The Agreement System Of Marital Property In China

As one of the main contents in Marriage Law in China, marital property system may divide into statutory property system and agreed property system. The agreed property system is the system established by couple's written agreement, which divides, disposes the items of property acquired before or during marriage, ascertains pecuniary obligations borne by couples, or liquidates and divides property when marriage is terminated. And it absolute or in several occasions excludes the application of statutory property system.In China, with the deeping reform, opening up, and developing of socialist market economy, couples are more and more self-determined on marital property possession arrangement. Therefore, agreed property system attracts people's attention and becomes the focus of debates. Scholars and lawmakers around the world put it in a very important place in the system of marriage and family law. China is also strengthening the theoretical research and legislation of agreed property system in practice.The aim of this article is to analyze the rationality of the current design of agreed property system between husband and wife, thereby find out the solution of the practical problems.This article is composed by three parts: preface, principal part, and conclusion.The preface begins with the point that statutory property system and agreed property system are parallel, which should be treated and applied in the same way, and then presents the agreed property system's significance and shortage of recognition at present in China.The principal part is divided to four chapters.Chapter One start from the legislation history of agreed property system between husband and wife, which reflects essentiality and significance in practice, and then it becomes one of the most indispensable rules in marriage law system.Chapter Two analyzes the category and character of property agreement. In China, there are three optional agreed property systems could be chose in Marriage Law, the distinction property system, joint property system, and limited joint property system. Although this structure is adapted to the current situation of our country, it is still challenged by lots of practicers because of the narrow choices. In the process of analyzing the property agreement's character, the author concentrate on the application of Contract Law rules in couples'property agreements. From the author's point of view, marital property agreements could not only ruled by Marriage Law and other related judicial interpretations, but could also apply the provisions in Contract Law. Currently, in some extents, this makes up the shortages of marital agreed property legislation, which means it offers another resolution for marital property disputes.Chapter Three discusses the necessary conditions for the tenability of property agreement between husband and wife. The author starts from the guiding principle of marital property agreement, then points out it should comply with the principle of all contracts which are freewill, impartiality, and legality. After that the author addresses the system's subject, scope, time, formality, validity, alteration, and revocation separately. As the property agreement is written and signed between husband and wife, but in the mean time it also affects people outside it, thus the external effects of marital property agreements'is more complicated. There are comparatively large defects in current marital property system. Therefore, the author pays more strength to address the weakness of the system, and then gives suggestions for legislation.Chapter Four is the study of several interrelated problems that is hard to solve or identify in practice, which include the solutions of compensation claim and context defects, etc.Conclusion is the last part, which summarize the proposition in this article, and give a prospect of agreed property system between husband and wife in theory and legislation.