Marital Property in China

Default is what was acquired during the marriage — not ‘everything either spouse ever owned’.

Under the Civil Code, property acquired during the marriage is generally community property (wages, business returns, investment gains, and similar), owned jointly and managed equally. Separate property includes pre-marital assets, gifts or inheritances given to one spouse only, and other statutory items. A marital-property agreement can change the default. This page is the definition layer. City property-division blogs and the national guide stay on their URLs.

The classification screen

4 questions before you choose the route.

This page identifies the right question and evidence. It does not determine the legal outcome on a reader’s facts.

When was it acquired?

Before vs during marriage.

When

Was it gifted/inherited to one person?

Separate if clearly so.

Source

Is there a written agreement?

Prenup or mid-marriage deal.

Deal

Is it a house or equity?

Resolve the is it a house or equity question separately before choosing the route.

Type

Working rule: Under the Civil Code, property acquired during the marriage is generally community property (wages, business returns, investment gains, and similar), owned jointly and managed equally.

What changes the answer

The signal ledger.

These facts move the question beyond a label and into a product, money-flow and control analysis.

Signal

Ask the operating question

Why it changes the route

Name on title = owner

Only his name on the deed.

Title is evidence, not the whole Civil Code test.

Parents paid, so separate

Maybe — depends how it was documented.

Additional facts can change the Divorce & Family route, evidence and next step.

Offshore account invisible

Assume PRC court cannot see it.

Disclosure and tracing still matter.

Prepare before you escalate

Bring a compact evidence docket—not a pitch deck.

Give a compliance team or counsel the operating facts that reveal the perimeter.

01Marriage dateClock for ‘during marriage’.

02Acquisition papersDeeds, bank, equity ledgers.

03Any property agreementPrenup or Civil Code agreement.

Common confusions

Questions people ask before they build.

Short answers for orientation. The right result can change with the service model and current rules.

Are salaries community property?

Generally yes, if earned during the marriage, unless a valid agreement says otherwise.

Where is the long property guide?

This page is the default rule.

Primary authorities

Reviewed sources support orientation, not a fact-specific assessment.

PRC Civil Code (NPC laws database)

Supreme People’s Court

Gov.cn

National laws database (NPC)