Issuing Authority: Guozun Cathay Associates – Japan Office
Case Closing Date: 6 November 2025
Core Outcomes: The case was resolved entirely through non-litigious negotiation. The marriage was dissolved amicably, with the division of real estate and matrimonial property in both China and Japan completed. All legal procedures in both jurisdictions were implemented in compliance with applicable laws, and the client highly recognised the handling results.
This case was jointly handled by the Japan Office of Guozun Cathay Associates and the Foreign-Related Marriage and Family Team of the Beijing Headquarters. Strictly abiding by the marriage, family and real estate registration laws of China and Japan, and drawing on Guozun Cathay Associates’ years of experience in cross-border family legal services and practice qualifications in both jurisdictions, we provided Chinese citizens residing in Japan with a full-process, low-conflict solution for marriage dissolution and property disposal.
This case has been included in Guozun Cathay Associates’ 2025 Typical Case Library for Foreign-Related Marriage and Family Matters. Its case-handling model of “simultaneous recognition of validity in dual jurisdictions + parallel advancement of property procedures in both regions + priority to non-litigious negotiation” has been widely applied in the handling of Sino-Japanese cross-border marriage and family disputes.
I. Case Background and Engagement Process
Ms. Liu, a Chinese national residing in Japan, and her spouse are both of Chinese nationality. The couple have long worked and lived in Japan, and registered their marriage locally in Japan in 2023 without returning to China to complete marriage registration filing procedures. Later, the two parties decided to dissolve their marriage due to emotional breakdown. However, as their matrimonial property (including real estate purchased in both countries) is situated in both China and Japan, they held significant disagreements over the applicable law rules for property distribution and the disposal procedures for cross-border real estate. Meanwhile, they had doubts about the legal validity of the Japan-registered marriage within Chinese territory, and were unable to reach a unified settlement solution on their own.
On 21 July 2025, Ms. Liu engaged legal services through the Japan Office of Guozun Cathay Associates. Given that the case involved three core difficulties – recognition of marital validity in both Chinese and Japanese jurisdictions, conflicts in cross-border spousal property division rules, and the convergence of real estate disposal procedures in the two countries – the Japan Office activated the Sino-Japanese Marriage and Family Collaborative Case Handling Mechanism on the same day, and established a dedicated case team together with the Beijing Headquarters. The team comprises 2 locally licensed Japanese family lawyers responsible for procedure implementation and property verification under Japanese law, and 3 specialist foreign-related marriage and family lawyers from the Beijing Headquarters responsible for validity recognition under Chinese law and overall coordination of domestic property disposal, who are fully authorised to handle all legal affairs related to marriage dissolution and property division in this case.
II. Full Process of Sino-Japanese Joint Case Handling
This case adopted a standardised collaborative model whereby “the Beijing Headquarters is responsible for rule research in the Chinese jurisdiction and overall coordination of domestic procedures, while the Japan Office is responsible for local judicial implementation and communication with the parties”. Written legal documents and verifiable deliverables were produced at each stage:
1. 21 July 2025 – 31 July 2025: Dual-Jurisdiction Risk Assessment and Property Status Verification
Beijing Headquarters: We sorted out the client’s marriage registration background, domestic real estate ownership archives and matrimonial property certificates. Based on China’s rules on the application of law for foreign-related civil relations, we issued the Assessment Report on Marital Validity and Domestic Jurisdiction Pathways, clarifying the legal validity boundaries of an overseas-registered marriage within Chinese territory, confirming the compliance path for divorce by agreement and property division under Chinese law, and eliminating core risks at the level of validity recognition.
Japan Office: Relying on Japan’s local real estate registration inquiry system and family law cooperation channels, we verified the ownership status, mortgage registration status and current tax and fee standards of real estate in Japan within 3 working days. Combined with relevant provisions of the Family Book of the Japanese Civil Code, we issued the Opinion on Risk Assessment of Divorce Property Division under Japanese Law, identifying procedural obstacles and compliance requirements for property division within Japan.
2. 1 August 2025 – 15 September 2025: Formulation of Property Division Plans and Applicable Law Alignment
Beijing Headquarters: In accordance with the rules for the identification and division of matrimonial property under the Civil Code, we comprehensively mapped out the scope of the couple’s matrimonial property. We formulated 3 differentiated division and transfer plans for real estate within China, and simultaneously calculated the tax costs, processing cycles and document requirements under each plan for the client’s decision-making reference.
Japan Office: Against Japan’s statutory matrimonial property system and division practices in judicial practice, we verified the compliance of each plan under Japanese law one by one. We formulated implementation rules for the ownership change process of real estate in Japan, clarifying the documents required for registration, processing links and tax declaration requirements. The Chinese and Japanese teams conducted synchronous joint deliberation, and finalised the applicable law plan for property division, ensuring that the overall plan complies with the mandatory provisions of both Chinese and Japanese laws and avoids the risk of legal conflicts.
