[Direct answer]Individuals do not have the right to arbitrarily inquire into the property owned by others. Bank account and real estate registration information are not accessible to spouses. Investigations should follow legal procedures: first, collect clues on a daily basis, such as mortgage deduction records, property water and electricity payment account names, large-amount transfer records, and chat records; after suing, lawyers can apply for a court investigation order or request the court to inquire into the other party's bank accounts, real estate, vehicles, securities, insurance, and other registration and transaction records. According to Article 1092 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China (effective January 1, 2021), if one party hides or transfers the couple's joint property, they may be awarded a smaller share or no share in the division; if the other party seriously damages the interests of the joint property during the marriage, they may also request the division of the joint property in accordance with Article 1066. For evidence collection solutions, please consult a professional.Legal services for real estate transactions and construction projectsThe team andBeijing Henglu Law Firm.

I. Problem Background and Typical Scenarios

When a marriage encounters cracks, it's not uncommon for one party to secretly transfer or hide assets. The most obvious feeling of the parties involved is that "the other party earns a decent income, but the family hasn't saved any money". Typical scenarios include: large and unexplained monthly transfers from the salary card to relatives or specific accounts; no real estate registered under the other party's name, but traces of mortgage payments, property fees, and parking fees appearing in the family's expenses; frequent financial transactions between the other party and relatives or friends, suggesting the possibility of purchasing property under a false name or holding deposits on behalf of others; and the other party declaring assets during the divorce that are clearly inconsistent with their actual living standards, or even selling the house for cash. The more covert the form of hiding assets is, the more reliant the investigation is on legal procedures. Obtaining others' account information through illegal channels may even violate the law and contaminate evidence.

II. Key points of contention

  • The authority boundaries of personal inquiries: Real estate registration information is only open to the right holders themselves and interested parties. Bank account information is protected by confidentiality obligations. Spouses cannot inquire about the property under the other's name with their ID cards. The legitimacy of the materials obtained through private secret inquiries and information purchases is questionable, and they may not be accepted in litigation.
  • The scope and intensity of the investigation in the lawsuit: After the prosecution, the lawyer can apply for an investigation order to inquire into the other party's real estate, vehicles, securities, and bank transactions. Whether the scope of the application is specific (bank account, account clues, time range) directly affects the effectiveness of the inquiry. The more specific the clues are, the higher the possibility of the court supporting the investigation.
  • Determination of the act of concealing transfer and its legal consequences: Whether it is possible to prove the abnormal flow of funds and the intent to conceal them determines whether Article 1092 of the Civil Code can be applied to reduce or disallow the division of property; if the property is registered under the name of a third party, it also involves the confirmation of ownership in another case, and the burden of proof is even higher.

