[Direct answer]Before marriage, stocks and funds belong to the personal property of one party, but the income generated from their active buying and selling or operation after marriage, except for interest and natural appreciation, is generally recognized as marital joint property. The core basis for this is that Article 1062 of the Civil Code includes "investment income" in the joint property, and Article 26 of the Interpretation of the Marriage and Family Code (I) clearly stipulates that the income from personal property after marriage, except for interest and natural appreciation, belongs to the joint ownership. The key to determining this is whether the operation after marriage is active management (such as buying and selling at the right time, adjusting the portfolio) or passive holding. If it is active management, the corresponding profits should be divided upon divorce; natural appreciation brought about by pure market fluctuations can still be claimed as personal property. It is recommended to keep transaction records, fund accounts, and proof of holdings before marriage, and consult a professional lawyer when necessary to clarify the ownership. For more details, please refer toFinancial capital legal services、Marriage and family legal services.

I. Legal basis and interpretation of provisions

1. Article 1062 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China (effective January 1, 2021)

The article lists the scope of marital joint property, where "the income from production, operation, and investment" is explicitly included in the joint property. Pre-marital stocks and funds that generate price differences, dividends, and reinvestment income through active trading by one party after marriage are typical "investment income", which is different from the natural appreciation generated by passive holding. It is a core provision for determining the ownership of post-marital income and also the basis for the right to request a division of marital property in a divorce.

2. Article 1063 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China (effective as of January 1, 2021)

The article lists "the premarital property of one party" as the personal property of one of the spouses. Accordingly, the stocks and fund shares purchased before marriage, as well as their corresponding principal value, will not be converted into joint property due to the continuation of the marital relationship; only the income derived from them after marriage will be included in the determination of joint property. It is necessary to separately identify the "principal ownership" and "income ownership" to avoid the overall confusion of personal property.

3. Article 26 of the Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on the Application of the Marriage and Family Chapter of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China (I) (effective January 1, 2021)

The article directly states that the income generated from a spouse's personal property after marriage, except for the interest and natural appreciation, shall be recognized as the couple's joint property. In practice, the income generated from pre-marital stocks that are bought, sold, portfolio adjusted, subscribed, and redeemed by the spouse after marriage is often recognized as active management income and belongs to the couple; while the pure book value appreciation brought about by the rise of the stock market is more likely to be recognized as natural appreciation and belongs to the individual. The distinguishing criterion lies in whether there is human management and decision-making involved.

II. Henglue Law Firm's Practical Experience

Based on the practical observations of Beijing Henglu Law Firm in handling similar marital property cases, disputes over premarital property and post-marital income often take the following forms: Firstly, one party opened a securities account before marriage, frequently traded after marriage, and mixed the funds with post-marital wages, resulting in a blurred boundary between the principal and income; Secondly, the continuous deduction of fund fixed investment after marriage makes it difficult to separate the pre-marital and post-marital shares; Thirdly, the spouse claimed "unawareness" but actually enjoyed an improved living standard, and the parties disagreed over the ownership of the income during the divorce. The most common pitfalls for parties are not keeping transaction records, mixing pre-marital and post-marital accounts, and having difficulty providing evidence afterwards. When encountering such disputes, it is necessary to sort out the account opening time, pre-marital holdings screenshots, post-marital transaction records, and bank statements as soon as possible, and apply for investigation and evidence collection when necessary. For more information about related services, please refer to the following link:Inheritance legal servicesAndFinancial capital legal services.

The practical key points of evidence collection and asset division:The court usually first confirms the value of the share corresponding to the premarital principal, and then distinguishes the proportion of "active management" and "natural appreciation" in the post-marital income. If the account has been operated by the owner for a long time and there are timing-based actions, the income will mostly be classified as jointly owned; if it is only passively held in index funds and not traded for a long time, the appreciation is more likely to be recognized as personal. The parties can submit transaction frequency, operation records, and fund transfer certificates to prove the nature of the operation; for mixed accounts, they can apply for the premarital share to be divided according to the purchase cost and the post-marital share according to the investment proportion. The value of professional lawyers lies in clarifying the flow of funds, fixing electronic evidence, and striving for a reasonable share in mediation or litigation to avoid losing the deserved income due to insufficient evidence. For related consultations, please refer to the following sources:Specialised legal services（This paragraph summarizes practical experience and does not cite specific case details or amounts.）

III. Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: The stocks were held before marriage and have not been traded since then. If their value increases, will they be considered joint property?