3. 16 September 2025 – 25 October 2025: Multiple Rounds of Negotiation and Consensus Building
Chinese and Japanese lawyers jointly drafted a Sino-Japanese bilingual divorce negotiation framework document, clarifying core clauses such as marriage dissolution, property division ratio, real estate disposal milestones, and cooperation in follow-up procedures, and elaborating on the legal basis and legal consequences of breach from the perspective of the laws of both countries respectively.
The Japan Office was responsible for liaising with both parties in Japan, organising multiple rounds of offline and online negotiation and communication, synchronously conveying professional legal opinions from the Beijing Headquarters, and promptly responding to both parties’ questions on rules. The Beijing Headquarters simultaneously followed up on the confirmation of preconditions for domestic real estate transfer, ensuring that all negotiated contents are feasible for implementation.
After multiple rounds of consultation, the two parties gradually reached a comprehensive consensus on the willingness to divorce, the overall property division ratio, the specific disposal methods for real estate in both regions, and the performance time nodes.
4. 26 October 2025 – 5 November 2025: Review of Agreement Text and Procedural Convergence Between the Two Jurisdictions
The Sino-Japanese joint case team jointly reviewed the official Sino-Japanese bilingual text of the Divorce and Property Division Agreement, verifying the accuracy and legality of expressions under both jurisdictions clause by clause, to ensure that the agreement content is unambiguous and meets both the formal and substantive requirements of the laws of both countries for divorce agreements.
Beijing Headquarters: We confirmed the legal validity of the agreement within Chinese territory, issued guidelines for the processing of domestic real estate transfer, clarified the list of required notarisation and authentication documents and processing procedures, and guided the client to prepare relevant procedures in advance.
Japan Office: We confirmed the legal binding force of the agreement under Japanese law, liaised with local Japanese administrative departments and real estate registration authorities, clarified the registration procedures and document requirements required for the performance of the agreement, and eliminated procedural obstacles in advance.
5. 6 November 2025: Agreement Signing and Case Closing
Both parties formally signed the Divorce and Property Division Agreement. The joint case team simultaneously completed the convergence and confirmation of corresponding legal procedures in China and Japan, and delivered to the client the full set of agreement texts, guidelines for legal procedures in both jurisdictions, and follow-up risk reminders. The client confirmed that all matters were smoothly implemented as expected and expressed satisfaction with the handling results. The case was officially closed.
III. Core Case Handling Difficulties and Authoritative Solutions
The disputed points involved in this case are common difficulties in Sino-Japanese cross-border marriage and family disputes. Relying on professional capabilities in both jurisdictions and rich practical experience, the Guozun Cathay joint team has developed a replicable standardised solution:
1. Dual-Jurisdiction Validity Recognition of Overseas Marriage Registration
Professional Basis: Article 21 of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Application of Law for Foreign-Related Civil Relations, judicial rules of the Supreme People’s Court on the recognition of the validity of overseas marriages; relevant provisions on the establishment of marriage in Book IV (Family) of the Japanese Civil Code
Solution: Centring on the laws of the parties’ common habitual residence and common nationality, we demonstrated the legality of the marriage registration in China and Japan respectively. We clarified that the marriage registration does not violate the basic principles of China’s marriage law and social public interests, and thus has legal validity within Chinese territory. Meanwhile, we matched the corresponding divorce-by-agreement processing path to avoid the invalidation of follow-up procedures due to deviations in validity recognition.
2. Conflict of Applicable Laws for Cross-Border Matrimonial Property
Professional Basis: Article 24 of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Application of Law for Foreign-Related Civil Relations, Article 1062 of the Civil Code; relevant provisions on the matrimonial property system in Article 762 of the Japanese Civil Code
Solution: We guided the parties to choose the applicable law for their matrimonial property relationship by agreement, while taking into account the mandatory legal provisions of the place where the main property is located. We verified and characterised the property distributed in the two countries one by one, ensuring that the identification of property scope and division principles comply with the legal requirements of both countries, and avoiding the risk of partial clauses being invalid due to legal conflicts.
3. Procedural Convergence of Real Estate Disposal in China and Japan
Professional Basis: China’s Interim Regulations on Real Estate Registration and its implementing rules; relevant provisions on real estate ownership change in Japan’s Real Estate Registration Act and Civil Code
Solution: We formulated independent disposal procedures for real estate in China and Japan respectively, clarifying the required registration documents, tax and fee standards, and processing cycles for each. We simultaneously designed the performance time nodes of the procedures in both regions in the agreement, ensuring that the real estate transfer procedures in the two countries are connected in an orderly manner and advanced in parallel, so as to avoid the disconnection problem where disposal is completed in one jurisdiction but cannot be implemented in the other.
