Legal Q&A
(Baonghean) - According to information provided by Ms. NTT (Vinh City): In 1998, she married Mr. Q but did not have a marriage certificate. In 2001, the couple bought a house with an area of 150 m2. All documents related to the house purchase were signed by Ms. T, but the Land Use Rights Certificate was under Mr. Q's name. The couple had 2 children together, the older one was born in 2000, the younger one was born in 2008. Since 2012, because Mr. Q had a relationship with another woman, the couple's relationship has been broken, and conflicts have occurred frequently. Most recently, in March 2015, Ms. T discovered that Mr. Q was in the process of transferring the house where their family was living to another person. Ms. T is afraid that the Land Use Rights Certificate is under Mr. Q's name while she and her husband do not have a Marriage Certificate, so she will not have the right to reclaim the house which is the common property of both husband and wife.
Ask:
*What should I do to protect my legal rights and interests and not allow Mr. Q to arbitrarily sell the house?
*In case you file a petition to the court for divorce, how will the house where your family is living be resolved?
Reply:
l Currently, Mr. Q is intending to transfer the house where his family is living to another person without his consent, which is against the law. To protect his legitimate rights and interests, he must file a petition to the People's Committee of the commune/ward where he is living. In the petition, he must clearly state that the house is his and her family's common property, so he should request the People's Committee of the commune/ward not to allow Mr. Q to exercise the rights: transfer, donate, mortgage, pledge, etc. related to the house.
l The house where her family is currently living was purchased in 2001, and all the purchase and sale documents were signed by her. Although the Land Use Rights Certificate is under Mr. Q's name, this is an asset that arose after the marriage, so it is considered the common property of the couple.
Clause 2, Article 53 of the 2014 Law on Marriage and Family stipulates on "Acceptance of divorce petitions" as follows:
“In case of no marriage registration but a request for divorce, the Court shall accept and declare that the marital relationship is not recognized according to the provisions of Clause 1, Article 14 of this Law; if there is a request regarding children and property, it shall be resolved according to the provisions of Articles 15 and 16 of this Law.”
Thus, when you file a petition for the court to resolve the divorce, the court will accept the case and not recognize the marital relationship. The settlement of property relations is carried out according to the provisions of Article 16 of the 2014 Law on Marriage and Family. Accordingly:
“Property relations, obligations and contracts between men and women living together as husband and wife without registering their marriage shall be resolved by agreement between the parties; in the absence of agreement, they shall be resolved in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Code and other relevant provisions of law.
The settlement of property relations must ensure the legitimate rights and interests of women and children; housework and other related work to maintain a common life are considered income-generating labor.
According to this regulation, the division of property in cases where a man and a woman live together as husband and wife without registering their marriage will be resolved by agreement of the parties. If the parties cannot reach an agreement, the court will proceed with the division based on the contribution of each person. The division of property gives priority to ensuring the legitimate rights and interests of women and children.
Law Office of Trong Hai & Associates