The family is the cell of society and an important foundation for social harmony. In recent years, the increasing divorce rate and high housing prices have combined to make the issue of property division in divorce cases, especially the issue of parents providing financial support for their children to buy houses after marriage, increasingly complex. The legal application of these cases has a significant impact on people's marriage and housing behavior. From the interpretation of the Marriage Law (II) and (III) to the interpretation of the Civil Code and the Marriage and Family Code (I), the legal application of this issue has been fluctuating, which has caused parents to be extremely conflicted when providing financial support for their children to purchase a house after marriage.

On January 15, 2025, the Supreme People's Court issued the "Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on the Application of the Marriage and Family Part of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China (II)", which will be implemented on February 1, 2025. It has made breakthrough provisions on issues such as the provision of property between spouses, parents' contribution to the purchase of property by their children after marriage, and the violation of spousal fidelity obligations by giving joint property to others. In particular, Article 8 of the new regulations (hereinafter referred to as "Article 8") has made significant changes compared to previous legal provisions and judicial interpretations regarding the ownership and compensation of property when parents support their children's purchase of property after marriage and divorce. Therefore, it has also brought new challenges and opportunities to marriage and family lawyers.

1、 Interpretation of the Specific Content of the "8 New Regulations"

In the past few years, as a marriage lawyer, I have received several disputes every month caused by parents subsidizing their children to buy houses when their children divorce. The origin of the disputes is generally due to the lack of a written agreement between parents and children regarding the sponsorship when parents help their children buy houses. Now that children are divorcing, the property purchased with parental sponsorship funds is highly likely to be treated as joint property of the couple, and may be split in half by the son-in-law or daughter-in-law. In these cases, the amount of financial assistance provided by parents is mostly several hundred thousand to several million, and some even reach tens of millions. At the same time as the children's marriage breaks down, the property purchased with their own financial assistance must be split in half by the son-in-law or daughter-in-law, which is emotionally unacceptable for the parents who contributed. In the consultation, the parents who provided funding expressed that they had expectations for their children's financial support at the beginning, hoping for their children's happy and long-lasting marriage. Of course, their funding is only for their own son or daughter, and it is best to pass it on to their grandchildren in the future. However, if there is no professional lawyer to assist in planning at the beginning of the investment, it usually goes against one's wishes, and the expectations of the investing parents become increasingly difficult to achieve! After I finish consulting with them, they often ask why the law makes such inhumane provisions? How can I determine that my capital contribution is a joint gift to the couple without an agreement? I never meant it that way!

Therefore, in judicial practice, the most common disputes arising from divorce cases are civil loan disputes and disputes over buying houses under borrowed names between parents and children. Generally, when the divorce proceedings for children have just begun, the parents who contributed funds will immediately file civil loan disputes or disputes over buying houses under borrowed names to prevent the property purchased with their own funds from being divided by their daughter-in-law or son-in-law. Due to the stricter criteria for determining the fact of buying a house under borrowed names, the proportion of disputes in private lending cases is higher. In such cases, parents and their sons or daughters usually sign additional or reverse loan agreements, but in terms of effectiveness recognition, daughter-in-law or son-in-law generally does not recognize the authenticity of the loan agreement or loan agreement, does not recognize the existence of a loan agreement between them and their spouse's parents, and firmly advocates that the financial assistance from their spouse's parents is a gift to both spouses. At this point, if the contributing parents cannot provide clear evidence of the loan, in judicial practice, judges are likely to consider the sponsoring behavior of the contributing parents as a gift to both parties, and the property purchased with the sponsorship funds will be treated as joint property of the couple. In the past 20 years, due to the soaring housing prices across the country, the value of houses has become enormous, and real estate is also the most important asset for ordinary people. In order to help their children buy houses, parents usually use their lifelong savings or even borrow money to support their children's housing purchases. If their children's marriage encounters problems in the future, it will trigger intense social conflicts.

The "8 new regulations" are divided into two paragraphs to clarify this issue. Firstly, they address the qualitative problem of parents providing financial assistance to their children. Unless there is clear evidence to prove that it is a loan between parents and children, judges will generally classify parents' financial assistance as a gift to their own children. Moreover, in terms of trial logic, the act of parents paying financial assistance is separated from the act of children using parental financial assistance to purchase a house. After the completion of the parents' financial contribution, if the children use the parents' financial support to purchase a house, the judge only needs to determine whether the purchase price is the personal property of one party or the joint property of the couple. The determination of this fact determines the ownership, share ratio, compensation and other judgment results when dividing the property in divorce.

