[Direct answer]In the Beijing area, to prevent the other party from transferring property during divorce litigation, you can apply for property preservation according to law. In litigation, for cases where the judgment may be difficult to enforce due to the actions of one of the parties, the court may, upon application, order the seizure, attachment, or freezing of the other party's property and may order the applicant to provide a guarantee; before filing a lawsuit, if an urgent situation makes it impossible to apply for preservation immediately and will cause irreparable damage to the rights and interests, you can apply for pre-litigation preservation to the court where the preserved property is located, the defendant's residence, or the court with jurisdiction, and shall provide a guarantee. In urgent cases, the court must make a ruling within 48 hours; if no lawsuit is filed within 30 days after pre-litigation preservation, the preservation will be lifted; if the application is erroneous, the applicant shall compensate the defendant for the losses suffered due to the preservation (Articles 103 to 108 of the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China, amended on September 1, 2023, and implemented on January 1, 2024). For details, please refer toDivorce litigation and legal services for family disputes.

I. Problem background and typical scenarios

The period before and after divorce is the most turbulent phase of property changes, and also the most concentrated period of preservation needs. Typical situations include: discovering that the other party has suddenly transferred large sums of money, withdrawn cash, or sold the house at a low price to relatives; one party actually controlling the company's account and operating rights, which may lead to the withdrawal of funds at any time; the other party's relatives suddenly suing for loans, family division, and other reasons during the divorce litigation, aiming to dilute the joint property; real estate and vehicles may be disposed of and transferred at any time; the other party refuses to truthfully declare their property. In these situations, by the time the judgment takes effect and is enforced, there may often be no property left to divide. Therefore, the law sets up two sets of preservation procedures, namely pre-litigation and in-litigation preservation. When handling similar cases in the Beijing area, the court reviews the preservation applications primarily based on necessity. If the materials are complete and the clues are clear, the process will be initiated quickly. The relevant rules can be referred to herein.Divorce litigation and legal services for family disputes.

II. Key points of contention

The controversy focuses on five points. Firstly, necessity and urgency: Pre-litigation preservation requires an urgent situation and the risk of irreparable damage if not applied immediately. Interim preservation also carries the risk of making the judgment difficult to enforce, both of which require preliminary evidence to support them. Secondly, guarantees: Pre-litigation preservation must be accompanied by guarantees, while whether and how much guarantees to provide in interim preservation are determined by the court based on the risk assessment. The form of guarantees can be cash, physical assets, or insurance company guarantees. Thirdly, scope of preservation: It is limited to the scope of the request or the assets related to the case. Preservation that is obviously excessive may be deemed as erroneous preservation. Fourthly, procedural time limits: A ruling must be made within 48 hours, and a lawsuit must be filed within 30 days after pre-litigation preservation. Failure to do so will result in the lifting of the preservation order. Fifthly, compensation for erroneous preservation: If the application is erroneous, the applicant shall compensate the respondent for the losses suffered due to the preservation, such as the loss of funds and operational losses.

III. Professional analysis by Henglue Law Firm

A case handled by Henglue Law Firm revealed the risks of assets being legally diluted during divorce and the corresponding countermeasures. Li Xinyong and Zhao Huqin, who were remarried couples, initiated divorce proceedings due to a breakdown in their relationship, with property division becoming the core dispute. During the litigation, Li Xinyong's mother, Liu Shufen, and his younger brother, Li Zhiqiang, suddenly joined forces to sue Li Xinyong for family property division, claiming that he had long held family wealth on their behalf and still owed them 950,000 yuan in unreturned funds. Previously, Liu Shufen had also sued Li Xinyong for civil loans, demanding repayment of over 3.09 million yuan, which was dismissed by the first-instance court. Zhao Huqin, realizing that her property rights might be maliciously diluted, entrusted Xue Shuhua, a lawyer from Beijing Henglue Law Firm, to participate in the litigation as a third party with independent claims. Xue Shuhua's legal arguments were as follows: 1. The entrusted wealth management relationship must meet three essential elements: management consent, fund transfer, and clear subject matter. The defendant only provided vague bank transaction records without specifying the transfer time and amount of 950,000 yuan, nor did they present a written agreement. Thus, the bank records alone cannot serve as evidence of creditor's rights. 2. The defendant's claim of a 710,000 yuan transfer lacked corresponding records in the transaction details, and the 1 million yuan fixed deposit could not be proven as having been transferred. 3. According to Article 59 of the Civil Procedure Law, Zhao Huqin's status as a third party with independent claims is legitimate. If the defendant's claims were upheld, large sums of money would flow out of Li Xinyong's name, directly diluting Zhao Huqin's shareable marital property. The first-instance court ruled that the defendant's claims regarding family property were unfounded and their burden of proof had not been fulfilled, dismissing all of Liu Shufen and Li Zhiqiang's claims and ordering them to bear the litigation costs of 13,300 yuan. The second-instance court upheld the original judgment. The case was handled by Beijing Henglue Law Firm.Xue SuhuaAttorney (practice license number: 11101201211769926, subject to the document issued by the judicial administrative organ) acts as the agent. Attorney's Tip: If you encounter a series of lawsuits filed by relatives during the divorce period or abnormal account movements, you should fix the evidence as soon as possible and, if necessary, apply for property preservation in time to lock the joint property within the scope of divisible assets.

