was in the nature of a betrothal gift and should be conditional. If the conditions for entering into a marriage relationship are not fulfilled as a gift, the party receiving the gift shall return it. Therefore, the plaintiff's request for the defendant to return 10,000 yuan is supported by legal evidence. In the end, the Weidu District Court, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the "People's Republic of China and Civil Code", legally ruled that the defendant Ms. Li should return 10,000 yuan to the plaintiff Mr. Wang and return the equivalent price of more than 70 grams of gold to the plaintiff.
After the case was released, it immediately triggered heated discussions on the Internet. Many netizens believe that the breakup was caused by Mr. Wang's suggestion that Ms. Li did not engage in defrauding marriage or defrauding gifts. "What's more, the things Mr. Wang gave were gifts during the relationship and should not be repaid." Another netizen said He said that Ms. Li and Mr. Wang lived together, and there were "sacrifices" in some aspects. However, they were forced to break up and ask for back the gifts afterwards. Mr. Wang was suspected of "prostitution for nothing."
“The gift money paid in this case is not a gift made by one party during the relationship between the man and the woman.” Lawyer Fu Jian, director of Henan Zejin Law Firm, told the Red Star News reporter that according to the known information disclosed by the court, From the information, it can be seen that the chat records of both parties can confirm that the money and three golds are in the nature of betrothal gifts, that is, they are conditional gifts. When the conditions for entering into a marriage relationship are not fulfilled, the party receiving the gift should return it.
As for some netizens questioning Mr. Wang’s “free prostitution” behavior, lawyer Fu Jian said that during the relationship between the two parties, it cannot be considered that one party has suffered huge losses if he did not obtain property. “If the engagement is changed or canceled at will, , Deliberately deceiving the other party's feelings, in addition to being morally condemned, the woman can deduct the two people's sexual expenses from the bride price. "Lawyer Wang Lei, director of Jilin Jiwei Law Firm, also said, "In the aforementioned case, Mr. Wang and Li. The lady met through the Internet and has already started talking about marriage. It can be seen that the two parties are communicating for the purpose of getting married. This is not the same concept as the occasional "cohabitation" phenomenon that is common in today's society. Therefore, Ms. Li returned the gift she had received previously and did not return it in accordance with the law. There is no question of loss.
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Similar cases occur frequently
Lawyers say it is key to clarify the nature of pre-marital property
By searching for keywords, Red Star News reporters found that in recent years, the Disputes over betrothal gifts are not uncommon.
According to a case disclosed by the Intermediate People’s Court of Qiandongnan Autonomous Prefecture, in March 2020, after Ms. Tang and her boyfriend Mr. Wu got engaged, they went to Shanghai to work together7. Months later, the two parties had a conflict over the marriage. Her boyfriend, Mr. Wu, proposed to cancel the engagement and requested the return of the 68,000 yuan gift. Because the two parties failed to reach an agreement on the return amount, Mr. Wu sued the court and the court ruled that 56,000 yuan must be returned. The lady refused and filed an appeal. Ms. Tang believed that the bride price had been used for living together for 7 months and should not be refunded. If it is returned, the marital expenses during the period of living together should also be calculated and deducted. The second-instance court held that since the two parties had lived together for more than half a year, it was unfair for the first-instance court to use the discretion to offset the bride price of 12,000 yuan. Based on the circumstances of the case, the second-instance court changed the sentence to return Mr. Wu’s bride price of 34,000 yuan.
< p> According to Guizhou Metropolis Daily, Mr. Zhang broke up with his girlfriend after living together for three years and asked her to return the 100,000 yuan gift. Since Xiao Zhang and Xiao Mei have not completed the marriage registration procedures, according to the law, if there is any. The fact that Xiaomei paid a bride price should be returned according to law, but the specific amount of the return needs to be determined based on the actual situation. The two have lived together for more than three years, and during this period, they have lived together. Therefore, the corresponding amount of the gift should be deducted. Accordingly, the court ruled that Xiaomei should return 4,000 yuan and rejected Xiao Zhang’s other claims.When sorting out the above case, the Red Star News reporter noticed that this. Such cases commonly involve fundamental issues such as whether the gift is voluntary, how to determine the nature and scope of the gift, the payment of the gift, and the confirmation of the recipient. During the trial, the difficulties in determining the facts are mostly related to the correlation between batch transfers and other situations. Next, how to determine whether transfers and property are in the nature of betrothal gifts; and the court’s determination of the return and amount of betrothal gifts, etc., usually make a comprehensive determination based on many factors.
In this regard, lawyer Wang Lei said. Whether there is a custom of paying bride price before marriage in the area, whether the direct purpose of payment is to conclude a marriage, the value of the property to be paid, and the subjective wishes of the parties when the bride price is paid will all affect the court's decision. "In terms of paying bride price, both men and women It is necessary to act within one's ability, and the party paying the bride price must keep the proof of payment. If the party receiving the bride price has not registered the marriage or has not lived together after registering the marriage, he should take the initiative to return the bride price. ”
“The purpose of the bride price is to conclude a marriage relationship. When discussing marriage, the husband and wife should also prevent one party from defrauding the bride price under the guise of marriage.” Lawyer Fu Jian emphasized that the Civil Code clearly prohibits the use of marriage to obtain property. However, it is a common custom in various places for a man to pay a bride price to a woman before marriage, and the Civil Code does not respond to violations of this provision. Punishment measures, "If a dispute arises after paying a bride price, one should safeguard one's own interests through negotiation or litigation.
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Red Star News reporter Luo Mengjie and intern Hua Ranjun
Editor-in-chief Ren Zhijiang and editor Pan Li