Property inherited during marriage under China's Civil Code
- Article 1062 of the Civil Code of the PRC provides that property inherited or received as a gift by either spouse during the marriage is the spouses' joint property, except as provided in item 3 of Article 1063.
- Article 1063, item 3, provides that property that a will or gift contract specifies belongs to one spouse only is that spouse's individual property.
- For the widely circulated story of a Shanghai only daughter inheriting about RMB 200 million whose husband sought a share, this site has found no court judgment or court notice. See Section 2 for its verification status; this site does not treat it as an established fact.
1. Statute text (translated)
Property acquired by the spouses during the marriage, such as the following, is their joint property, jointly owned: ... (4) property inherited or received as a gift, except as provided in item 3 of Article 1063; ...
The following is the individual property of one spouse: (1) property owned before marriage; ... (3) property that a will or gift contract specifies belongs to one spouse only; ...
The English text above is the editor's own translation of an excerpt; the Chinese original controls. Original: National Database of Laws and Regulations flk.npc.gov.cn (search for 中华人民共和国民法典).
Related provisions (summary; the Chinese original controls): Article 1087 – on divorce, joint property is handled by agreement of the parties; failing agreement, the people's court decides according to the specific circumstances, on the principle of looking after the interests of children, the wife and the innocent party. Article 1065 – spouses may agree in writing that property acquired during marriage, and premarital property, belongs to each separately, jointly, or partly each. Article 1124 – a successor who disclaims an inheritance must do so in writing before the estate is dealt with.
2. Verification status of the circulating story
| Claim | Source | Status |
|---|---|---|
| A Shanghai only daughter inherited about RMB 200 million (property, deposits, wealth products) after her parents died; her husband sought divorce and a share | The Paper (a contributor account), 2023-12-04 (author describes themselves as a lawyer; the page states it represents only the author's or institution's views) | Not verified: no court document, official source or outcome in the article |
| "The court awarded the husband over RMB 68 million" | Versions republished from July 2026 (HK01) | Not verified: no judgment or court notice found; names and details differ from the 2023 article |
| Property inherited during marriage may be treated as joint property | Civil Code Art. 1062; a case described by a judge of the Beijing No. 3 Intermediate People's Court, republished by Xinhua | Statute confirmed; case publicly described by a judge (case number not found on the page) |
Summary of the case in the Xinhua-republished article: the mother died before the couple divorced, so the inheritance arose while they were still married; the will gave a share of a property to Mr. Zhang but did not expressly state that the share was his individual property; the court held the share to be joint property. (Summary of the source; the source controls.)
Other leads (listed only; no conclusion is drawn from them): Shenzhen News Network, 2023-12-08: a lawyer's comments on the circulating story.
3. Ways the statutes refer to property belonging to one spouse only
- A will specifying that property belongs to one spouse only (Art. 1063, item 3).
- A gift contract specifying the same (same item).
- A written agreement between the spouses that property belongs to each separately (Art. 1065).
- Disclaiming an inheritance, which must be done in writing before the estate is dealt with (Art. 1124).
- Property owned before marriage is individual property (Art. 1063, item 1).
For will formalities, notarization and application to a particular case, consult a practising lawyer, a notary office or a court.