[Direct answer]When the joint debts of a couple enter the enforcement stage, the core process involves three aspects: First, debt identification. According to Article 1064 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China, debts signed jointly, debts recognized retrospectively, or debts incurred for the needs of daily family life are considered joint debts. Debts incurred by one party in excess of daily needs are, in principle, subject to creditor's proof of their use for joint living or joint production and operation; Second, enforcement targets. When the debtor identified for enforcement is only one spouse, the court can only enforce their personal property and the corresponding share of the jointly owned property. In the enforcement process, the spouse cannot be directly added as the debtor, and a lawsuit for confirmation of the couple's joint debts needs to be filed separately; Third, objection relief. If the spouse believes that the enforcement is erroneous or damages their share, they can claim their rights through the procedures of objection to enforcement and objection from a third party. If there are insufficient property clues or the enforcement is blocked, further consultation can be carried out.Legal services for creditor-debtor disputes and enforcement cases.

1. Problem background and typical scenarios

During the continuation of the marriage relationship, if one party borrows money, the creditor pursues the debt after the divorce, and the court orders one party to repay the debt but cannot locate the assets, this is the most common scenario of marital debt in the enforcement stage. Typical issues include: the enforcement basis only lists one spouse, and the creditor wants to enforce the property and deposits under the spouse's name; the spouse raises an enforcement objection as a co-owner or actual investor, claiming that the house belongs to himself/herself; the divorce agreement stipulates that the property belongs to the spouse and the debt belongs to one party, and the creditor asks whether this agreement is binding on him/her; and one party transfers the property to the spouse's name before and after the litigation to evade enforcement. These scenarios intertwine with the determination of the nature of the debt, the judgment of property ownership, and the rules of the enforcement procedure. The handling methods are different, and the results vary greatly.

II. Key points of contention

  • Can a spouse be directly added as a person subject to enforcement? The circumstances for adding parties set forth in the "Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Change and Addition of Parties in Civil Enforcement" (effective on December 1, 2016 and amended in 2020) do not include spouses. Generally, it is not possible to directly add a spouse without going through a trial procedure. Creditors need to file a separate lawsuit to confirm the joint debts of the couple.
  • Determination and proof of joint debts: According to Article 1064 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China, debts signed jointly, debts acknowledged after the fact, or debts incurred for the needs of daily family life are considered joint debts; for large-scale borrowing beyond daily needs, the creditor shall provide evidence that the funds were used for the couple's common life, joint production and operation, or based on a joint intention. If the creditor fails to provide such evidence, the spouse who cannot provide evidence shall not bear responsibility.
  • Disposition of jointly owned property and disputes: How to seize and dispose of property registered under the name of a spouse or owned by both spouses jointly. Whether the spouse's claim of excluding enforcement on the grounds of being the actual investor or registering under a false name can be established often determines whether the enforcement can proceed.

III. Professional analysis by Henglue Law Firm

The experience of Henglue Lawyers in handling enforcement cases shows that in the enforcement stage, it is necessary to distinguish between "determining the debt first and then determining the property" when dealing with marital joint debts. Taking an enforcement objection case as an example: Applicant Li * and respondent Zhou * had a civil loan dispute that was resolved through court mediation, confirming that Zhou * needed to repay 2 million yuan. However, Zhou * failed to fulfill the obligation, so Li * applied for the evaluation and auction of Zhou *'s property. During the enforcement process, a third party, Wang *, raised an objection, claiming that the house was actually purchased with her actual funds under Zhou *'s name, and that she was the true owner. The first-instance court ruled to suspend the enforcement. Henglue Lawyers represented Li * in the appeal, pointing out that real estate ownership is subject to registration, and the loan-in-name agreement only forms an internal creditor-debtor relationship, which cannot be used to oppose the applicant for enforcement. Moreover, Wang * did not obtain a title confirmation document in another case before the seizure, which did not meet the exclusion conditions for enforcement set forth in Article 26 of the "Regulations on the Handling of Enforcement Objections and Review Cases by People's Courts" (effective May 5, 2015 and amended in 2020). The second-instance court adopted the lawyers' opinion, holding that purchasing a house under a borrowed name, even if it is established, evades the purchase restrictions and violates public order and good customs, and breaches the publicity effect of real estate ownership. The court ruled to revoke the first-instance judgment and allow the enforcement of the property. This case shows that when a spouse or close relative blocks the enforcement in the name of the actual owner, the registration status and the time node of the seizure are the key points for review. 恒略律师处理执行案件的经验表明，执行阶段处理夫妻共同债务要分清“先定债、再定产”。以一起执行异议案为例：申请执行人李某与被执行人周某民间借贷纠纷经法院调解确认周某需偿还200万元，周某未履行，李某申请评估、拍卖周某名下房产；执行中案外人王某提出异议，主张房屋系其实际出资借周某之名购买，自己才是真实权利人，一审法院裁定中止执行。恒略律师代理李某提起上诉，指出不动产物权以登记为准，借名协议仅形成内部债权关系，不能对抗申请执行人，且王某未在查封前取得另案确权文书，不符合《最高人民法院关于人民法院办理执行异议和复议案件若干问题的规定》（2015年5月5日施行，2020年修正）第二十六条的排除执行条件。二审法院采纳律师意见，认为借名买房即便成立也规避限购政策、有违公序良俗，突破物权公示效力，判决撤销一审处理，准许执行该房产。本案说明：配偶或近亲属以实际权利人名义阻挡执行的，登记状态与查封时间节点是审查的关键。

