Before marriage, in order to protect their own interests, both husband and wife will carry out notarization of property, which is protected by law. But the "loyalty agreement" signed before marriage wants to use this agreement to maintain the relationship between two people, does such an agreement have legal effect? A few days ago, the Intermediate People's Court of Liupanshui City, Guizhou Province, tried a similar case, and the court held that such agreements should not be interfered with by law and did not support the woman's complaint.
Ms. Zhao from Guizhou came together with Mr. Hu after divorcing her ex-husband. Both Ms. Zhao and Mr. Hu remarried, and before the two got married, Mr. Hu wrote a prenuptial agreement to Ms. Zhao, in which Mr. Hu promised that if he betrayed Ms. Zhao one day, the car and house under his name would belong to Ms. Zhao. As long as you violate any of the provisions of the agreement, you will be out of the house.
In March 2015, Ms. Zhao and Mr. Hu registered their marriage, and the two have not had their own children since the marriage. In April 2018, Ms. Zhao filed a divorce lawsuit with the Panzhou Municipal People's Court, requesting a divorce from Mr. Hu, but the court rejected Ms. Zhao's claim.
At the end of May 2019, Ms. Zhao filed a divorce lawsuit with the court again, and the court allowed the two to divorce after a trial. After the divorce, Ms. Zhao filed a lawsuit with the court on the grounds that she did not divide the marital property, demanding that Mr. Hu return the property.
The Panzhou Municipal People's Court held that the two agreed in their prenuptial agreement that Mr. Hu could not betray Ms. Zhao, otherwise all his property would belong to Ms. Zhao. This agreement is a "loyalty agreement" made to maintain the stability of the marital relationship, which has a positive effect on maintaining the marriage. However, this agreement belongs to the category of emotional morality, and the signing and implementation of the agreement is voluntary and should not be given the ability to enforce it. In the end, the court rejected Ms. Zhao's request.
For this judgment, Ms. Zhang appealed against the verdict. In her view, the signing of a "fidelity agreement" between husband and wife to hold the wrong party accountable is also a way for citizens to self-remedy, which the court should support.
The Liupanshui Intermediate People's Court conducted a second-instance trial of the case, and the court held that the content of the agreement signed between the plaintiff and the defendant belonged to the category of moral sentiments and was not suitable for intervention and adjustment by law. In the end, the Liupanshui Court rejected Ms. Zhao's appeal and upheld the original judgment.
For the verdict of this case, netizens also expressed their own views, some people believe that this kind of prenuptial agreement is signed by one party in order to express sincerity to the other party, not a legal agreement, this is not a legal contract, and it is reasonable for the court to not agree.