During the Spring Festival, do parents have the right to control the money that children receive?

Source: Sichuan Online

Sichuan online reporter Zhang Tingming

During the New Year, the happiest thing for children is to receive the money and have their own "small treasury" in a fair and honest manner. However, many children will be asked by their parents to hand over the pressure money. So, according to mainland law, does the ownership of the money belong to the parents or the children? Do parents have the right to control the money?

On February 4, Sichuan online reporter Xiaoming invited Judge Wang Min of the Guang'an Intermediate People's Court to pay attention to the legal knowledge behind the pressure on old money.

Who does the money belong to?

The ownership of the money belongs to the child

In the traditional customs of the mainland, pressing the old money means to ward off evil spirits and exorcise demons in folk culture, and to bless children with health and peace in the new year. Since the original intention of pressing the old age money is to send good wishes to the younger generations with certain money through the elders, then according to the custom, the pressure money belongs to the children.

In fact, the law also supports this statement. From the perspective of legal nature, the money is donated property, and the child is the recipient, that is, the owner of the money. Accepting a gift is a purely profitable act. According to the law, capacity for civil rights begins at birth, and children are entitled to a gift regardless of whether they have capacity for civil conduct or not. Wang Min introduced, which means that the ownership of the pressed money has always belonged to the child.

Wang Min further explained that the capacity for civil rights has nothing to do with age, and the capacity for civil conduct is related to age. The Civil Code of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the Civil Code) divides the capacity for civil conduct into three categories: the first category is persons with full capacity for civil conduct, adults with normal intelligence who have reached the age of eighteen and minors who have reached the age of 16 under special circumstances belong to this category; the second category is persons with limited capacity for civil conduct, that is, minors between the ages of eight and eighteen; and the third category is persons without capacity for civil conduct, that is, minors under the age of eight. Eight years of age is a dividing line between the limitation of capacity for civil conduct and the absence of capacity for civil conduct.

According to Article 20 of the Civil Code, a minor under the age of eight is a person without capacity for civil conduct, and his legally-designated representative shall carry out civil juristic acts on his behalf.

Wang Min told Xiaoming that therefore, in the case of a child under the age of eight, the child's old age money should be managed by the child's legal representative, that is, the guardian. After the child reaches the age of eight and before he or she reaches adulthood, he or she is a person with limited capacity for civil conduct. According to the law, during this age period, children already have a certain ability to distinguish and can independently carry out civil juristic acts appropriate to their age and intelligence.

"You can understand that the ownership of the money belongs to the child. Before the age of eight, parents can manage it for them. But from the age of eight, the child can independently dispose of a certain amount of pressure money. It should be noted that parental management does not mean arbitrary control. Wang Min said.

Do parents have the right to control their children's money?

The right to management and retroactive recognition is available until the child is eighteen years old

Do parents have the right to dispose of their children's money? Wang Min told Xiaoming that when the child is underage, the parents have a certain right to control. However, the cost of pressing the old age money must be related to the minor, and the parents cannot use the pressure money to simply consume for themselves.

Articles 19 and 20 of the Civil Code stipulate that minors over the age of eight are persons with limited capacity for civil conduct, and the implementation of civil juristic acts is represented by their legally-designated representative or with the consent and retroactive recognition of their legally-designated representatives; however, they may independently carry out civil juristic acts that are purely beneficial or civil juristic acts appropriate to their age and intelligence. Minors under the age of 8 are persons without capacity for civil conduct, and their legally-designated representatives are to act as their agents in carrying out civil juristic acts.

Wang Min introduced that combined with the above two legal provisions, it can be understood that the pressure money of children under the age of eight is managed and disposed of by the parents; the pressure money of children aged eight to eighteen years old can be managed and controlled by the parents on their behalf, and the children themselves can implement the corresponding expenses with their age and intelligence. However, if the child uses the money to buy large supplies or large-scale reward anchors, it needs to be approved or retroactively recognized by the parents to have legal effect. "After the child is eighteen years old, the parents have no right to manage and control."

In addition, article 35 of the Civil Code also stipulates that guardians shall perform guardianship duties in accordance with the principle of the most favorable to the ward. Guardians must not dispose of the wards' property except to safeguard the wards' interests.

Wang Min further explained that the meaning of Article 35 of the Civil Code is that parents can only manage the children's interests when managing and disposing of the underage children's old age money, and must not be for their own or others' interests, otherwise it is a super vires disposition of the ward's property and is not allowed by law, at which time the child has the right to demand return according to law. This means that before the age of eighteen, parents have the right to manage and control their children's old age money, which does not mean that parents can use their children's old age money to simply consume for themselves.

In addition, Article 1188 of the Civil Code also stipulates that a person without capacity for civil conduct who has property or a person with limited capacity for civil conduct who causes damage to others shall pay compensation expenses from his own property; the insufficient part shall be compensated by the guardian. "That is to say, if a minor infringes on others, such as injuring others, damaging other people's toys, etc., they should pay compensation first from their own money, and the insufficient part will be compensated by their parents." Wang Min told Xiaoming.