There are two points worth emphasizing: Firstly, according to Article 35 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 (effective from January 1, 2021), if a divorce agreement or a legal document allocates debts to one party, it shall not affect the creditor's right to claim against both parties for the couple's joint debts. The party who assumes the repayment responsibility first may recover the debts from the other party later. Secondly, regarding the house owned by the debtor and his/her spouse, according to Article 14 of the Supreme People's Court's Regulations on Seizing, Detaining, and Freezing Property in Civil Enforcement, the court may seize the house and notify the co-owners in time. After determining the shares through a partition lawsuit, the part belonging to the debtor can be disposed of. Creditors should, as far as possible, list both spouses as co-defendants and provide evidence of the use of the funds during the litigation stage. Supplementing the evidence after the enforcement stage will often be more time-consuming and less effective. For cases involving the validity of private lending contracts, the court may consider the following factors when making a determination:Business and contract dispute resolution services for enterprisesEvaluate them together.

IV. Practical suggestions and legal basis

At the legal basis level: Article 1064 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China (effective January 1, 2021) is the core norm for identifying joint debts; Article 1089 stipulates that joint debts should be repaid jointly upon divorce, and if no agreement can be reached, the court shall make a judgment; Article 35 of the Judicial Interpretation of the Marriage and Family Code (I) clearly stipulates that the agreement on debt sharing in the divorce agreement cannot be used to oppose the creditor. Article 14 of the Supreme People's Court's Regulations on Seizing, Detaining, and Freezing Property in Civil Enforcement provides a basis for enforcing jointly owned property; Article 1 of the Supreme People's Court's Regulations on Various Issues Concerning the Modification and Addition of Parties in Civil Enforcement does not include spouses in the scope of parties who can be directly added. At the practical advice level: When the creditor sues, they should review the matching degree of the loan purpose, amount, and family consumption level, and try to provide evidence of joint debt and joint signature or use for joint operation; if it is found during enforcement that the property under the spouse's name is mixed with the debtor's funds, a separate lawsuit should be filed to confirm the joint debt and apply for property preservation simultaneously; the spouse should keep evidence of the source of the property, investment certificates, and registration time, and promptly file an outsider's objection if there is improper enforcement, rather than passively not appearing in court.

5. Henglu Law Firm's Reminder

The key to the enforcement of marital joint debts lies in advance planning: identifying the responsible party in the litigation stage, quickly controlling assets in the enforcement stage, and making good use of registration and time node rules in the objection procedure. For creditors, obtaining an enforcement basis listing only one party does not mean they can only helplessly watch marital assets disappear. Lawsuits to confirm joint debts, divorce litigation, and preservation and revocation rights can be used in combination; for spouses, passively not responding can easily lead to being put on the defensive due to inability to provide evidence. They should sort out evidence in time and assert their rights according to law. This case was handled by Beijing Henglu Law Firm.Yuan HangThe attorney (practice license number: 11101202110286151, subject to the document issued by the judicial administrative organ) acts as the agent. If you are facing similar disputes, you can contact us for assistance.Beijing Henglu Law FirmMake an appointment for an assessment and formulate an implementation and response plan as soon as possible.

Q1: If the judgment only orders the husband to repay the debt, can the property under the wife's name be subject to enforcement?

