During the marriage relationship, if one of the spouses takes on a debt and then the spouse dies unexpectedly, can the debt owed by the spouse be recognized as a joint debt of the husband and wife? Through an inheritance dispute case, learn how to determine the joint debts of husband and wife and other related legal issues.
Brief Facts of the Case
On January 10, 2021, Tian signed a loan contract with Jin, agreeing that Tian would borrow 1 million yuan from Jin for project capital turnover, with a loan period of 6 months and an interest of 2% per month. On January 15, 2021, Jin transferred 1 million yuan to Tian by bank transfer. On May 22, 2021, Tian died in a car accident. After the arrears involved in the case were due, Jin contacted Tian's wife Xu to repay the loan unsuccessfully, so he sued Xu, Tian Xiaomou (the son of Tian and Xu), and Ma (Tian's mother) to the court, requesting that Xu be ordered to repay the 1 million yuan owed by Jin and interest, and Tian Xiaomou and Ma bear the debts involved in the case within the scope of inheriting Tian's estate.
Xu argued that he was unaware of Tian's loan involved in the case, that the debt was not a joint debt of husband and wife, that the two had submitted a divorce application to the civil affairs department when the loan occurred, and were in the cooling-off period for divorce, which did not rule out the purpose of Tian and Jin maliciously colluding to create false joint debts of husband and wife.
Tian Xiaomou argued that the loan involved in the case had nothing to do with him, and that he had not inherited any of Tian's inheritance, so he should not bear his remaining debts. Ma did not reply and did not appear in court.
Court hearing
There are two points of dispute in this case: first, whether the debt involved in the case is a joint debt of husband and wife; The second is whether Tian Xiaomou and Ma should be liable for the debts involved in the case.
After hearing, the court held that the parties had the obligation to provide corresponding evidence to the court for their claims. Jin claimed that Tian had borrowed 1 million yuan from him before his death, and submitted the loan contract signed with Tian and the corresponding transfer voucher as evidence. Xu argued that he was ignorant and had false debts, but did not provide evidence to the contrary to overturn them, so the court found that there was a private lending relationship between Jin and Tian according to law, and the legal lending relationship should be protected by law. According to the available evidence, it can be determined that Tian still owes Jin 1 million yuan in loan principal and the fact that interest has not been repaid.
Regarding the first point of dispute, according to Article 1064 of the Civil Code, if the debt incurred by one of the spouses during the marriage relationship in his or her personal name exceeds the daily needs of the family, if the creditor can prove that the debt is used for the joint life of the husband and wife, joint production and operation, or expressed based on the common intention of the husband and wife, it may be deemed to be a joint debt of the husband and wife. In this case, the loan involved occurred during the relationship between Tian and Xu, and although the parties applied to the civil affairs department for divorce registration on January 11, 2021, they did not formally go through the divorce registration formalities afterwards. And the two parties jointly operated a construction-related company during the existence of the husband and wife relationship, Xu also recognized the dry project, and recognized that the company's account Tian and the two of them could operate, after Tian's death, Xu took over the relevant project, combined with the audio and video recordings and videos of communication with Xu submitted by Jin due to the needs of the project in the loan contract, it should be determined that the loan involved in the case was used for the joint production and operation of Tian and Xu, and was the joint debt of the husband and wife of the two. According to Article 36 of the Interpretation (I) of the Supreme People's Court on the Application of the Marriage and Family Part of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China, Xu shall be liable for repayment of the principal and interest of the loan.
Regarding the second point of dispute, according to Article 1161 of the Civil Code, the heirs settle the debts of the decedent within the limit of the actual value of the inheritance obtained, and if the heirs renounce the inheritance, they may not be liable for liquidation. The existing evidence in this case proves that Tian left two properties and a company. After Tian's death, Tian Xiaomou and Ma Mou, as their first-order heirs, have not expressly renounced the inheritance of Tian's estate, so they should bear the responsibility for repayment of the debts involved in the case undertaken by Tian within the scope of inheriting Tian's estate according to law.
In the end, the court ordered Xu to repay the principal of Jin's loan of 1 million yuan and the corresponding interest, and Tian Xiaomou and Ma to repay the principal of Jin's loan of 1 million yuan and corresponding interest within the scope of inheriting the inheritance of the decedent Tian's estate. After the judgment was rendered, all parties accepted the judgment and the judgment has now taken effect.
The judge said
Under the existing legal system and context in the mainland, "joint debts of husband and wife" should mean that husband and wife, as joint debtors, bear joint and several liability for such debts with all their property. Therefore, how to determine the joint debt of husband and wife is very important. Article 1064 of the Civil Code clarifies the criteria for determining the joint debts of husband and wife, which are mainly divided into three levels:
The first is to express the debt based on the common intention of the husband and wife. It may take the form of a joint signature prior or an acknowledgement by one party afterwards. The method of post-recognition is not limited to written form, but can be judged by the content recorded in telephone recordings, text messages, WeChat, emails, etc.
The second is the debt incurred for the needs of daily family life. This type of debt is mainly the debt borne by the daily family agency category, which is generated in the process of husband and wife living together, generally including normal food and clothing, child support and education funds, elderly alimony, family members' medical expenses, etc., which is the most typical joint debt of husband and wife.
Third, debts that exceed the daily needs of the family, but the creditor has evidence to prove that the debt is used for the husband and wife to live together, produce and operate together, or based on the common intention of the husband and wife. During the marriage relationship, in addition to the daily family debts formed by the exercise of daily family agency rights, the husband and wife will also form other creditor-debt relationships such as large loans and gifts with a third party. In order to protect the legitimate rights and interests of one of the spouses who has not taken up debts, the law clearly stipulates that the debts incurred in such cases are not in principle joint debts of husband and wife, and the burden of proof is placed on the creditor, and if the creditor has evidence to prove that the debt is used for the joint life of the husband and wife, joint production and operation or based on the common intention of the husband and wife, it should also be recognized as a joint debt of the husband and wife.
Legal Links
Article 1064 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China
Debts incurred by the joint signature of the husband and wife or by the subsequent recognition of one of the spouses, as well as debts incurred by one of the spouses in their personal name for the daily needs of the family during the marriage relationship, are joint debts of the husband and wife.
Debts incurred by one of the spouses during the marriage relationship in excess of the daily needs of the family in their own name are not joint debts of the husband and wife; However, unless the creditor can prove that the debt is used for the husband and wife living together, producing and operating together, or based on the common intention of the husband and wife.
Article 1161
The heirs settle the taxes and debts that the decedent should pay according to law within the limits of the actual value of the estate obtained. This is not the case if the part exceeding the actual value of the estate is voluntarily repaid by the heirs.
If the heir renounces the inheritance, he may not be liable for the taxes and debts that the decedent should pay according to law.
Article 36 of the Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on the Application of the Marriage and Family Part of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China (I).
In the event of the death of one of the husband or wife, the surviving spouse shall bear the responsibility for the joint debts of the husband and wife during the marriage relationship.
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