Generally, it is not considered marital property. If the asset was purchased before marriage and held passively for a long time without active trading, the paper-based appreciation brought by the rising market is considered "natural appreciation". According to Article 26 of the Interpretation (I) of the Marriage and Family Code, it should be recognized as personal property and will not be subject to division in the event of divorce. However, it is necessary to prove that there were no operational actions after marriage. It is recommended to keep the account transaction records and holdings records to prove the passive holding status, so as to avoid the other party claiming that there was implicit management.

Q2: After marriage, if one uses the dividends from pre-marital stocks to buy funds, who will own the profits?

In practice, if the dividends generated by pre-marital stocks are statutory fruits or natural appreciation in value, they tend to belong to the individual; however, the profits generated from actively subscribing to funds with these dividends after marriage and continuously managing them are generally regarded as marital joint property, as they involve active management and operation. The key issue is whether the reinvestment involves human decision-making: the results of reinvesting passive dividends and actively selecting funds and adjusting portfolios are different. It is recommended to keep records of reinvestment operations to provide evidence for division in the event of a dispute.

Q3: How to divide the money in the account that was mixed together before and after marriage?

For co-mingled accounts, it is necessary to first "trace the source". The amounts of the pre-marital principal and the post-marital investments can be proven by bank statements and securities account statements, and the shares can be split according to the proportion of the investments or the time points. For the profits from post-marital operations, it is necessary to determine whether they belong to the active management income based on the transaction frequency. If it is impossible to clearly split the shares, the court may handle them as joint property at its discretion. Therefore, it is crucial to keep the accounts separate and retain the relevant documents in daily life. If necessary, it is advisable to apply for a judicial audit to determine the shares.

Q4: If the other party secretly operates my pre-marital account and earns profits, who will be responsible for them?

If the pre-marital account was operated by the other party without authorization and generated profits, the principal remains your personal property. However, the nature of the profits generated after marriage is disputable: if the other party's actions constitute active management and operation, the profits may be considered joint property; if you were completely unaware of the actions and had no agreement on joint management, you can claim that the profits still belong to you and request the return of the principal. It is recommended to fix the evidence of the other party's operations and the account authorization situation, and entrust a lawyer to clarify the ownership and the scope of repayment.

Q5: What should I do if I only discover after the divorce that my spouse hid the income from their pre-marital accounts?

It is possible to claim the division of hidden post-marital income. If it is discovered after divorce that one party has hidden or transferred the couple's joint property (including post-marital income that should belong to the couple), it is possible to request a second division within three years from the date of discovery. Evidence such as the other party's securities account, transaction records, and bank transfer records should be collected to prove that there are hidden incomes that should belong to the couple. If necessary, apply to the court for investigation and evidence collection, and have a professional lawyer calculate the amount to be divided and claim a smaller share or no share for the party at fault.

IV. Suggestions for Protecting Your Rights

  • Before marriage, it's best to keep your securities accounts separate from your post-marriage accounts to avoid funds being mixed together, which could blur the boundaries between your principal and earnings.
  • Keep the account opening time, screenshots of holdings before marriage, transaction records and bank certificates after marriage as evidence of the ownership of the income.
  • The divorce involves the division of stock funds. First, we need to sort out the actively managed and passively appreciated parts, and then discuss the division ratio.
  • If you discover that the other party has concealed their post-marital income, you can request a re-division of the assets within three years and claim that the at-fault party should receive a smaller share or no share at all.

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. →Financial capital legal services·Beijing Henglu Law Firm