Secondly, the "8 new regulations" stipulate the principles for handling situations where one parent provides full financial support for their child's home purchase. Firstly, it is necessary to trace back to whether there is an agreement between the parents and the child. If there is an agreement, it shall be followed, and if there is no agreement, it shall be handled in accordance with the provisions of that clause. The judge may rule that the property belongs to the child of the investor, taking into account factors such as cohabitation and the birth of common children, divorce fault, contribution to the family, and the market price of the property at the time of divorce, to determine whether the recipient of the property should compensate the other party and the specific amount of compensation. This regulation does not require the house to be registered under the name of the investing party's child, as previously required. Even if the property is registered under the names of both parties or the other party's child, it does not affect the recognition that the investing parents' contribution is a personal gift to their own children. This is a significant change! In addition, compensation content has been added. Even if one parent pays the full amount and the contribution is recognized as a unilateral gift to their own children, the child who owns the house still needs to provide appropriate compensation to the other party. The amount of compensation will be determined by the judge based on factors such as the situation of both parties living together and having common children, divorce fault, contribution to the family, and the market price of the house at the time of divorce.

Furthermore, Article 8 of the new regulations also stipulates a situation where the purchase of a house by a couple is partially funded by one parent or both parents. The application of this provision should first be traced back to whether there is an agreement between the parents and children. If there is an agreement, it shall be followed, and if there is no agreement, it shall be handled according to this provision. When one or both parents jointly contribute to helping their children purchase a house, in the event of a divorce and property division, based on the source and proportion of the purchase price, taking into account factors such as the couple's cohabitation and the birth of a common child, divorce fault, contribution to the family, and the market price of the house at the time of divorce, the house is judged to belong to one party, and the party who obtains the house shall provide reasonable compensation to the other party. The "New Regulations Article 8" specifically proposes the principle of property division based on the "source and proportion of capital contribution". In subsequent cases, judges will make a comprehensive judgment based on the size and contribution of the capital contribution of one or both parents, combined with other circumstances, instead of classifying parental support as a gift to both spouses without special agreement in the past.

In summary, the "8 new regulations" reflect the true intention implied in parents' support for their children to buy a house after marriage, which is more of a support for one's own children, in the property division results of divorce. The source and proportion of the capital contribution during property purchase will be an important basis for the division of divorce property, and the judgment results based on this will greatly reduce the significant imbalance of interests among all parties.

2、 The impact of the "8 new regulations" on trials

1. Article 8 of the new regulations grants judges greater discretion in determining compensation standards

The "New Rule 8" requires judges to comprehensively consider factors such as the situation of both men and women living together and having common children, divorce fault, contribution to the family, and housing market price at the time of divorce to determine the amount of divorce compensation. However, the specific measurement standards for these factors in the "New Rule 8" are not clearly specified. For example, when judging the contribution to a family, the judgment criteria mainly focus on economic contribution or contribution to household chores, taking care of children and the elderly in family life. Different judges may have different understandings and focuses, which gives judges more discretion in determining the compensation standards.

2. The "8 new regulations" will lead to more uncertain judgments on the ownership of houses

According to Article 8 of the new regulations, in the case where one parent partially contributes or both parents contribute, and there is no agreement or the agreement is unclear, the judge may, based on the parties' litigation requests, judge the ownership of the house to one party based on the source and proportion of the contribution, taking into account various factors. This means that even if one parent contributes a higher proportion of capital, if the other party has certain special circumstances in the marriage, such as making significant contributions to the family, causing physical or career damage due to childbirth, etc., the judge may award the house to the other party or make other judgments on the ownership of the house based on the specific circumstances of the case, which makes it difficult for the parties to make accurate predictions about the final ownership of the house.

In summary, different judges have varying personal experiences, values, and understandings of the law. With increased discretion in compensation standards, even similar cases may result in different judgments in the hands of different judges. For example, in cases where the marriage age is short but there are common children, some judges may be more inclined to protect the rights and interests of the contributing parents, award the house to the contributing children, and provide less compensation to the other party; Some judges may pay more attention to the protection of family contributions and children's rights, and may make completely different judgments on the ownership of the house and the amount of compensation.