III. Professional analysis by Henglue Lawyers

One of the most common forms of hiding assets is placing real estate or funds under the names of relatives or friends for "agent holding," where the registration is separated from the actual rights. Once the agent disposes of the assets without authorization, it becomes extremely difficult to recover them. A second-instance retrial case handled by Henglue Law Firm illustrates this risk. Liu * and Zhang * owned seven properties in Fengtai No. 5 Courtyard in Beijing. To maximize the benefits of the demolition, the entire family signed a family agreement to transfer the properties to each member's name in seven installments, stipulating that the original owner, Liu *, would retain full disposal rights and that the children would not be entitled to dispose of the properties. Among these properties, two were registered under the name of their grandson, Wang *. In July 2021, Wang * entrusted an agent to list the property for sale. In August, he signed a contract and supplementary agreement with the buyer, Yu *, at a transaction price of 920,000 yuan. Due to Yu *'s lack of purchasing qualifications and tax avoidance, the two completed the transfer through a "sham marriage" in September 2021 and divorced in November. Liu * sued to declare the sales contract invalid and demand the return of the property, but the first-instance court dismissed the claim for lack of evidence. Liu * then entrusted Attorney Wang Dong of Beijing Henglue Law Firm to file an appeal. The lawyer argued two main points: First, Wang * lacked the right to dispose of the property - the properties were registered under a borrowed name, and Liu * retained full disposal rights. Wang *'s unauthorized sale constituted unauthorized disposition. Second, the buyer, Yu *, did not qualify as a bona fide purchaser - as a real estate agent, Yu * should have exercised higher risk awareness than ordinary individuals. However, she collaborated in the "sham marriage" to evade purchase restrictions and taxes despite her own lack of purchasing qualifications. Moreover, she failed to conduct thorough due diligence on the disputed property, which was connected to Liu *'s adjacent property and should have been treated as a single unit. The second-instance court ruled that Yu * lacked bona fide intent and reversed the first-instance judgment, supporting all of Liu *'s claims. The court ordered Wang * and Yu * to return the disputed property to Liu *. For parties currently investigating their spouse's assets, this case serves as a reminder: the absence of property under one's name does not mean it does not exist - it may have been registered under a borrowed name, such as that of parents, children, or others. Upon discovering such clues, parties should promptly secure evidence such as family agreements and investment certificates to prevent the registrant from disposing of the assets without authorization and becoming embroiled in lengthy litigation. 隐藏财产最常见的形态之一，就是把房产或资金放在亲友名下“代持”，登记与实际权利分离，一旦代持人擅自处分，追回难度极大。恒略律师办理的一起二审改判案件就说明了这种风险。刘某与张某夫妻在北京丰台5号院有7套房屋，为拆迁利益最大化，全家七人签订家庭协议将房产分七份过户至各人名下，约定原房主刘某仍享有完全处分权、子女无权处分，其中2套房屋借名登记在外孙王某名下。2021年7月，王某委托中介挂牌出售该房屋，8月与买受人于某签订合同及补充协议，成交价92万元；因于某不具备购房资格、为避税，二人通过“假结婚”方式于2021年9月完成过户，11月离婚。刘某起诉请求确认买卖合同无效、返还房屋，一审以证据不足驳回。刘某委托北京恒略律师事务所王栋律师提起上诉。律师论证两条主线：其一，王某系无权处分——房屋借名登记、刘某仍享有完全处分权，王某擅自出售构成无权处分；其二，买受人于某不构成善意取得——于某作为房屋中介从业人员，风险警惕性应高于一般自然人，却在自身无购房资格的情况下配合“假结婚”规避限购税收，且未仔细查勘争议房屋与相邻刘某房屋连通为整体，未尽合理审核注意义务、存在重大过失。二审法院认定于某非善意，改判撤销一审判决，支持刘某全部诉讼请求，判决王某、于某将涉案房屋返还刘某。对正在调查配偶财产的当事人而言，本案启示：查不到名下财产，不代表财产不存在，很可能是已借名登记在父母、子女或他人名下；发现此类线索后应尽早固定家庭协议、出资凭证等证据，防止登记人擅自处分后陷入漫长诉讼。

IV. Practical suggestions and legal basis

Legal basis: Article 1062 of the Civil Code (effective January 1, 2021) defines the scope of marital joint property; Article 1066 stipulates that if one party conceals, transfers, sells, damages, or squanders marital joint property or falsifies joint debts during the marriage, the other party may request the division of marital joint property; Article 1087 stipulates that if no agreement on marital joint property is reached during divorce, the court shall make a judgment; Article 1092 stipulates that if one party conceals, transfers, sells, damages, or squanders marital joint property or falsifies debts in an attempt to misappropriate the other party's property, the court may reduce or deny their share of the division; Article 1089 stipulates that joint debts shall be jointly repaid. At the procedural level, after filing a lawsuit, the court may request the other party's bank account statements, real estate registration information, motor vehicle registration, securities and fund holdings, and commercial insurance policies. Some courts allow lawyers to inquire based on investigation orders. Practical advice: Daily collect three types of clues - financial clues (large-scale transfers, abnormal cash withdrawals, remittances to relatives), real estate clues (mortgage deductions, housing provident fund withdrawals, utility payment account names, renovation records), and communication records (chats and recordings of the other party discussing purchase deposits). In litigation, specify the investigation request in detail, including the bank account name, account suffix, and time period. After verifying the transfer behavior, claim a reduced share and promptly apply for preservation to freeze accounts and seize houses. Marriage procedure issues can also be addressed in conjunction with this.Divorce litigation and legal services for family disputesSynchronous evaluation.

5. Henglu Law Firm's Advice

The bottom line of investigating a spouse's property is to do it legally: information obtained through illegal channels is hard to be accepted by the court. The correct approach is to "keep clues in daily life and rely on procedures after litigation". The most valuable evidence is often not a single bank statement, but consumption traces, chat records and testimonies that can corroborate the bank statements, forming a complete chain of fund flow. Once it is confirmed that the other party has hidden or transferred property, one should resolutely claim a smaller share or no share and apply for preservation to prevent the property from being further squandered or transferred. The above-mentioned case of a house registered under someone else's name being sold without authorization and the second-instance judgment on recovering the case were handled by Beijing Henglue Law Firm.Wang DongAttorney (Practice Certificate No.: 11101201910090334, subject to the document issued by the judicial administrative organ) acting as an agent. If you suspect that your spouse is hiding property or deposits, it is recommended that you consult as soon as possible to develop an investigation and preservation plan.

