Guidelines for settlement of property disputes after divorce

Married couple divorced but have a common property dispute, what to do? What are the legal regulations to resolve property disputes after divorce? Please contact Apolo Lawyers Law Firm at contact@apolo.com.vn or hotline - 0903.419.479 for specific advice and answers.

1. Regulations on settlement of property disputes after divorce.

Normally, the division of common property of husband and wife after divorce is resolved similar to the case of property division upon divorce. Accordingly, the division of assets will be as follows:

• Case 1: If the husband and wife choose the property regime as agreed upon before marriage, the division of property after divorce shall be done according to the established agreement.
• Case 2: If the husband and wife do not have a written agreement on the husband and wife property regime or the written agreement on the husband anf wife property regime is declared completely invalid by the Court, the property regime shall apply. of the spouses according to the law to divide the property of the spouses.
• Case 3: If there is a written agreement on the property regime of the husband and wife and this document is not declared completely invalid by the Court, the contents of the written agreement shall apply to divide the property of the husband and wife. when you divorce. For matters that are not agreed upon by husband and wife, or that the agreement is unclear or invalid, the provisions of statutory property division shall apply to the division of property.

Guidelines for settlement of property disputes after divorce

In principle, the common property of husband and wife will be divided in half, but taking into account the following factors:

Circumstances of the family and spouses: Health status, assets, ability to work and generate income after divorce of spouses and other members.

Contribution of husband and wife to the creation, maintenance and development of common property: Contribution of separate property, income, work and labor of husband and wife to the common property. A wife or husband who stays at home to take care of children and family but does not work is counted as an employee with income equivalent to the income of a working husband or wife. The party with more effort to contribute will be shared more.

Protecting the legitimate interests of each party in production, business and profession: Sharing common property but still ensuring that production, business and professional activities continue to generate income.

The fault of each party in violation of the rights and obligations of husband and wife: The fact that one of the husband and wife is at fault when performing their rights and obligations as in the marital relationship; adultery, disrespecting honor, dignity, prestige, freedom of belief and religion of the other.

The husband and wife common property shall be divided in kind, if it cannot be divided in kind, it shall be divided according to its value; which party receives a portion of the property in kind with a value greater than its share, must pay the other party the difference.

2. What should be prepared to settle property disputes after divorce?

If you and your spouse cannot agree on the division of assets after the divorce, you can ask the court to resolve. Regarding the application for property division after divorce, you need to prepare the following documents:

• Complaint about property division after divorce;
• Divorce decision/judgment;
• Passport/ID card/CCCD of husband and wife;
• Certificate of residence of spouse;
• Written agreement on division of common property between husband and wife (if any);
• Certificates of land use rights, ownership of houses and other land-attached assets;
• Documents and other evidences related to property division.

3. Order and procedures for settling property disputes after divorce.

Order and procedures for settling property disputes after divorce including the following steps:

- Step 1: Write an application and prepare documents to request property division after divorce.

Husband and wife (who requesting property division after divorce) write a petition according to the form. The content of the application should clearly state the information of the parties; time of divorce; common property requires the court to divide and the specific claim of the petitioner.

After writing the petition, the petitioner prepares a dossier including the papers and documents mentioned by Apolo Lawyers Law Firm above.

- Step 2: Submit the file to the competent court.

According to the provisions of the Civil Procedure Code 2015, a dispute over property division after a divorce is defined as a dispute about marriage and family. The Court jurisdiction will be determined according to the provisions of Point a, Clause 1, Article 35 and Clause 1, Article 39 of the Civil Procedure Code 2015. Accordingly, disputes over division of common property after divorce will fall under the jurisdiction of the district court where the defendant resides (unless otherwise agreed by the parties).

In case of dispute over division of common property after divorce where the involved parties or assets are located abroad or the judicial entrustment is required to the overseas representative agency of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the Court foreign competent agencies or courts, the settlement competence belongs to the provincial courts.

The petitioner can apply in person or send it through the postal service. When filing a petition filed in person, the petitioner will be issued a certificate of receipt of the petition. For the case of application by postal service, within 02 working days from the date of receipt of the application; The court will send a notice of receipt to the petitioner.

- Step 3: The court considers the file.

Within 03 working days after receiving the lawsuit petition, the Chief Justice of the Court shall assign a judge to consider the petition.