4. Dual-Jurisdiction Validity Coverage of Cross-Border Divorce Agreements
Professional Basis: Article 1076 of China’s Civil Code, rules on the application of law for foreign-related divorce by agreement; relevant provisions on the validity and performance of divorce agreements in the Japanese Civil Code
Solution: The agreement adopts a Sino-Japanese bilingual side-by-side format, and the legal teams of both jurisdictions jointly review the legality and precision of expression of each clause. We clarified the respective effective conditions and performance methods of the agreement in the two countries, and reserved jurisdiction clauses for dispute resolution at the same time, ensuring that the agreements on divorce and property division are legally binding in both China and Japan, and avoiding the legal risk of being recognised in one jurisdiction but not in the other.
IV. Authoritative Legal Bases Applicable to This Case
(A) Chinese Laws
1.Article 21 of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Application of Law for Foreign-Related Civil Relations: The law of the parties’ common habitual residence shall apply to the conditions for marriage; if there is no common habitual residence, the law of the common nationality shall apply; if there is no common nationality and the marriage is contracted in the habitual residence or nationality of one party, the law of the place where the marriage is contracted shall apply.
2.Article 24 of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Application of Law for Foreign-Related Civil Relations: For spousal property relations, the parties may choose by agreement to apply the law of the habitual residence, the law of nationality, or the law of the place where the main property is located of either party. If the parties make no choice, the law of their common habitual residence shall apply; if there is no common habitual residence, the law of their common nationality shall apply.
3.Article 26 of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Application of Law for Foreign-Related Civil Relations: For divorce by agreement, the parties may choose by agreement to apply the law of the habitual residence or the law of nationality of either party. If the parties make no choice, the law of their common habitual residence shall apply; if there is no common habitual residence, the law of their common nationality shall apply; if there is no common nationality, the law of the place where the authority handling divorce procedures is located shall apply.
4.Article 1062 of the Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China: The following property obtained by the spouses during the existence of the marriage relationship shall be their matrimonial property and shall be jointly owned by them: wages, bonuses and remuneration for labour services; proceeds from production, operation and investment; proceeds from intellectual property rights; and other property.
5.Article 1087 of the Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China: At the time of divorce, the matrimonial property of the spouses shall be disposed of by agreement of both parties; if an agreement cannot be reached, the people’s court shall make a judgment based on the specific circumstances of the property and in accordance with the principle of safeguarding the rights and interests of children, the wife and the no-fault party.
6.Interpretation of the Supreme People’s Court on the Application of the Civil Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China: Where both Chinese citizens are abroad but have not settled down, and one party files a divorce lawsuit with a people’s court, the case shall be under the jurisdiction of the people’s court at the place of the plaintiff’s or the defendant’s original domicile.
(B) Japanese Laws
1.Book IV (Family) of the Japanese Civil Code: Legal provisions on the requirements for the establishment of marriage, rules for divorce by agreement, matrimonial property system, and divorce property division.
2.Japanese Real Estate Registration Act: Provisions on the applicant, processing procedures, document requirements and registration validity of real estate ownership change registration.
3.Japanese real estate-related tax and fee collection and administration rules: Tax declaration, payment standards and processing requirements corresponding to real estate ownership changes caused by divorce property division.
V. Authoritative Practical Recommendations Based on This Case’s Experience
Combined with years of experience of Guozun Cathay Associates’ Japan Office in Sino-Japanese cross-border marriage and family legal services, we put forward the following three practical recommendations for Chinese citizens residing in Japan and Sino-Japanese cross-border families:
1.Pre-planning for marriage registration compliance: Chinese citizens who register their marriage overseas should understand in advance the marital validity rules of the place of marriage and their country of nationality. If necessary, they shall complete notarisation and authentication procedures for overseas marriage certificates to avoid subsequent impacts on identity rights and property disposal due to validity recognition issues.
2.Early written agreement on cross-border property: For cross-border families with assets in both China and Japan, it is recommended to clarify the ownership and division rules of matrimonial property through a written agreement before or during marriage, and select the applicable law for property relations in advance, so as to reduce the communication costs and legal risks of subsequent disputes from the source.
3.Early professional intervention in disputes: When marriage and family disputes arise involving cross-border property, a legal team with service capabilities in both Chinese and Japanese jurisdictions should be engaged as early as possible. Priority should be given to efficiently resolving disputes through non-litigious negotiation, which not only reduces the impact on the parties’ daily lives, but also simultaneously ensures the compliant implementation of legal procedures in both countries.