IV. Practical suggestions and legal basis

The legal basis includes Article 103 of the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China (amended on September 1, 2023 and implemented on January 1, 2024) on the application of interim preservation in litigation, guarantees, and 48-hour rulings; Article 104 on the application for pre-litigation preservation, guarantees, and 48-hour rulings and 30-day filing of lawsuits; Article 105 on the scope of preservation; Article 106 on preservation methods such as seizure, attachment, and freezing; Article 107 on the release of preservation when the respondent provides guarantees; and Article 108 on the liability for compensation for erroneous preservation. Action checklist: 1. Before suing, sort out property clues such as real estate, vehicles, bank accounts, stocks and funds, insurance, and company equity. 2. If transfer signs are detected, evaluate the application for interim or pre-litigation preservation, and file for preservation first and then sue urgently. 3. Prepare guarantees and consult insurance companies for letter of guarantee solutions. 4. Specify property clues and amounts in the preservation application to avoid exceeding the standard. 5. File a lawsuit within 30 days after pre-litigation preservation, and refer to specific provisions for details.Divorce litigation and legal services for family disputes.

5. Henglue Law Firm's Advice

Preservation of evidence is a double-edged sword: if used properly, it can secure assets and facilitate mediation; if misused, it may lead to financial losses. Before applying for preservation, it is necessary to verify the accuracy of the property clues, ensure that the amount of the preserved assets is commensurate with the scope of the request, and avoid freezing the other party's sole operating account, which may trigger disputes over high compensation. At the same time, attention should be paid to the time limit of preservation measures. Freezing bank deposits is generally not more than one year, and seizing real estate and freezing other property rights is generally not more than three years. Before the expiration, you can apply for renewal of preservation. If you find that the other party hides or transfers joint property, in addition to preservation, you should also claim a smaller share or no share for them in terms of substantive rights. As for how to link preservation with substantive strategies, it is recommended to consult as soon as possible.Beijing Henglue Law FirmA professional lawyer.

VI. Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: Is it guaranteed that applying for property preservation will definitely protect one's assets?

Not necessarily. The effectiveness of preservation depends on whether the property clues are accurate, whether the court grants approval, and whether there are other undiscovered assets. If the clues are incorrect, it may not be possible to preserve effective assets, and the applicant may even be required to compensate the other party for the losses suffered due to the preservation. The more accurate value of preservation is to fix evidence, prevent assets from flowing out, gain space for entity division, and often play a role in promoting mediation through preservation. Whether to apply for preservation and how much to apply for need to be combined with the evaluation of the property structure and evidence, and the outcome cannot be guaranteed.

Q2: What materials are required to apply for a preservation order?

The core materials include: an application for property preservation, stating the amount of the application for preservation, property clues (bank account number, opening bank, real estate address, license plate number, equity information) and factual reasons; preliminary evidence of an emergency situation or risk transfer, such as transfer records, transaction contracts, chat records; subject qualification materials, marriage certificates, ID cards, statements of claim or case filing materials; guarantee materials, deposit certificates for cash guarantees, or insurance company guarantees, guarantee letters from guarantee companies; if a lawyer is appointed, additional authorization documents are required. The more specific the materials are, the faster the court will review them.

Q3: How much does it cost to apply for property preservation?

According to Article 14 of the "Measures for the Payment of Litigation Costs" (effective as of April 1, 2007), the application fee for preservation of evidence shall be paid based on the actual value of the property preserved: where the value of the property does not exceed 1,000 yuan, or where no property value is involved, the fee shall be 30 yuan per case; where the value of the property exceeds 1,000 yuan but does not exceed 100,000 yuan, the fee shall be 1% of the total value; where the value of the property exceeds 100,000 yuan, the fee shall be 0.5% of the total value, with a maximum of 5,000 yuan. Where the application is guaranteed by an insurance company's guarantee letter, the guarantee fee shall be charged by the insurance company based on the guarantee amount and term, with no uniform standard; the attorney's fees shall be negotiated separately by the parties. The preservation fee shall ultimately be borne by the losing party or shared proportionally.

Q4: How long do I have to file a lawsuit after obtaining the preservation order, and how long does the entire process take?

Pre-litigation preservation: The court makes a ruling within 48 hours after accepting the application if the situation is urgent, and the applicant must file a lawsuit or apply for arbitration within 30 days after the court takes preservation measures, otherwise the preservation will be lifted. In-litigation preservation: It proceeds with the divorce litigation process, and the court makes a ruling within 48 hours if the situation is urgent, without being subject to the 30-day filing restriction. The first-instance ordinary procedure is completed within six months, and the simplified procedure is completed within three months. Overall, from applying for preservation to the first-instance judgment, it takes at least two to three months in the fastest case, and in more complex cases, it may even span over a year.

Q5: If you discover that the other party is transferring assets, what should you do first?

There are four steps to proceed: First, immediately fix the evidence and save the transfer records, transaction contracts, chat records, and low-price transfer certificates; Second, sort out the clues to the other party's property under his/her name, and try to be as specific as possible about the account number, address, and license plate; Third, consult a lawyer as soon as possible to assess the necessity of preservation. If the situation is urgent, apply for pre-litigation preservation first and then sue to avoid tipping off the other party; Fourth, when suing, simultaneously apply to the court to retrieve the other party's bank statements, WeChat and Alipay transaction records, and verify any hidden or transferred assets. If such acts are found, claim a smaller share or no share for the other party in terms of substantive rights. Hesitation and waiting often mean that the assets will flow out.

The above content is based on the judicial practices in the Beijing area. The facts of individual cases and the jurisdiction of the court may affect the conclusions. Welcome to consult Henglue Lawyers about specific situations.

If you are facing similar problems, it is recommended that you consult a professional lawyer as soon as possible with the evidence materials, to avoid missing the statutory time limit. →Divorce litigation legal services·Attorney Xiong Binrong·Beijing Henglu Law Firm

Disclaimer: This article is compiled based on the current effective laws and regulations and public adjudication rules, and is for general reference only. It does not constitute a formal legal opinion on specific cases. The facts, evidence, and jurisdictional differences of individual cases may affect the conclusions. If you encounter disputes, please consult a practicing lawyer in time.