Everyone has a different definition of bride price. Whether it is the perspective of looking at the problem or their own personalities, differences may arise between people. For example, a woman who is about to get married has thought about being with her partner for a long time. If you continue to live together, you have the good wish to spend the rest of your life together. Regarding the issue of betrothal gifts, if you think there is this local custom, then you should follow the custom. Otherwise, you will be looked down upon if you marry and will not be valued and cherished by your husband and parents-in-law. , and ended up getting nothing.
And Civil Code does not encourage or prohibit betrothal gifts. In judicial practice, the determination of betrothal gifts generally depends on whether there are local customs and habits of paying betrothal gifts. According to Article 10 of the Civil Code, : Civil disputes should be handled in accordance with the law; if there is no provision in the law, customs can be applied, but public order and good customs must not be violated.
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At the beginning of 2020, Ms. Tang from Qiandongnan, Guizhou met 36-year-old Wu Moumou through a blind date. Although the two had not met before and were not very familiar with each other, they were Through introductions, they were able to know each other's family situation, but both of them thought that since they had the money for the blind date, they must be rushing to get married. They felt that the other person was not bad, so the two families began to talk about marriage. Ms. Tang and Wu XX got engaged, and Wu XX gave Ms. Tang a bride price of 68,000 yuan in accordance with local customs.
In the local area, the two held an engagement banquet and completed the engagement ceremony in front of relatives. It was basically equivalent to the fact that the marriage was a certainty. The two just had to get the certificate and hold the wedding. From the beginning, Ms. Tang really wanted to spend the rest of her life with Wu Moumou, so after the engagement, the two went to Shanghai to work together and began to live together.
However, after living together, Ms. Tang and Wu discovered that there were many problems between them. They had different views on the same event and different living habits, which resulted in many conflicts and disagreements. Originally, the two did not have much affection and they lived together. After 7 months, no relationship developed, and finally the two fell apart completely when talking about the wedding.
Ms. Tang wanted Wu to pay for all the drinks. As far as Ms. Tang knew, everyone did it this way, and then each family collected their share, but Wu felt that since he had to pay The entire cost of the drinks and the share of the money received should also go to the man. The two did not reach an agreement, and they thought that they would have to live with each other for decades after getting married, and more things that they could not agree on might happen. However, neither of them was willing to compromise. Wu suddenly lost confidence and proposed to break off the engagement. , and asked Ms. Tang to return all the bride price.
Ms. Tang feels that she has been living with Wu Moumou for 7 months, and most of her living expenses in Shanghai are borne by Ms. Tang. It is not difficult to cancel an engagement, but if you return all the bride price, you will obviously suffer a huge loss.
Ms. Tang’s mother is also quite indignant about this, because Ms. Tang is already 33 years old and is often more susceptible to comments from others. Wu Moumou’s request to cancel the engagement will undoubtedly have a negative impact on Ms. Tang’s reputation, and naturally she does not agree to the refund. All betrothal gifts.
Therefore, Wu Moumou took Ms. Tang to court and required Ms. Tang to return the bride price through legal means. According to Article 5 of the "Interpretation (1) 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", if a party requests the return of a betrothal gift paid in accordance with customs, if it is found that it falls into the following circumstances, the people's court shall support it :
(1) Both parties have not completed the marriage registration formalities;
(2) Both parties have completed the marriage registration formalities but have not lived together;
(3) The payment was made before marriage and caused difficulties in the life of the payer.
The provisions of the second and third items of the preceding paragraph shall apply, and the divorce of both parties shall be the condition.
The court accepted the case. Considering that the two parties had not completed the marriage registration procedures, the party Wu Moumou requested the return of the bride price paid according to customs, and the court supported it. Also considering that the two parties had lived together for several months after the engagement, the court finally ruled that the defendant Ms. Tang 82% of the bride price, or 56,000 yuan, will be returned.
Ms. Tang was dissatisfied with the first-instance judgment and filed an appeal. In the second-instance court, Ms. Tang said something unspeakable in court and believed that the first-instance judgment should return a higher amount. Ms. Tang said that part of the bride price had been used for the two to live together. 7 months of living expenses, and during the period of cohabitation, she took on housework, washed and cooked for Wu Moumou, and her living conditions were no different from those of a married couple.
If Wu Moumou was refunded 56,000 yuan according to the first-instance judgment, Tang Moumou felt that she had been "freely prostituted" by Wu Moumou and would pay back the money, so she refused to accept it.
It is worth mentioning that in such civil disputes, the determination of "living together" should be a long-term, stable state. In addition to the husband and wife living together in the same residence, there should also be material, spiritual, life, etc. Comprehensive consideration should be made from multiple aspects to achieve unity of subjectivity and objectivity. Subjectively, both parties have a good wish to spend the rest of their lives together. Objectively, both parties can support and care for each other, comfort and understand each other, jointly perform their marital obligations, shoulder family responsibilities, and resist external pressure and risks.
In this case, Wu Moumou and Ms. Tang "lived together" for a short time, and the two parties have not yet completed the marriage registration procedures, so they cannot be regarded as a legal husband and wife relationship. However, the two have completed their engagement, and Wu Moumou paid The purpose of the bride price given by Tang Moumou was to conclude the marriage. It was also because of her good wish to spend the rest of her life with Wu Moumou that Ms. Tang lived with Wu Moumou after their engagement and took care of Wu Moumou's food and clothing. daily life.
In the end, the second instance, after comprehensively considering the specific circumstances of the two parties’ relationship, changed the sentence to Ms. Tang and returned Wu’s bride price of 34,000 yuan. Regarding this result, Ms. Tang chose to accept it, but presumably Ms. Tang and Wu will be more cautious in future blind dates. In fact, in a marriage and family, they will indeed be careful about their daily necessities, which will lead to disagreements and conflicts. However, The relationship between husband and wife should be about supporting each other, caring for each other, comforting and understanding each other, and building a beautiful family life.
