Home » Opinion » Foreign Views
Shanghai divorces soar and pre-nuptial accords are popular parachutes
By Sean Maguire |
January 12, 2010, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
ACROSS countries and cultures, wedding vows typically contain a solemn promise of complete and enduring commitment between the parties, but oh, how sorely the integrity of these declarations is tested by the passage of time and the changing circumstances which wedlock ushers in.
China is not an exception. Divorce rates in Shanghai stood at a staggering 38 percent in 2008 - a far cry from the days before the amended Marriage Law came into effect in the early noughties.
Under the old system, divorcing couples were required to obtain certification letters from their workplaces and household communities and there was an entrenched cultural bias towards resolving marital difficulties in an informal, community-based way.
Now all that is required is the presentation of identity cards and household registration books at the relevant government offices. Quick, easy and final. There are arguments both for and against making divorce more accessible, arguments which I don't intend to rehearse here, but one thing is certain - if you thought the cost of getting married was alarming, just try getting divorced as an abject lesson in shock and awe.
There is also the emotional cost: there can be few things less satisfying than delivering up half of one's worldly goods to someone one has grown to detest with an ire piped straight from hell.
The huge cost of a wedding is an investment in optimism, a gilding of hope and expectation in the future, and woe betide the prospective spouse that sullies the golden glow of these hopes and expectations by applying a de-saturating veneer of reality.
Marriage is a sacred, emotional union, or so we're told, or like to believe, but it isn't only that, is it? Marriage is also a relationship bound by contract, an economic as well as an emotional partnership, the failure of which can lead to a horrifying dilution of personal wealth.
And the days are long gone when men alone are aware of the risks attendant upon striking the matrimonial deal.
Anecdotal evidence would suggest this sensitivity is especially acute among female professionals, women who have avoided early marriage to focus instead upon their careers.
The material gains thus acquired - real estate, stock portfolios, pensions - are less and less being left hostage to the caprice of human affections.
It is the recognition of this harsh economic reality underpinning the matrimonial state that is driving the growing popularity of prenuptial agreements in China, particularly among the middle classes in the larger cities. No longer the preserve of the rich and famous, prenups are becoming an integral part of wedding preparations as the changing expectations of relationships more accurately reflect changes in Chinese society.
In essence, a prenuptial agreement is a contract entered into prior to marriage, which includes provisions for the division of property and spousal support in the event of divorce or the breakup of the marriage. Hardly the stuff that love's young dream is made of, you might note. Yet with divorce figures going through the roof, a strategic nod to the mutability of human emotions is not necessarily an exercise in cynicism.
After all, just because one takes out home insurance doesn't mean that one expects one's house to burn down.
Chinese law specifically provides for the validity of prenups. Article 19 of The Marriage Law of The PRC allows prospective spouses to identify which property shall be held in joint, partially joint or individual ownership for the purposes of the marriage and, by implication, for purposes of divorce.
In fact, the law goes beyond simply providing for the possibility of a prenup by confirming that in the absence of such an agreement all property acquired during the marriage will be viewed as being jointly owned. From a practical point of view, there are no good reasons not to draw up a prenup.
It's probably best to regard a prenup as if it were a parachute - you hope you never have to use it, but it's comforting to know it's there just in case you do. Just don't try packing it yourself.
(The author is counsel of AllBright Law Offices in Shanghai. The views are his own. His e-mail: sbmaguire@allbrightlaw.com.)
China is not an exception. Divorce rates in Shanghai stood at a staggering 38 percent in 2008 - a far cry from the days before the amended Marriage Law came into effect in the early noughties.
Under the old system, divorcing couples were required to obtain certification letters from their workplaces and household communities and there was an entrenched cultural bias towards resolving marital difficulties in an informal, community-based way.
Now all that is required is the presentation of identity cards and household registration books at the relevant government offices. Quick, easy and final. There are arguments both for and against making divorce more accessible, arguments which I don't intend to rehearse here, but one thing is certain - if you thought the cost of getting married was alarming, just try getting divorced as an abject lesson in shock and awe.
There is also the emotional cost: there can be few things less satisfying than delivering up half of one's worldly goods to someone one has grown to detest with an ire piped straight from hell.
The huge cost of a wedding is an investment in optimism, a gilding of hope and expectation in the future, and woe betide the prospective spouse that sullies the golden glow of these hopes and expectations by applying a de-saturating veneer of reality.
Marriage is a sacred, emotional union, or so we're told, or like to believe, but it isn't only that, is it? Marriage is also a relationship bound by contract, an economic as well as an emotional partnership, the failure of which can lead to a horrifying dilution of personal wealth.
And the days are long gone when men alone are aware of the risks attendant upon striking the matrimonial deal.
Anecdotal evidence would suggest this sensitivity is especially acute among female professionals, women who have avoided early marriage to focus instead upon their careers.
The material gains thus acquired - real estate, stock portfolios, pensions - are less and less being left hostage to the caprice of human affections.
It is the recognition of this harsh economic reality underpinning the matrimonial state that is driving the growing popularity of prenuptial agreements in China, particularly among the middle classes in the larger cities. No longer the preserve of the rich and famous, prenups are becoming an integral part of wedding preparations as the changing expectations of relationships more accurately reflect changes in Chinese society.
In essence, a prenuptial agreement is a contract entered into prior to marriage, which includes provisions for the division of property and spousal support in the event of divorce or the breakup of the marriage. Hardly the stuff that love's young dream is made of, you might note. Yet with divorce figures going through the roof, a strategic nod to the mutability of human emotions is not necessarily an exercise in cynicism.
After all, just because one takes out home insurance doesn't mean that one expects one's house to burn down.
Chinese law specifically provides for the validity of prenups. Article 19 of The Marriage Law of The PRC allows prospective spouses to identify which property shall be held in joint, partially joint or individual ownership for the purposes of the marriage and, by implication, for purposes of divorce.
In fact, the law goes beyond simply providing for the possibility of a prenup by confirming that in the absence of such an agreement all property acquired during the marriage will be viewed as being jointly owned. From a practical point of view, there are no good reasons not to draw up a prenup.
It's probably best to regard a prenup as if it were a parachute - you hope you never have to use it, but it's comforting to know it's there just in case you do. Just don't try packing it yourself.
(The author is counsel of AllBright Law Offices in Shanghai. The views are his own. His e-mail: sbmaguire@allbrightlaw.com.)
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
