[Case Summary]This case involvesLand expropriation and demolitionThe dispute over the division of property after divorce. Zhang *1 and Huo *1 got married on May 18, 2012, and their divorce was pronounced by the People's Court of Haidian District, Beijing on February 26, 2021. The courtyard where the couple lived together during their marriage was demolished, but the demolition benefits were not divided between them at the time of divorce; Zhang *1 was also a resettled person in the demolished courtyard. Huo *1 claimed that the house was her mother's ancestral property, and Zhang *1 was a non-collective member of the household and had no right to divide the benefits. Zhang *1 entrusted a professional lawyer team from Beijing Henglu Law Firm to sue in court. Based on the demolition policy and the "Resettlement and Compensation Agreement", the lawyer argued that the residential land was owned by the household, and Zhang *1 was a resettled person who was entitled to a corresponding share. The court confirmed that the rights to the courtyard were jointly owned by Chen *1, Huo *2, Huo *1, and Zhang *1 in equal shares, and ruled that Chen *1 should pay Zhang *1 the equivalent value of the demolition benefits of 200,200 yuan. **Core disputes**: Whether an outsider wife is entitled to the benefits of residential land resettlement. **Applicable legal provisions**: Articles 294 and 307 of the Civil Code.

I. Review of the case

"How to divide the demolition benefits after divorce" and "How to determine the demolition share of foreign wives" are frequent disputes in the urbanization process. Zhang *1 and Huo *1 got married on May 18, 2012, and their divorce was finalized by the Haidian District People's Court of Beijing on February 26, 2021. During their marriage, they lived together in a certain house (hereinafter referred to as "Certain House"), which was demolished after their divorce. However, the demolition benefits were not divided between them at the time of divorce. Moreover, Zhang *1 was also a demolition resettlement beneficiary of Certain House, and she should have been entitled to certain rights and interests in the demolition process.

Hu *1 disagrees with Zhang *'s claim, stating that the couple's jointly owned property has already been dealt with in the divorce litigation and there is no undivided jointly owned property; No. * is the ancestral property of his mother, Chen *1, and neither he nor Zhang *1 have any rights to the courtyard. His mother is the person who was evicted, and the demolition benefits belong to his parents. Zhang *1 is a resident and not a member of the collective organization in the demolition area, so he has no right to request a division of the demolition benefits of No. *. To safeguard his legitimate rights and interests, Zhang *1 entrusted a professional lawyer team from Beijing Henglu Law Firm to sue the court and request a division of the demolition benefits of No. *.

II. The focus of the case

  • Focus 1: Whether Zhang *1 enjoys the right to use the residential land and the resettlement benefits.The core issue of this case is whether Zhang *1 can break through the "non-collective member" defense and claim a share of the property as a married-in member and a relocated individual.
  • Focus 2: Whether the ancestral property has been transformed into family joint ownership due to changes in marriage and childbearing.The original homestead was ancestral property, but due to changes in family members during the demolition, can the homestead be recognized as jointly owned by all family members on a household basis?
  • Focus Three: The amount of the discounted compensation for the demolition and the subject of the payment.The proportion of joint ownership and the specific discounted price are determined, and the woman will ultimately receive the compensation.

III. The professional intervention of Hengluo Law Firm

The plaintiff (Zhang *1) alleges that:The plaintiff claims that the courtyard and house at No. ** have been converted into demolition benefits, including resettlement housing, demolition compensation, and demolition subsidies; as a resettled person and a cohabiting member during the marriage, he/she should be entitled to the corresponding demolition rights and benefits, and requests a legal division of these rights and benefits.

The defendant (Hu *1 and his family) argued that:The defendant claimed that a certain house was the mother's ancestral property, that the plaintiff was a resident but not a member of the collective, and that the couple's jointly owned property had been dealt with after the divorce, so the plaintiff had no right to divide the demolition benefits.

Hengluo Lawyer's Agency Opinion:After accepting the entrustment, the professional lawyer team of Beijing Henglu Law Firm immediately began the agency work. After sorting out and combining with the demolition policies, it was concluded that the current courtyards and houses have been transformed into demolition benefits. Regarding the resettlement housing, according to the demolition policies and the "Resettlement and Compensation Agreement", the resettlement housing is based on a 1:1 exchange of the homestead area and the purchase of additional housing according to actual housing difficulties, with the basis for property division being the resettlement benefits to which the homestead use right holders and the resettled persons as family members are entitled; according to the rural homestead policies, rural villagers can only own one homestead per household, so the use right holders should be family members based on the household unit. In this case, although the original acquisition of the homestead was the ancestral property of Chen *1, due to changes in marital status and childbirth, the family members at the time of demolition were Chen *1, Huo *2, Huo *1, and Zhang *1, so the above-mentioned persons were all homestead use right holders. Moreover, according to the "Housing Difficulty Purchase Area Approval Form" and the "Housing Difficulty Household Basic Situation Investigation and Verification Form", Zhang *1 was listed as a family member, and it was clearly stated that there were 4 resettlement people, so Zhang *1 should have a corresponding share of the homestead use right and the difficult purchase area in the "Resettlement and Compensation Agreement".

IV. Outcome of the case

In accordance with Articles 294 and 307 of the Civil Code, the court ruled: First, it is confirmed that the rights and interests on the property No. XXX are jointly owned by Chen *1, Huo *2, Huo *1, and Zhang *1 in proportion, each owning one-quarter; Second, Chen *1 shall pay Zhang *1 and Huo *1 the compensation for the demolition benefits at a price of 200,200 yuan each within 7 days after the effective date of this judgment, and the remaining compensation for the demolition benefits shall be owned by Huo *2 and Chen *1; Third, the other litigation requests of Zhang *1 are rejected. After the divorce, the demolition resettlement benefits of the woman as an "outsider" have been legally guaranteed.

5. Henglu Law Firm's Reminder

This case is handled by the professional lawyer team of Beijing Henglu Law Firm (practice license number: _________, subject to the document issued by the judicial administrative authority). Lawyer's advice: With the development of urbanization, disputes over the distribution of demolition resettlement benefits within families are increasing. After divorce, the wife, as an "outsider", is extremely vulnerable to having her demolition benefits infringed. It is recommended to reach an agreement on the division of demolition benefits promptly after the demolition, and to seek help from professional lawyers when necessary to safeguard their own legitimate rights and interests.

VI. Common Questions and Answers about Land Acquisition and Demolition Disputes

  1. Q: Can the demolition benefits of the marital residence be divided after divorce?
    A:Yes, if the divorce has not been handled and the person is a resettled individual or a member of a household with a residential plot, they can claim a share of the corresponding demolition rights and interests.
  2. Q: Can foreign wives, who are not collective members, apply for a housing demolition and relocation allowance?
    A:The resettlement of demolition victims is usually based on the identification of "households" and resettled populations. If they are listed in the agreement as family members or resettled individuals, they can enjoy corresponding shares even if they are not members of the collective.
  3. Q: Who will benefit from the demolition of the ancestral property?
    A:The residential plots are allocated on a household basis. Changes in marriage and childbearing status may result in family members becoming co-owners during the demolition process, rather than just the original property owners.
  4. Q: What should I do if I find out that the demolition compensation wasn't divided during the divorce?
    A:You can request to divide the demolition benefits missed during the divorce in a separate case, and collect evidence such as the resettlement agreement, the approval form, and household registration documents.
  5. Q: What evidence should be prepared for a demolition dispute?
    A:The resettlement compensation agreement, approval forms, household registration and marriage certificates, proof of residence, etc. should be kept, and professional lawyers should be consulted as soon as possible.