Attorneys Cai Kangmiao and Zhang Yu represented Ms. W throughout both the first-instance and appellate proceedings of her divorce case. They systematically refuted all of the husband’s legal claims, securing a complete victory for Ms. W in the first-instance trial, and the appellate court upheld the original judgment, thereby safeguarding the hard-won victory. The court successfully ruled that the husband’s extramarital affair during the marriage constituted a major marital fault and ordered him to pay divorce damages; custody of their biological daughter was awarded to Ms. W, who was awarded full compensation for child support during the period of separation as well as subsequent monthly child support; Ms. W’s bank deposits and housing provident fund balances, which far exceeded those of the husband, were not subject to division and remained her personal property; the husband’s debt of over 4 million yuan, incurred through loans from relatives and friends during the marriage, was not addressed. The husband appealed the first-instance judgment, but the appellate court dismissed all his appeals and upheld the original judgment, ensuring that the client’s personal rights, child custody, and property interests were fully protected by the court.
I. Establishing the Husband’s Grave Marital Fault,
A Complete Chain of Evidence Supporting Divorce Damages
In this case, the husband initiated the divorce proceedings, yet he had engaged in long-term extramarital affairs during the marriage. Upon accepting the case, the attorney immediately gathered a complete set of evidence of his fault: A “Pledge of Infidelity” and “Marital Fidelity Agreement” personally signed by the husband; years of WeChat chat logs and audio recordings; period-drama-style couple photos taken by the husband with his mistress; extensive transaction records for jewelry, personal items for women, and personalized gifts purchased for the mistress; and hotel room booking records—all of which formed a closed-loop chain of evidence. During the trial, the husband attempted to deny the infidelity, even claiming that the wife’s evidence-gathering methods were illegal and submitting police case filing materials to request the exclusion of all evidence of his fault. The attorney for the wife conducted precise cross-examination in court, clarifying that the relevant pledge and agreement were voluntarily issued by the husband as an admission of fault, and that the chat records and purchase receipts were materials preserved from the couple’s daily communications and public interactions, with no instances of illegal evidence collection constituting a serious violation of privacy rights; Since only a notice of case filing was provided—and no formal conclusion from the public security authorities determining the evidence-gathering to be unlawful—this was insufficient to invalidate the evidence’s admissibility. Both the first-instance and appellate courts adopted our legal arguments, ruling that the husband had engaged in an improper relationship with a third party outside the marriage, constituting a major marital fault, and ordered him to pay divorce damages to compensate the wife for the emotional distress she suffered.
II. Prioritizing the best interests of the minor, firmly securing custody of the child, and securing full payment of separation and long-term child support
1. Custody was awarded to the wife to ensure a stable environment for the child’s upbringing. The couple’s biological daughter, now 8 years old, possesses the capacity to independently express her personal wishes. The attorney guided the client to compile photographs, videos, and receipts documenting her long-term, sole responsibility for the child’s daily needs—including food, clothing, housing, education, and medical care—to fully demonstrate that, since the couple’s separation, the daughter has consistently lived with her mother in a stable educational and living environment. Additionally, supplementary evidence was provided to prove that the husband lacked a sense of family responsibility and was not genuinely committed to caring for the child. During a private meeting with the child, the child clearly expressed a desire to live with her mother, and the court ultimately awarded custody to our client.
2. Debunking the Father’s Lie About Low Income and Recovering the Full Amount of Child Support. The father reported only a low monthly base salary, attempting to use the low-income threshold to reduce the child support amount. The attorney thoroughly examined evidence submitted by the father, such as bank statements, and verified that he had long operated a used car business, generating substantial income from vehicle sales, as well as hidden income from night market stalls. Additionally, the attorney presented evidence of the father’s unreasonable expenditures—including hundreds of thousands of yuan spent on video game top-ups, the purchase of couples’ jewelry, and large transfers to a third party—to demonstrate that he possessed sufficient financial capacity to cover the children’s support costs. Taking into account the local cost of living in Beijing and the children’s actual monthly child support expenses, the court determined that the father should pay monthly child support until the children reach the age of 18. The court also found that the father had not borne any child support expenses during the nearly two years of separation and ordered him to make a lump-sum payment for child support covering that period.
III. The opposing party failed to declare the couple’s joint property as required by the court; the court ruled that property held in each party’s name shall remain with that party
During the proceedings, the court required both parties to submit complete transaction records for all bank accounts, housing provident fund accounts, and investment accounts from 2023 through the date of the hearing. Our side strictly complied with the court’s requirements, submitting complete transaction details for all accounts in our name and fully cooperating with the court’s asset verification. In contrast, the husband submitted only fragmented, incomplete, and disorganized transaction records, deliberately concealing income from his used-car business and large-sum external transfers, demonstrating clear conduct intended to conceal marital property. Our attorney cited Article 1092 of the Civil Code—which addresses the concealment and transfer of marital property—and fully presented the disparity in the parties’ evidence to the court. The court ultimately determined that the husband had intentionally concealed assets and ruled that bank deposits and housing provident fund balances held in each party’s name would remain their respective property; since the wife’s bank deposits and housing provident fund balances far exceeded those of the husband, they were not subject to division.
IV. Exploiting the Core Loopholes in Fabricated Debts: IOUs Signed Retroactively After Separation Are Not Recognized as Marital Debts, Eliminating the Wife’s Massive Debt Repayment Risk
To shift liabilities and misappropriate assets, the husband retroactively signed promissory notes with relatives and friends during the period of separation and litigation, claiming over 4 million yuan in joint debt. The attorney mounted a defense from four key angles: all promissory notes were issued unilaterally by the husband without the wife’s signature or ratification; all business income was used for personal extravagance and extramarital expenses, not for the family; the wife never participated in the used car business nor shared in its profits; and the promissory notes were created after the couple separated, making it impossible for them to have been used for the couple’s joint living expenses. The lawyer also explained to the court that divorce proceedings should not directly recognize external debts to avoid infringing on creditors’ rights. Since the massive debt in question was not addressed in this case, the wife was not required to assume repayment liability.
V. Comprehensive Defense in the Second Instance: Rejecting All of the Husband’s Appeals Point by Point; Final Judgment Upholds All Rulings in Our Favor
After losing the first-instance trial, the husband appealed all rulings, submitting numerous motions for investigation and evidence collection to the appellate court. He argued that the first-instance proceedings were unlawful, that there were errors in the admission of evidence, and that the determinations regarding child support, property, and debt were unfair, in an attempt to overturn all favorable first-instance rulings. Attorneys Cai Kangmiao and Zhang Yu swiftly analyzed the husband’s more than ten grounds for appeal and submitted targeted responses. The appellate court fully adopted our arguments, ruling that all of the husband’s appeals lacked factual and legal basis, and issued a final judgment: the appeal was dismissed, the original judgment was upheld, and the client’s complete victory in the first instance was fully preserved.
Divorce disputes involve a complex web of legal relationships, including spousal relations, child custody, property division, and debt determination. With intense hostility between the parties, some may seek to harm the other party’s legitimate rights and interests through malicious custody battles, concealment of income, or the retroactive signing of promissory notes to fabricate massive debts. Although family law cases may seem trivial, they directly impact the children’s upbringing, emotional well-being, and financial security. In this case, drawing on extensive experience in handling marriage and family law cases, the attorney anticipated the key points of contention in the trial in advance, meticulously organized evidence from all angles, and precisely applied relevant legal provisions to promptly alleviate the client’s anxiety. Through professional expertise, the attorney built a robust defense for the innocent party, maximized the protection of the client’s legitimate rights and interests, and provided professional and effective family law services to clients embroiled in complex family disputes.
