[Direct answer]Marriage and family lawyerOur services cover the entire life cycle of marital and family matters: drafting and witnessing prenuptial agreements, divorce negotiations and litigation representation (child custody, property division, debt settlement), marital property agreements, wills and inheritance litigation, and applications for personal safety protection orders against domestic violence. The core legal basis for our practice is the Marriage and Family Chapter and the Inheritance Chapter of the Civil Code. We emphasize both litigation and non-litigation services, and clients can hire us as needed.

I. Problem Background and Typical Scenarios

Many clients simply regard family lawyers as "those who handle divorce cases", but in reality, their services cover the establishment, continuation, and dissolution of marriages, as well as the inheritance of wealth after marriage. Typical scenarios include: preparing for remarriage or reorganizing a family, needing to draft a premarital property agreement; facing a marital crisis, needing to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of divorce by agreement and litigation, and striving for child custody rights; discovering that the other party is hiding or transferring assets, needing to investigate and gather evidence and preserve assets; encountering domestic violence, needing to apply for a personal safety protection order; when an elderly person dies leaving real estate and savings, the heirs cannot reach an agreement and need to sue; during the division of family property, ancestral property, homesteads, and houses need to be confirmed and divided, involving legal issues such as property rights and ownership.Inheritance of assetsControversy. The value of family lawyers lies in transforming emotional issues into actionable legal solutions, protecting rights while minimizing secondary harm to families as much as possible.

II. Key points of contention

  • Divorce by agreement or litigation: In the case of divorce by agreement, there is a 30-day cooling-off period for divorce (Article 1077 of the Civil Code), and the registration authority does not review the fairness of the property clauses. When the property is complex or the other party is uncooperative, the litigation route offers greater protection.
  • The criteria for determining the custody of children are as follows: For children under the age of two, the principle is that they should be directly raised by their mothers; for children over the age of eight, their true wishes should be respected; and for children in the middle age group, the determination should be based on comprehensive factors such as economic conditions, time spent with the children, and the help of elderly relatives.
  • The scope of property division and the provision of evidence: the definition of premarital property and post-marital joint property, whether provident funds, equity, and virtual property are included in the division, and the rules of reduced or no division for hidden and transferred property all require evidence to support them and cannot rely solely on statements.

III. Professional analysis by Henglue Lawyers

The services of Henglue's Marriage and Family Law Team are typically delivered at three levels: 1. **Consultation and Plan Design**: This includes assessing divorce pathways, organizing property inventories, and planning custody evidence to help clients understand their negotiating leverage and litigation risks. 2. **Non-litigation Documents and Negotiations**: Drafting prenuptial agreements, marital property agreements, and divorce settlements, conducting or participating in mediation to resolve disputes before litigation. 3. **Litigation Representation**: Handling case filing, asset preservation, investigation and evidence collection, courtroom cross-examination, and enforcement follow-up. For divorce cases involving real estate, equity, or corporate rights, the team collaborates with relevant professionals to ensure comprehensive legal support.The commercial field of enterprisesThe Lawyers' Association formulated a comprehensive plan. The services do not stop at the judgment, but also include the transfer of property after the judgment, assistance with the transfer of ownership, and follow-up on the execution to ensure that the rights and interests are truly implemented.

IV. Practical suggestions and legal basis

The main legal basis is the Marriage and Family Chapter of the Civil Code: Article 1076 stipulates the procedures for divorce by agreement and the contents that should be specified in the divorce agreement; Article 1079 stipulates litigation divorce, stating that if the marriage has truly broken down and mediation is ineffective, the divorce shall be granted, and enumerates statutory circumstances such as bigamy, domestic violence, and gambling; Article 1084 establishes that after divorce, the custody of children shall be handled in accordance with the principle of maximizing the interests of minors; Article 1087 stipulates that in the division of marital property, the rights and interests of children, women, and the innocent party shall be taken into account; Article 1091 stipulates that in cases of bigamy, cohabitation with others, and domestic violence, the innocent party has the right to request damages. Practical suggestions: Before entrusting a lawyer, clarify your core demands, whether it is custody rights, real estate, or a time limit, and accordingly select a lawyer who specializes in the corresponding field; when entrusting a lawyer, sign a written contract to clarify the stages and authority of the agency; fix evidence such as chat records, transfer receipts, and police reports as soon as possible to avoid their loss.

5. Henglu Law Firm's Reminder

It's difficult for an honest official to adjudicate family disputes, and choosing the right lawyer is often more important than simply comparing prices. It is recommended that clients directly ask lawyers about the number of similar cases they have handled and the approaches to resolving common disputes during face-to-face consultations, and observe whether they can explain complex issues clearly. After entrusting the lawyer with the case, clients should truthfully and comprehensively describe the situation to the lawyer, including the facts unfavorable to themselves, so that the lawyer can develop a reliable plan. If you want to learn more about the scope of services and the processing procedures, you can visit our website atBeijing Henglu Law FirmMake an appointment for consultation on the homepage of the official website.

