On January 15, 2025, the Supreme People's Court of China held a press conference to release the Interpretation (II) of the Supreme People's Court on the Application of the Marriage and Family Section of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the "New Marriage Law Regulations"). This judicial interpretation took effect on February 1, 2025.

The new regulations introduce several highlights regarding the division of community property between spouses:

1.If one spouse, without the consent of the other, uses community property to make rewards on an online live - streaming platform, and the amount significantly exceeds the general consumption level of the family, thus seriously harming the interests of community property, such behavior can be recognized as "squandering". If the other spouse requests the division of community property during the existence of the marriage relationship, or requests that the spouse who made the rewards receive a smaller share or no share when dividing community property in the event of divorce, the court shall support such requests.

2.If one spouse, for the purposes of bigamy, cohabiting with others, or other violations of the duty of loyalty in marriage, donates community property to others or disposes of community property at an obviously unreasonable price, and the other spouse claims that such act is invalid as it violates public order and good customs, the court shall support this claim and handle it in accordance with relevant regulations.

3.Regarding the issue of parents' contribution to the purchase of a house for their children after marriage, if during the marriage relationship, a house is purchased by a couple with the full contribution of one party's parents and the donation contract clearly stipulates that it is only donated to their own child, it shall be dealt with in accordance with the stipulation. If there is no stipulation or the stipulation is unclear, when dividing community property in a divorce, the court may rule that the house belongs to the child of the contributing party and comprehensively consider various factors to determine whether to provide compensation and the amount of compensation. The handling method is similar if it is a partial contribution by one party's parents or contributions by both parties' parents.

4.In handling equity and inheritance rights, if one spouse transfers the equity of a limited liability company that is funded with community property but registered in their own name, and the other spouse requests to confirm that the equity transfer contract is invalid on the grounds that it is made without their consent and infringes on the interests of community property, the court generally does not support this request, unless there is evidence to prove that the transferor and the transferee collude maliciously to damage the legitimate rights and interests of the other spouse. If a couple invests in a limited liability company with community property and both are registered as shareholders, and there is no agreement or the agreement is unclear regarding the ownership of the corresponding equity, when one party requests to determine the equity division ratio according to the respective capital contributions recorded in the shareholder register or the company's articles of association in a divorce, the court does not support this request. Instead, it shall handle the request for the division of community property in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Civil Code. In addition, if one spouse claims that the other spouse's waiver of inheritance is invalid on the grounds that the inheritable property of the other spouse is community property and the waiver of inheritance infringes on the interests of community property, the court generally does not support this claim, unless there is evidence to prove that the waiver of inheritance causes the waiving party to be unable to fulfill their legal maintenance obligations.