Duties of husband and wife

1.Both husband and wife shall have the duty to practice family planning.

2.Husband and wife shall have the duty to maintain each other intending to maintain the stability of the marital relationship.

Joint possession of husband and wife

The following property acquired by the husband and the wife during the period in which they are under contract of marriage shall be in their joint possession:

1) Wages and bonuses

2) Proceeds of production and business operations

3) Income from intellectual property rights

4) Property acquired from inheritance or presentation, with the exception of such property as stipulated by the provisions of the third item of Article 18 of the Marriage Law

5) Other property which should be in their joint possession.

While the property in the following cases shall belong to one party of the couple:

1) The property that belongs to one party before marriage

2) Payments for medical expenses received by one party who suffers physical injury, subsidies for living expenses granted to the disabled subsidies, etc

3) The property to be in the possession of one party as determined by a will or by an agreement of a gift

4) Articles for daily use specially used by one party

5) Other property which should be in the possession of one party.

II.Divorce

Legal basis

The General Principles of the Civil Law of the People's Republic of China, Article 147, set forth the principle that a divorce shall be bound by the law of the place where a court accepts the case.

Divorce registration authority

Chinese citizens who are planning to apply for divorce voluntarily from foreigners in Chinese mainland and Chinese inland residents who are planning to apply for divorce voluntarily from Hong Kong, Macau or Taiwan residents or overseas Chinese in Chinese mainland, both the man and woman shall go to the marriage registration authority that has jurisdiction over the place where the permanent household of the Chinese inland resident is registered.

A divorce shall be granted under the circumstances

1) Where one party commits bigamy or cohabits with another person of the opposite sex;

2) Where one party indulges in family violence or mistreats or abandons family members;

3) Where one party indulges in gambling, taking drugs, or other behaviors and refuses to correct after repeated persuasion;

4) Where both parties have separated from each other for two full years for lack of mutual affection;

5) Other cases which lead to the shattering of affection between husband and wife.

A husband may not apply for a divorce when 1) his wife is pregnant; 2) within one year after the birth of a child; 3) within six months after the termination of his wife’s gestation.