In principle, the property under the wife's name cannot be directly executed, and the execution target is limited to the debtor determined by the execution basis. However, for the jointly owned property registered in the names of both parties, the court may legally seize and dispose of the share belonging to the debtor; if the creditor believes that the debt belongs to the couple's joint debt, he/she may separately file a lawsuit to confirm the couple's joint debt, and after winning the case, he/she may apply for execution of the property under the spouse's name. The earlier the lawsuit is filed, the better. At the same time, the court may apply for preservation of the relevant property to prevent it from being transferred during the execution period. In practice, it is also necessary to review whether the property has already been transferred through divorce property division. If low-price or gratuitous transfers are found, the right of revocation may be exercised according to law and the transferring party's responsibilities may be investigated.

Q2: Can the wife be directly added as an enforced person in the execution stage?

Generally, this is not allowed. The "Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Modification and Addition of Parties in Civil Enforcement" list the circumstances under which parties can be added, including shareholders with unrealized investment, investors of non-legal person organizations, etc., but do not include spouses. Adding spouses directly without going through the trial process lacks legal basis, and most courts will not support this. The correct approach is for the creditor to file a separate lawsuit and claim that the debt belongs to the couple's joint debt in accordance with Article 1064 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China. After obtaining an effective judgment, the creditor can then apply for enforcement of the spouse's property. If the loan was signed jointly, acknowledged after the fact, or used for the family's daily life, the success of the lawsuit will be higher. It is recommended to apply for property preservation at the same time to avoid the property being disposed of during the litigation period.

Q3: If the divorce agreement stipulates that the debts belong to my ex-husband, can the creditors still come after me?

Yes. The agreement on debt sharing in the divorce agreement is only valid within the couple. According to Article 35 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, it cannot be used against the creditor: if the debt is indeed a joint debt of the couple, the creditor still has the right to claim against both parties. The party who repays the debt first can recover the repayment from the other party according to the agreement. Therefore, when being chased for debt, we should distinguish two issues - whether we should bear responsibility externally depends on the nature of the debt, and we can use Article 1064 of the Civil Code to defend against non-joint debts; internally, we should recover the debt from the party who agreed to bear it according to the divorce agreement and keep the payment receipts. Never refuse to deal with it on the grounds that "the agreement said it was his responsibility". Absence and failure to provide evidence will only make the situation more passive for us.

Q4: If the spouse raises an objection from a third party, can it stop the enforcement?

In most cases, it cannot be stopped. The review of third-party objections mainly takes property registration as the standard: if the house is registered under the name of the debtor, and the spouse claims that it was actually funded by him/her, purchased under a false name, or subject to an internal agreement, it generally only constitutes a creditor-debtor relationship and cannot preclude forced execution. In the case handled by Henglue Law Firm mentioned above, the third party claimed to exclude enforcement on the grounds of purchasing the house under a false name. The second-instance court ruled to allow enforcement on the grounds of the credibility of registration, evading purchase restrictions, and violating public order and good customs. The spouse may obtain support mainly in situations such as the court seizing assets beyond the scope of the judgment, or mistakenly including property clearly registered under the third party's name in the disposal. In this case, the third party should promptly raise objections and attach proof of ownership, and if necessary, seek rights confirmation in a separate case.

Q5: When recovering a couple's joint debts, how do the litigation and enforcement processes connect with each other?

It is recommended to follow a three-step approach: First, in litigation such as private lending, list both spouses as co-defendants, and organize evidence around the signing of promissory notes, the flow of funds, and the use of the funds for family purposes. Second, after entering the enforcement phase, apply for online asset tracing and investigation orders to identify the assets owned by both parties, and promptly apply for additional disposal or initiate a revocation lawsuit if any clues of transfer are found. Third, for enforcement based on only one party, promptly initiate a lawsuit for confirmation of joint debts and apply for preservation measures. After winning the lawsuit, merge the enforcement procedures. Throughout the process, pay attention to the connection between the two-year enforcement period and the statute of limitations in arbitration and litigation to avoid procedural delays. When necessary, hire a lawyer to design a unified plan to reduce duplicate litigation and time costs.

If you are facing similar problems, it is recommended that you consult a professional lawyer as soon as possible with the evidence materials, so as to avoid missing the statutory time limit. →Legal services for creditor-debtor disputes·Attorney Yuan Hang·Beijing Henglue Law Firm