Q1: Can I check the property owned by my spouse at the housing management bureau or the bank by myself?

Generally, it's not allowed. There are restrictions on access to real estate registration information. Only the right holders themselves, interested parties, and legally authorized agencies can query the registration information under others' names; bank account information is protected by confidentiality obligations, and banks will not provide the spouse with the other party's transaction records. In divorce litigation, after suing, lawyers can apply for a court investigation order or request the court to retrieve the other party's real estate registration, bank transaction records, and other information on its own initiative. Special reminder: obtaining evidence by installing GPS tracking devices, stealing account passwords, or purchasing personal information of citizens may not only result in the exclusion of evidence, but also lead to infringement or even criminal liability. It is essential to conduct investigations through legal procedures.

Q2: After the lawsuit, can the court locate all of the defendant's bank cards?

Whether the investigation can cover all aspects depends on the specific scope of the application. In divorce litigation, the investigation of property requires the parties to submit a clear application: specifying the banks to be queried, providing as much account clues (card number suffixes, branch information of the opening bank) and time ranges (generally claiming from the duration of the marriage) as possible. If there are transfer records or clues to salary transfers, start by tracing the fund flow from the known accounts, and then add applications for new accounts after discovering them. For lawyers applying for investigation orders to query real estate, vehicles, securities, and insurance registrations, the success rate is directly proportional to the specific level of clues. It is recommended to sort out all the financial clues at your disposal before filing a lawsuit, and to submit the investigation application as soon as possible after filing the lawsuit to avoid the other party closing or transferring accounts in advance.

Q3: If I find out that the other party has transferred their assets, will the court award them a smaller share of the property in the divorce settlement?

We will support this according to the law, but on the basis of evidence. According to Article 1092 of the Civil Code, if a spouse conceals, transfers, sells, damages, or squanders the couple's joint property, or falsifies the couple's joint debts in an attempt to misappropriate the other spouse's property, the court may award a smaller share or no share to that spouse when dividing the joint property in a divorce. If the other spouse discovers such actions after the divorce, they may also file a lawsuit with the court to request a re-division of the property. In practice, three points need to be proven: the transferred property belongs to the couple's joint property, the other spouse has committed acts of concealment or transfer, and the acts occurred during the marriage or during the divorce litigation. Typical transfer forms include transferring large sums of money to relatives within a short period of time, withdrawing cash with an unclear whereabouts, and selling jointly owned property at a low price. After verification, in addition to claiming a smaller share, it is also necessary to apply for property preservation simultaneously to prevent the funds from being further squandered.

Q4: If the house is registered under the other party's parents' name, can it be divided in a divorce?

Houses registered under the name of a third party are generally not considered marital joint property and are not directly addressed in divorce litigation, which is the root cause of many cases where the house cannot be found in the divorce proceedings. However, there are two approaches that can be tried: First, prove the relationship of buying the house under a false name - if the couple contributed funds after marriage, purchased the house under the name of the parents-in-law, and had a written or de facto agreement to buy the house under a false name, they can sue for ownership in a separate case and then claim for division. Second, prove the flow of funds - if the purchase price and loan repayment actually came from the couple's joint marital property, they can claim a right of creditor against the parents or a refund of the contribution. When discovering that the other party has registered the property under the name of a relative or friend, it is necessary to fix the investment certificates, family agreements, and communication records as soon as possible to avoid being passive after the registrant disposes of the property without authorization.

Q5: If the divorce hasn't taken place yet, can I request the division of the hidden assets first?

Yes. According to Article 1066 of the Civil Code, during the continuance of the marriage relationship, if one party conceals, transfers, sells, damages, squanders the couple's joint property, or falsifies the couple's joint debts, etc., which seriously harm the interests of the couple's joint property, the other party may request to divide the joint property. This request does not require a divorce as a prerequisite. That is to say, if you find that the other party is secretly selling the house or transferring large sums of money, even if you temporarily do not want or cannot divorce, you can file a lawsuit for the division of marital property to first fix the ownership of the joint property and cut off the other party's space for further transfer. It will be more effective to cooperate with property preservation to freeze accounts and seize houses. It should be noted that the division of marital property requires proof of "seriously harming the interests of the joint property". Before suing, you should first complete the basic evidence collection. It is recommended to determine the timing of suing and the design of the request under the guidance of a lawyer.

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. →Legal services for real estate transactions·Attorney Wang Dong·Beijing Henglu Law Firm