In China, during a relationship, in order to deepen understanding and enhance feelings, men and women will often transfer money, send red envelopes, and engage in other economic transactions. When in love, the transfer of money could be seen as a symbol of "you and me," "love," and "sweet" performance. However, after breakup of the relationship, it becomes about "clear boundaries," "settling scores," and "debt repayment". So, how to determine the nature of the transfer of money during the relationship? Can we get it back after the breakup? Let's look at the following case.
Brief of the case.
The plaintiff and defendant met on an online dating platform and established a romantic relationship. The plaintiff is a few years older than the defendant. The two fell in love. The defendant used various reasons to ask the plaintiff for money and promised to pay it back. The total amount was nearly 60,000 Chinese Yuan . After the two broke up, the plaintiff repeatedly reached out to the defendant but received no response. The plaintiff had no choice but to eventually sue in a local court in China.
Court hearing
The court heard the transfer between the plaintiff and the defendant, although it occurred two years ago. WeChat chat records and telephone recordings of the defendant showed that the transfer was a borrowing, and the defendant recognized the principal amount of the loan. As a result, the plaintiff and defendant formed an actual borrowing relationship. Legal lending relationships are protected by law.
Legal advice
A party requesting that the other party return the transferred funds during a romantic relationship may not always be supported by the Chinese court. Different legal relationships may also lead to variations in judgment outcomes.
1. Private Lending:
The establishment of a legal private lending relationship must meet two conditions: the two sides must reach a loan agreement, and the loan must actually be delivered. Therefore, in the event of a private loan dispute brought to court to recover money, in addition to the transfer certificate, it should be proven that the two sides reached a loan agreement. In this case, based on the WeChat chat records and telephone recordings submitted by the plaintiff, it can be established that money was "borrowed" and a private lending relationship was established between the two parties.
2. Gifts
Gifts could be divided into two categories, General Gifts and Conditional Gifts, which are explained separately below.
(1) General Gift
For a small amount of property within a reasonable range, such as the purchase of clothes and shoes, daily life consumption, special holidays to pay for the property should be regarded as a general gift. The party who gives the property cannot demand its return.
(2) Gifts with obligations
For larger amounts of financial payments, such as the purchase of a car, the purchase of a house, etc., for the purpose of the eventual conclusion of marriage, cohabitation. If the relationship breaks up, the purpose can not be realized. Therefore, the gift shall be returned at the end of the relationship. The "large amount" should be determined by taking into account the income levels of both parties, local consumption levels and other factors.
3. marriage contract property
In China's traditional marriage customs, men and women after falling in love and ready to marriage, the male party often through the payment of female property to express the sincerity of marriage with each other, in common parlance, that is, the "bride price". Article 5 of the Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on the Application of the Civil Law of the People's Republic of China to Marriage and Family stipulates that: "Where a party requests the return of a bride price paid according to custom, the people's court shall uphold the request if it finds that (a) the parties have not gone through the marriage registration procedure; (b) the parties have gone through the marriage registration procedure but have not lived together; (c) the bride price was paid before the marriage, resulting in the payment of the bride price; and (d) the marriage has not been registered. (c) the payment was made before the marriage and has resulted in difficulties in the life of the person making the payment. The application of the provisions of the second and third sub-paragraphs of the preceding paragraph shall be subject to the condition that the parties are divorced".
4.Marriage Fraud
A party conceals or even fabricates facts and pretends to be in a relationship for the purpose of illegally taking another person's property. If the fraudulent money reaches the thresh hold for a criminal crime, there is a high probability of being found guilty of fraud.