Within 05 working days from the date of assignment, the judge must consider the petition and make one of the following decisions:

• To request amendments and supplements to the lawsuit petition if the petition is incomplete or lacks dossiers and documents as prescribed.
• Return the petition to the petitioner in the following cases:
• The petitioner does not have the right to initiate a lawsuit or has no civil act capacity;
• Not having enough conditions to initiate a lawsuit as prescribed by law;
• The matter has been settled by a legally effective judgment or decision of a court or an effective decision of a competent state agency, unless a lawsuit is re-initiated by law;
• The case is not under the jurisdiction of the Court;
• The plaintiff fails to amend or supplement the lawsuit petition at the request of the judge;
• The petitioner withdraws the petition.
• Transfer the petition to a competent court if the case falls under the jurisdiction of another court.
• Carrying out the proceedings of the case.

- Step 4: The court accepts the case.

After receiving the lawsuit petition and accompanying documents and evidences; if deeming that the case falls under the court jurisdiction, the judge shall notify the plaintiff to pay the court fee advance. The amount of court fee advance will be estimated by the judge and recorded in the notice delivered to the petitioner.

Within 07 days from the date of receipt of the notice of payment of the court fee advance; the plaintiff must pay the court fee advance and submit to the court a receipt for the collection of the court fee advance. The judge accepts the case when the petitioner submits to the Court a receipt for the collection of the court fee advance.

In case the plaintiff is exempted or not required to pay the court fee advance, the judge must accept the case when receiving the lawsuit petition and enclosed documents and evidences.

- Step 5: Prepare to hear the case of property disputes after divorce

The time to prepare for the trial of a post-divorce property dispute is four to six months from the date of acceptance of the case.

During the trial preparation phase, the Judge will perform the following tasks:

• Verify and collect evidences;
• Taking testimonies of involved parties and witnesses;
• Confront;
• Review on-site appraisals;
• Property Valuation
• Apply temporary emergency measures;
• Organize a meeting to check the handover, access and disclosure of evidences and conciliation...

During this stage, the Court conducts conciliation so that the involved parties can reach agreement on the settlement of the case; except for cases that cannot be conciliated or cannot conduct conciliation.

• Successful conciliation: The court makes a record of successful conciliation. After 07 days from the date of making the minutes of successful conciliation, no involved parties change their opinions; The judge will make a decision to recognize the agreement of the parties.
• Failed conciliation: The court makes a record of unsuccessful conciliation and brings the case to trial.

- Step 6:  The court conducts first-instance trial of the post-divorce property dispute case.

The time for opening a court session is: 01 - 02 months from the date of the decision to bring the case to trial.

If they disagree with the first-instance judgment, the involved parties have the right to appeal within 15 days from the date of judgment pronouncement; for involved parties who are not present at the court hearing or are not present at the time of judgment pronouncement with legitimate reasons, the time limit for appeal shall be counted from the date of receipt of the posted judgment or judgment.

4. Cost of property dispute settlement after divorce.

4.1. Court fees for property disputes after divorce

Currently, according to the provisions of Resolution 326/2016 of the UBTVQH14; post-divorce property disputes are determined to be valuable marriage and family disputes; ie this dispute is determined by a value, a specific amount. Depending on the value of the property in dispute, there will be different court fees.

The initial civil court cost advance in a civil case has a value equal to 50 percent of the preliminary civil court cost level of the value estimated by the Court according to the value of the disputed property. The litigant asks for a resolution.

4.2. Other costs

In addition to the court fee payable as prescribed by law; Apolo Lawyers Law Firm would like to share other fees when disputing property after divorce as follows:

• Notary fees; authenticate documents; documents to prepare a full dossier to be submitted to the competent court.
• In case papers are missing, they must apply for an extract; At this time, you will have to pay a fee to apply for this extract.
• Travel expenses for the settlement of property disputes after divorce.
• Expenses for appraisal and valuation of disputed properties.
• Expenses for judicial entrustment abroad in case the case involves foreign elements and the Court needs to collect, provide evidences, and serve papers, dossiers and documents abroad.
• Cost of hiring a lawyer to consult; support or receive authorization to carry out the procedure (if any).

Guidelines for settlement of property disputes after divorce

Depending on the needs and requirements of the client, the fee for hiring a lawyer to advise and support the division of assets after the divorce will be different. Therefore, for advice and specific lawyer fees; Please contact Apolo Lawyers Law Firm at contact@apolo.com.vn or hotline - 0903.419.479 for the best advice and support.

View more: Disputes Over The Common Property In Divorce

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