Most disputes over the return of bride price occur between the male and female parties involved in the marriage. However, if the married daughter claims that her parents have a custody contract regarding the bride price and demands its return, how should this be handled?

  Recently, the Huangyan District People's Court in Taizhou City, Zhejiang Province, adjudicated a custody contract dispute case involving a dowry. The daughter sued her parents for the return of 180,000 yuan in dowry, and the court ruled that defendants Zhang and Wang should repay their daughter Zhang Xiaomou 100,000 yuan.

  During the trial, plaintiff Zhang Xiaomou claimed to be the daughter of defendants Zhang and Wang. In June 2020, through a matchmaker, the plaintiff was engaged to a third party, Lin, and the two defendants received a total engagement gift of 180,000 yuan. Later, the plaintiff and Lin registered their marriage at the Huangyan District Civil Affairs Bureau on August 17, 2020, and had a daughter. During their cohabitation, due to the man's family's limited financial means, the plaintiff stated she repeatedly demanded the defendants to return the engagement gift but was refused. Even when the plaintiff urgently needed medical expenses during hospitalization for childbirth, the defendants were unwilling to refund the amount. Consequently, the plaintiff filed a lawsuit seeking the return of the 180,000 yuan engagement gift.

  In the face of Zhang Xiaomou's lawsuit, the defendants Zhang and Wang argued in court that the plaintiff's lawsuit against the defendant on the grounds of returning the dowry did not match the subject of the lawsuit. The defendant's receipt of a dowry of 180000 yuan is true. According to traditional customs, the dowry is a sum of money or property paid by the man or his family to the woman's family at the time of marriage, and is controlled by the woman's parents, rather than being given to the woman personally.The betrothal gifts received by the defendant were given to the defendant by the plaintiff's husband's family, not to the plaintiff. Therefore, the betrothal gifts received belong to the defendant, and there is no custody relationship between the plaintiff and the defendant. The reason why the defendant has not held a wedding banquet or arranged a dowry for the plaintiff so far is due to special reasons, and the defendant believes that the date set by the man is not good and needs to be re selected. The defendant also prepared to pay tens of thousands of yuan as a gift to the man and the plaintiff, but the man did not renegotiate the wedding date with the defendant later. The plaintiff demanded a dowry from the defendant shortly after registering for marriage, insulted the defendant, and damaged the defendant's property. The defendant had reported the matter to the police. The plaintiff's request for the defendant to return the dowry is unfounded. Please dismiss the plaintiff's lawsuit.

  The court has found that the defendants Zhang and Wang are the father and mother of the plaintiff Zhang Xiaomou. In June 2020, through the introduction of a matchmaker, the plaintiff Zhang Xiaomou was engaged to a third party Lin. According to tradition, the relatives of Hou Lin sent betrothal gifts to the defendants Zhang and Wang, and the two defendants received 180000 yuan from them. Afterwards, the plaintiff and Lin registered their marriage at the Huangyan District Civil Affairs Bureau on August 17, 2020, and lived together with the man. Around August 23, 2020, the plaintiff demanded a dowry of 180000 yuan from the two defendants, leading to a dispute between the two parties. Afterwards, the two defendants gradually paid part of the living expenses to the plaintiff and also paid 8800 yuan in red envelopes to the plaintiff's relatives after giving birth to their daughter. Furthermore, both parties confirm that the two defendants have not held any wedding banquets or arranged any dowries for the plaintiff since then.

    After trial, the court believes that the essence of the dispute in this case lies in the dispute over the ownership of the dowry. To determine the ownership of dowries, it is necessary to trace the roots and respect the historical and traditional context of dowries, while also keeping up with the times and absorbing the reasonable factors of the evolution of dowries. From the perspective of traditional customs, marriage contracts are often "arranged by parents and arranged by matchmakers". The dowry carries the respect, gratitude, and compensation of the groom's family towards the bride's family, reflecting the value of nurturing the bride's family. Viewing the dowry as a gift from the groom's family to the bride's family is in line with the traditional social context. From the evolution of the era of dowries, the economic compensation function of dowries tends to weaken, and dowries are increasingly serving the functions of blessing newlyweds, supporting them in forming families, and striving for a better life. Children also have a stronger sense of independence and are no longer subservient to their parents under the traditional parental system. Their independent economic demands should also be respected. Therefore, considering the traditional customs and changes of the times, it is more reasonable to understand dowries as gifts given by the groom's family to the bride's family, including the married daughter, for the purpose of marriage. Both parents and the married daughter share the benefits of the donated property, which can better balance traditional Chinese cultural ethics and the requirements of the new era and society, and is also more easily accepted by the public's emotions.

  Based on this, in the situation where the parents of the female party and the female party themselves cannot reach a consensus on the ownership and disposal of the dowry, the Huangyan District Court determined that the dowry of 180000 yuan received by the two defendants in this case should be considered jointly owned by the parents of the female party and the female party's own family. Taking into account the amount, expenditure, dowry, and wedding banquet arrangements of the dowry, as well as the current economic situation and actual living needs of the plaintiff and defendant, and referring to local customs, it was determined at the discretion of the two defendants to return 100000 yuan to the plaintiff. After the verdict, neither party appealed, and the verdict has become legally effective and automatically fulfilled. Requesting a refund of 180000 yuan for the engagement fee.

  The issue of ownership of dowries is essentially a matter of the recipient of the dowries. Taking into account the historical and cultural factors that have led to the custom of dowries, as well as the evolving and rational concepts of dowries in the new era and society, it is more reasonable to view dowries as gifts given by the groom or groom's family for the purpose of marriage, including the bride's parents. The bride and her parents have a joint ownership relationship with the dowry received. If there is a dispute between the bride and her parents over the ownership of the dowry, it is essentially a request to divide the common property of the dowry.

  When dividing dowries, reasonable principles should be followed to improve social acceptability. On the one hand, the expenditure of dowries should be considered. According to traditional customs, parents often need to prepare wedding banquets and dowries for their daughters after receiving dowries. If parents have already held a wedding banquet and arranged a dowry for their daughter, unless the amount of the dowry is huge and it causes serious injustice to the daughter if it is not divided, in principle, the daughter's request for the division of the dowry should no longer be supported. On the other hand, the economic situation and actual living needs of both parties should also be considered. If a daughter's life becomes difficult after marriage, she should be appropriately tilted towards when dividing the dowry; If parents are old and lack a source of livelihood, a larger share should be reserved for them. In addition, it is necessary to consider factors such as the hard work parents have put in to raise their daughters, in order to achieve an organic unity of emotions, reason, and law.

  The issue of dowries, the dilemma between reason and law, has always been a bottleneck in civil disputes. When dealing with disputes over the ownership of dowries, the principle of resolving family conflicts and repairing familial relationships should be upheld, and case mediation should be strengthened to avoid further deterioration of disputes. If mediation fails, efforts should also be made to achieve an organic unity of judicial and social effects when entering the adjudication process.

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