There is an old saying of “husband’s property, wife’s contribution” which talks about the contribution of husband and wife in all issues of a family. The husband succeeds because his wife knows how to nurture the family, and at the same time, the wife also enjoys happiness/ wealth when the husband creates a career.
So, in case of a divorce request and there is a dispute over common property, can a housewife invoke such an old saying to request the Court to settle the property dispute? BLawyers Vietnam will explain as below.
- How are the laws regulated?
Under Article 59.2 of Law on Marriage and Family 2014, the common property of husband and wife shall be divided equally but consider the following factors:
- Circumstances of the family, spouses;
- Each spouse’s contributions to the creation, maintenance, and development of the common property. The housework done in the family by a spouse shall be regarded as income-generating labor;
- Protecting the legitimate interests of each spouse in their production, business, and career activities to create conditions for them to continue working to generate incomes; and
- Each spouse’s faults in the infringement of spousal rights and obligations
Accordingly, the element of “a spouse’s labor in housework” will be considered as earning labor and the Court will consider such spouse’s contributions to creating, maintaining, and developing the common property.
- Guidance of the joint circular
Article 7.4 of the Joint Circular No. 01/2016/TTLT-TANDTC-VKSNDTC-BTP guides the application of the statutory property regime of husband and wife to divide the property of husband and wife in a divorce, the common property of husband and wife is divided equally in principle, but with consideration of the following factors to determine the proportion of the property that the husband and wife are given:
- “Family circumstances and spouses” is the status of the spouses’ legal capacity, behavioral capacity, health, property, ability to work and generate income after divorce as well as other family members in which the husband and wife have rights and obligations over identity as well as property in accordance with the Law on Marriage and Family 2014. The party facing more difficulties after the divorce is entitled to a larger share of the property than the other party or is given priority to receive the type of property to ensure maintenance and stability of their life but must be suitable for the actual circumstances of the spouses;
- “The spouses’ contribution to the creation, maintenance and development of the common property” is the contribution of separate property, income, household chores, and labor of the spouses in the creation, maintenance and development of the common property. A spouse who stays at home to take care of children and family but does not work is counted as labor with income equivalent to the income of the working spouse. The party with more effort to contribute will be given more; and
- “Protecting the legitimate interests of each party in production, business, and profession so that the parties have conditions to continue working to generate income” means the division of common property of spouses must ensure for the spouses who are currently active in their profession may continue to practice; spouses who are engaged in production and business activities may continue to produce and do business to generate income and must pay the other party for the difference in property value. The protection of the legitimate interests of each party in production, business, and professional activities must not affect the minimum living conditions of spouses and minor children, adult children who have lost their civil act capacity.
As above presentation, there is a basis that the Court will consider the “husband’s property, wife’s contribution” element to settle the common property dispute. This regulation also creates fairness in the husband and wife relationship to protect the legitimate interests of the house-spouse.
Writer: Huy Nguyen
For further information, please contact:
Minh Ngo Nhat, Managing Partner, BLawyers
minh.ngo@blawyersvn.com
