The Supreme People's Court's Interpretation on Several Issues Concerning the Application of the Marriage Law of the People's Republic of China (II)

Article 23 stipulates that the people's court shall not support a creditor's claim against the debtor's spouse for personal debts incurred by one party before marriage. But the creditor can prove that the debt is used for married families to live together. There is a clear boundary between husband and wife debt and personal debt, and there are obvious differences in scope and repayment methods.

According to article 17 of "Several Specific Opinions of the Supreme People's Court on People's Courts Handling Divorce Cases", the personal debts of husband and wife cannot be recognized as joint debts under any of the following circumstances, and should be regarded as personal debts, which shall be paid off by one party with personal property:

(a) the debts agreed by the husband and wife to be borne by the individual, except for the purpose of avoiding debts;

(two) without the consent of the other party, one party subsidizes the debts incurred by its relatives and friends who have no obligation to support;

(3) Without the consent of the other party, one party independently raises funds to engage in business activities, and its income is not used for debts incurred by the same generation;

(four) other debts that should be borne by individuals. Husband and wife's debt is generated to maintain family life, which should be shared by both husband and wife and repaid with their property; If the property of husband and wife is insufficient to repay, it shall be repaid with the personal property of husband and wife. Personal debts of one spouse shall be paid off by one spouse with personal property. If it is recognized as a personal debt, the creditor may not ask the other party to repay it.

According to the third paragraph of Article 19 of the Marriage Law and the provisions of Article 24 of the Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of the Marriage Law of the People's Republic of China (II) (hereinafter referred to as Interpretation II), during the marriage relationship, if a creditor claims rights for debts incurred by one spouse in his own name, it shall be treated as husband and wife debts. However, unless one of the spouses can prove that the creditor and the debtor clearly agreed to be personal debts, or can prove that it belongs to the circumstances stipulated in the third paragraph of Article 19 of the Marriage Law. Judging from the provisions of Article 24, China adopts the principle of the occurrence time of the debt, with special agreement as an exception, that is, during the existence of the marital relationship, the debt incurred by one party in its own name should be recognized as the same debt as long as there is no situation in which the creditor and the debtor explicitly agree to be personal debts or the creditor knows that the property acquired by the husband and wife during the existence of the marital relationship belongs to each other.

According to the provisions of Article 41 of the Marriage Law, whether it is a joint debt of husband and wife should be judged by whether it is used for the common life of husband and wife.