Q1: Can a marriage and family lawyer help draft a divorce agreement?

Yes, and it's one of the most cost-effective methods of entrustment. When drafting the divorce agreement, the lawyer will review each clause in detail, including child custody and alimony, visitation arrangements, ownership of real estate and vehicles, division of deposits and provident funds, assumption of external debts, and breach of contract liability, to avoid potential execution risks hidden in vague statements such as "the child will be with the father" and "the property will be divided equally". Especially when it comes to changing the name on the mortgage property or dividing company equity, the agreement also needs to align with the handling rules of the registration authority and the lending bank. Many parties download templates and sign them on their own, only to file lawsuits again due to ambiguous clauses or omissions, which ends up costing more. There is a 30-day cooling-off period for divorce by agreement, during which lawyers can review the text and verify the property list to strive for a one-time settlement.

Q2: Can I consult a family lawyer if I don't want to divorce but just want to arrange my property matters?

Yes. Matrimonial property agreements, confirmation of property ownership, applications for personal safety protection orders against domestic violence, recovery of alimony, and changes to custody arrangements all fall under the non-divorce practice areas of family lawyers. For example, when one party faces a high risk of debt, the couple can sign a marital property agreement to clarify the scope of each party's assets. If one party fails to pay alimony for a long time, they can directly sue for recovery on behalf of the child without first obtaining a divorce. In cases of domestic violence, victims can apply to the court for personal safety protection orders under the Anti-Domestic Violence Law to prohibit the other party from harassing, stalking, or contacting them. Most of these matters can be resolved through non-litigious or separate litigation. Family lawyers will choose the most cost-effective approach based on the objectives, rather than pushing clients into divorce litigation at all costs. Clients do not need to worry that "hiring a lawyer means getting a divorce."

Q3: Is it necessary to hire a lawyer to handle the entire divorce process?

Not necessarily. The method of entrustment can be chosen as needed. There are three common types: consulting only, pay-per-service, suitable for cases where clients can handle matters themselves and only need to review the proposed solutions; single-item entrustment, such as only representing clients in property division or child custody disputes; full-process entrustment, covering the entire process from case filing to post-judgment enforcement. For cases with simple property relations and minimal disputes between the parties, single-item or consulting entrustment suffices; for cases involving hidden transfer of assets by the other party or those involving multiple sets of real estate or equity, full-process entrustment offers greater protection. Regardless of the method chosen, the agency phases and corresponding fees should be clearly specified in the written entrustment contract to avoid misunderstandings about the scope of "all-inclusive services" and to facilitate adjustments to the entrustment content and strategies based on the progress of the case.

Q4: How do family law attorneys investigate the hidden assets of the other party?

The lawyer's investigation methods include: applying for a court investigation order, checking the bank transactions, real estate registration, securities holdings, and provident fund and insurance products under the other party's name; sorting out the transaction records of known accounts, tracking large-scale abnormal transactions and related accounts; and retrieving industrial and commercial archives and financial statements for equity-type assets. The parties themselves can also do basic work, such as keeping copies of property ownership certificates, bank card numbers, and property clues mentioned in chat records. According to Article 1092 of the Civil Code, if a party hides, transfers, sells, damages, or squanders the couple's joint property, the party may receive a smaller share or no share in the divorce settlement. If the clues are discovered after the divorce, the party can sue for division again. After discovering the clues, the evidence should be fixed and preserved by the lawyer as soon as possible, and an application for preservation should be made. It is important not to tip off the other party and let them continue to transfer the assets.

Q5: Is it convenient to hire a lawyer in Beijing for family law cases from other regions?

It's convenient. Divorce litigation is generally governed by the court in the defendant's residence, but family lawyers can complete a lot of work remotely: communicating with clients online about solutions, guiding them in collecting evidence, drafting lawsuits and agreement texts, and appearing in court as agents as required by the court. For clients who work and live in Beijing and whose spouse or property is located elsewhere, lawyers can first assess the jurisdiction connection points. For example, if the defendant has lived in Beijing for more than a year, the lawsuit can be filed in Beijing, and then the attorney arrangement can be determined. Even if the case is ultimately tried in a court outside Beijing, it's common for Beijing lawyers to travel there to represent their clients. It is recommended to confirm the travel arrangements and cost-sharing methods with the lawyer before entrusting them, and to include these in the entrustment contract to avoid new disputes over fees in the future.

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