Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China
(Adopted at the Third Session of the Thirteenth National People’s Congress on May 28, 2020)
Book Five Marriage and Famil
Chapter III Domestic Relations
Section 1 Spousal relationship
Article 1055 Husband and wife are equal in marriage and family.
Article 1056 Both spouses have the right to use their own surname and given name.
Article 1057 Both spouses are free to engage in production and other work, and to study and to participate in social activities. Neither party may restrain or interfere with such freedom of the other party.
Article 1058 Both spouses have equal rights and joint duties to raise, educate, and protect their minor children.
Article 1059 Both spouses have the duty to support each other.
The party in need of spousal support is entitled to claim such payments against the other party who has failed to fulfill the spousal support duty.
Article 1060 A civil juristic act performed by one of the spouses to meet the daily needs of the family is binding on both spouses unless otherwise agreed between the third person and the spouse performing the act.
Restrictions imposed by the spouses on the scope of civil juristic acts that may be performed by one of the spouses may not be asserted against a bona fide third person.
Article 1061 Husband and wife have the right to inherit the estates of each other.
Article 1062 The following property acquired by the spouses during their marriage constitutes community property and are jointly owned by the spouses:
(1) salaries and wages as well as bonuses and other remuneration received from services rendered;
(2) proceeds obtained from production, business operation, and investment;
(3) proceeds arising from intellectual property rights;
(4) except as otherwise provided in Subparagraph (3) of Article 1063 of this Code, property acquired from inheritance or given as a gift; and
(5) other property that shall be jointly owned by the spouses.
Husband and wife have equal rights when disposing of the community property.
Article 1063 The following property constitutes separate property of one of the spouses:
(1) premarital property of one spouse;
(2) compensation or indemnification received by one spouse for injury inflicted upon him;
(3) property that belongs to only one spouse as provided in a will or gift contract;
(4) articles exclusively used by one spouse for daily life; and
(5) other property that shall be owned by one spouse.
Article 1064 Debts incurred according to the common expression of intent of both spouses, such as a debt jointly signed by both spouses and a debt signed by one spouse and subsequently ratified by the other spouse, and debts incurred by one of the spouses in his own name during the marriage to meet the daily needs of the family, constitute community debts.
A debt incurred by one of the spouses in his own name during the marriage in excess of the daily needs of the family is not a community debt, unless the creditor may prove that such debt is used for both spouses’ daily life or for joint production and operation of the spouses, or such debt incurs according to the common expression of intent of both spouses.
Article 1065 A man and a woman may agree that their premarital property and the property to be acquired by them during their marriage may be owned by them separately or jointly, or partially owned separately and partially owned jointly. The agreement shall be in writing. Where there is no agreement or the agreement is unclear, Articles 1062 and 1063 of this Code shall apply.
The agreement on their premarital property and the property acquired during the marriage is legally binding on both parties to the marriage.
Where the spouses agree that the property acquired during the marriage is to be owned separately, a debt incurred by one of the spouses shall be paid off with his separate property to the extent that the third person concerned is aware of such an agreement.
Article 1066 During the marriage, one of the spouses may apply to the people’s court for partition of their community property in one of the following situations:
(1) the other spouse has concealed, transferred, sold, destructed or damaged, or squandered the community property, created a false community debt, or committed other acts that seriously infringe upon the interests of the community property; or
(2) a person, whom one of the spouses has a statutory obligation to support, is suffering from a serious disease and needs medical treatment, but the other spouse does not agree to pay the relevant medical expenses.
Section 2 Relationship between Parents and Children, and Relationship among Other Close Relatives
Article 1067 Where parents fail to fulfill their duty to raise their children, a minor child or an adult child who is incapable of supporting himself has the right to claim child support payments against his parents.
Where an adult child fails to fulfill the duty to support his parents, his parents who lack the capacity to work or are in financial hardship have the right to claim support payments against the adult child.
Article 1068 Parents have the right and duty to educate and protect their minor children. Where a minor causes damage to others, his parents shall bear civil liability in accordance with law.
Article 1069 Children shall respect their parents’ right to marriage and shall not interfere with their parents' divorce, remarriage, or their marital life thereafter. Children's duty to support their parents shall not end with the change of their parents' marital relationship.
Article 1070 Parents have the right to inherit their children’s estates, and vice versa.
Article 1071 Children born out of wedlock have equal rights as children born in wedlock, and no organization or individual may harm or discriminate against them.
A natural parent who does not have physical custody of his out-of-wedlock child shall pay child support for such child who is a minor or who is an adult but incapable of supporting himself.
Article 1072 Stepparents shall not maltreat or discriminate against a stepchild, and vice-versa.
Provisions of this Code governing the parents-children relationship shall apply to the rights and duties between a stepmother or a stepfather and a stepchild who has been raised and educated by such stepfather or stepmother.
Article 1073 Where a parent challenges maternity or paternity with just cause, the parent may file a lawsuit with the people's court for affirmation or denial of such maternity or paternity.
Where an adult child challenges maternity or paternity with just cause, he may file a lawsuit with the people’s court for affirmation of such maternity or paternity.
Article 1074 Paternal or maternal grandparents, if financially capable, have the duty to raise their minor grandchildren whose parents are deceased or are incapable of such raising.
Paternal or maternal grandchildren, if financially capable, have the duty to support their grandparents whose children are deceased or are incapable of providing such support.
Article 1075 Elder brothers or sisters, if financially capable, have the duty to raise their minor siblings whose parents are deceased or are incapable of such raising.
Younger brothers or sisters who have been brought up by their elder siblings and who are financially capable have the duty to support such elder siblings who lack both the capacity to work and the means to support themselves.