3、 The opportunities and challenges brought by the "8 new regulations" to marriage lawyers

1. Clarify the nature of parental support behavior

According to Article 8 of the new regulations, in the absence of an agreement or unclear agreement, if a couple purchases a house during the existence of their marriage and one parent fully contributes, it is presumed to be a gift to their own child; If one parent partially contributes or both parents contribute, the division shall be based on the source and proportion of the contributions. This makes the legal nature of parental investment behavior more clear, reduces major disputes caused by unclear investment nature in the past, avoids different judges recognizing this behavior as either a loan or a gift to both parties, and reduces the phenomenon of different judgments in the same case. Lawyers can also provide more accurate legal opinions for parties when representing cases.

2. More reasonable determination of property ownership

The "New Rule 8" no longer determines ownership solely based on the registration status of the property, weakening the effectiveness of property registration. When one parent fully contributes and there is no agreement or unclear agreement, the court may rule that the property belongs to the child of the investor; When one parent partially contributes or both parents contribute and there is no agreement or the agreement is unclear, the court may judge the ownership of the house based on the source and proportion of the contribution according to the litigation request of the parties. This avoids the situation where the ownership of the property is simply determined based on who the property is registered under. Judges will pay more attention to the actual situation of investment, making the determination of property ownership more fair and reasonable. Therefore, when representing a case, lawyers need to carefully examine the client's investment in the property in question and other relevant evidence in order to provide a more accurate prediction of the ownership of the property.

3. More comprehensive consideration of compensation factors

The "New Regulations Article 8" clearly stipulates that when dividing houses in divorce, the compensation amount should be determined based on factors such as the situation of living together and having common children, divorce fault, contribution to the family, and the market price of the house at the time of divorce. This not only reflects the balance between family ethics and fairness principles, but also reminds lawyers to fully collect and organize relevant evidence when representing cases, in order to prove the specific circumstances of the client's contributions and contributions in the marriage, and to strive for more reasonable compensation for the client. For example, in some cases, although the house was fully purchased by one parent, the other party has made more contributions to the family in the marriage, or both parties have common children. In this case, the judge will consider these factors comprehensively when dividing the house and provide certain compensation to the other party.

4. Clear direction of evidence presentation

When representing divorce cases involving parental assistance in purchasing a house for their children, lawyers should focus on collecting and submitting the following evidence: if there is an agreement on the assistance, a written agreement must be submitted; Record of capital transfer; Chat records, text messages, phone recordings, etc. between parents and children regarding the nature of contributions; Collect evidence of the contributions made by both spouses to the family, their shared living, and their ability to conceive children; Evidence of divorce fault; Evidence such as proof of household chores, records of taking care of children and the elderly. Lawyers can only better safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of their clients by organizing the evidence chain of the case, telling a good story to the judge, and impressing the judge.

4、 Several suggestions for parents to support their children's housing purchase

1. At the beginning of sponsoring their children's home purchase, parents should try to make a written agreement, whether it is a loan agreement, gift agreement, or loan agreement for buying a house, etc., and the agreement should be clear and explicit. It is recommended to consult a professional lawyer for legal support and advice!

2. It is recommended that parents and children, whether they sign loan agreements, gift agreements, loan agreements for buying houses, or prenuptial property agreements or marital property agreements, try to go to a notary office for notarization. Notarized agreements are easier to prove in terms of the authenticity and accuracy of the signing time, meaning, and other aspects of the agreement after subsequent disputes occur, and the result of the notarized agreement being recognized by the judge is more certain.

3. When parents transfer funds to their children, they must make accurate notes, such as "borrowing money to buy a house for their son" or "gifting personal purchase funds to their daughter", etc.

4. The relevant evidence of agreement performance, such as transfer vouchers, WeChat communication records, telephone recordings, etc., must be well preserved, especially the original carrier of electronic data must be well preserved!

5. If parents link supporting their children to buy a house with their own retirement needs and hope to live with their children after retirement, it is best to use the legal tool of "right to residence" and consult a professional lawyer.

If the above suggestions put forward by the author can be adopted, the purpose of parents' wealth inheritance can be accurately implemented, and children will have a more accurate judgment of the legal effect of parental support. This will actually promote the harmony of children's marital relationship. Even in the event of a breakdown in their marital relationship and divorce, both parties can more easily resolve divorce and property division issues through negotiation!