Most disputes over the return of betrothal gifts occur between the men and women involved in the marriage, but if a daughter who is getting married requests her parents to return the betrothal gifts 'kept' by them on the grounds that she has a custody contract with her parents regarding the gifts, what should be done?

Recently, the Huangyan District People's Court of Taizhou City, Zhejiang Province heard a case of custody contract dispute caused by the bride price, and the daughter sued her parents to return the bride price of 180,000 yuan, and the court ruled that the defendants Zhang and Wang returned 100,000 yuan to her daughter Zhang Xiaomou.

During the trial, the plaintiff Zhang Xiaomou claimed that she was the daughter of the defendants Zhang and Wang. In June 2020, according to the matchmaker, the plaintiff and Lin, an outsider, were betrothed, and the two defendants received a total of 180,000 yuan in bride price. After that, the plaintiff and Lin went through the marriage registration procedures at the Huangyan District Civil Affairs Bureau on August 17, 2020 and gave birth to a daughter. During the period when the plaintiff and the man lived together, because the man's family conditions were not well-off, in order to subsidize living expenses, the plaintiff claimed that he repeatedly asked the defendant to return the bride price, but was refused.

In the face of Zhang Xiaomou's lawsuit, the defendants Zhang and Wang replied at the trial that the plaintiff sued the defendant on the grounds of returning the bride price, and the subject of the lawsuit was inconsistent. It is true that the defendant received a bride price of 180,000 yuan. According to traditional customs, the bride price is the money paid by the man or the man's family to the woman's family when a man and a woman get married, and is at the disposal of the woman's parents, not to the woman personally. The bride price received by the defendant was given to the defendant by the plaintiff's husband's family, not to the plaintiff, so the bride price received belonged to the defendant, and there was no custodian relationship between the plaintiff and the defendant. The reason why the defendant has not held a wedding banquet or purchased a dowry for the plaintiff so far is because there are special reasons, and the defendant believes that the date set by the man is not good and needs to be re-selected, and is also ready to take out tens of thousands of yuan to return the gift to the man and the plaintiff, but the man did not re-agree on the wedding banquet date with the defendant later. Shortly after registering the marriage, the plaintiff asked the defendant for a bride price, insulted the defendant, and damaged the defendant's property, and the defendant called the police to deal with it. The plaintiff's request for the defendant to return the bride price was unfounded, and the court requested the court to dismiss the plaintiff's claim.

The court found that the defendants Zhang and Wang were the father and mother of the plaintiff Zhang Xiaomou. In June 2020, after being introduced by a matchmaker, the plaintiff Zhang Xiaomou was engaged to Lin, an outsider in the case. Later, Lin's relatives sent bride price to the defendants Zhang and Wang according to custom, and the two defendants received 180,000 yuan of it. After that, the plaintiff and Lin went through the marriage registration procedures at the Huangyan District Civil Affairs Bureau on August 17, 2020 and lived with the man. Around August 23, 2020, the plaintiff asked the two defendants for a bride price of 180,000 yuan, which led to a dispute between the two parties. Since then, the two defendants have paid part of the living expenses to the plaintiff and paid red envelopes of 8,800 yuan to their relatives after the plaintiff gave birth to a daughter. In addition, both parties confirmed that the two defendants did not hold a wedding banquet for the plaintiff or purchase a dowry for the plaintiff after that.

After trial, the court held that the essence of the dispute in this case lies in the dispute over the ownership of the bride price. To determine the ownership of the bride price, it is necessary not only to trace the roots, respect the historical and traditional context of the formation of the bride price, but also to keep pace with the times and absorb the reasonable factors of the times in the evolution of the bride price. From the perspective of traditional customs, the marriage contract is mostly "the order of the parents, the words of the matchmaker", and the bride price carries the respect, gratitude and compensation of the man's family to the woman's family, reflects the cherishing of the nurturing grace of the woman's family, and regards the bride price as a gift from the man's family to the woman's family, which is in line with the traditional social situation. From the perspective of the evolution of the times, the economic compensation function of the bride price tends to weaken, and the bride price is more of a blessing for the newlyweds, supporting the newlyweds to start a family, and rushing to a better life. Children are also more independent and no longer vassal of their parents under the traditional paternalistic system, and their independent economic demands should also be respected. Therefore, combined with the traditional customary factors of the bride price and the changes of the times, the bride price is understood as a gift from the man's family to the woman's family, including the married daughter, for the purpose of marriage, and the parents and the married daughter jointly enjoy the benefits of the donated property, which is undoubtedly more reasonable, can take into account the requirements of traditional Chinese culture and ethics and the requirements of the new era and new society, and is more easily accepted by the emotions of the public.

Accordingly, in the case that the woman's parents and the woman herself could not reach a consensus on the ownership and disposal of the bride price, the Huangyan District Court found that the bride price of 180,000 yuan received by the two defendants in this case should be considered to be jointly owned by the woman's parents and the woman's own family. After the verdict was pronounced, neither party appealed, and the judgment took legal effect and was automatically fulfilled.

Judicial reasoning

The issue of the ownership of the bride price is essentially also an issue of the recipient of the bride price. Considering the historical and cultural factors behind the custom of the bride price and the evolution of modern social views on it, it is more reasonable to regard the bride price as a gift from the groom or the groom's family to the bride's family, including her parents, intended for marriage. The bride and her parents have joint ownership of the received bride price. If the bride and her parents have a dispute over the ownership of the bride price, it essentially amounts to a demand to divide this joint property.

When dividing the bride price, the principle of fairness and reasonableness should be followed to enhance social acceptability. On the one hand, the expenditure of the bride price should be considered. According to traditional customs, after receiving the bride price, the parents often need to prepare a wedding banquet and a dowry for their daughter. If the parents have already held a wedding banquet and prepared a dowry for their daughter, in principle, the daughter's request to divide the bride price should not be supported unless the amount is substantial and not dividing it would cause her significant injustice. On the other hand, the economic status and actual living needs of both parties should be taken into account. If the daughter's life falls into difficulty after marriage, the division of the bride price should tilt appropriately in her favor; if the parents are elderly and lack means of livelihood, a larger share should be reserved for them. Additionally, factors such as the parents' efforts in raising the daughter should be considered to achieve an organic unity of affection, reason, and law.

The issue of the bride price has long been a sticking point in civil disputes, involving entanglements of emotion, reason, and law. When handling disputes over the ownership of the bride price, the principle of resolving family conflicts and repairing familial relationships should be upheld, enhancing case mediation and preventing further deterioration of disputes. If mediation fails and the case enters the judgment process, efforts should also be made to achieve an organic unity between the judicial outcome and social impact.

This article is reposted from the WeChat public account "Shandong High Court," with thanks.