69novels Chapter 24 Unfair
Chapter 24 Unfair
Han Chichi said goodbye to Yu Xingge at the elevator entrance: "Attorney Yu, thank you for your patient explanation. I'll think about it again and give you an answer." After this consultation, Han Chichi seemed much more hesitant than when she arrived. Yu Xingge could somewhat guess why she hadn't made up her mind to entrust the divorce: if she divorced, she would have to divide the property and benefit the scumbag. Maintaining the status quo, at least, wouldn't things get worse, right?
Seeing her enter the elevator, Yu Xingge turned around.
"Thank you for your hard work, thank you so much." Jin Yajie said "thank you" three times, then fawned over her, pretending to massage her back. "How does it feel to have two thousand yuan in your account in less than two hours? Doesn't it feel incredibly rewarding? So, does the amazing Attorney Yu have anything to say about it?"
Yu Xingge laughed heartily, pretending to pinch Jin Yajie's chin: "Baby, you're such a little rascal. Since you're so sweet-talking, how about your sister Yu treats you to something delicious for lunch? Tell me, what do you want to eat?"
Jin Yajie playfully slapped the paper away: "Sister my foot! You're a year younger than me."
At 10 p.m., Yu Xingge was still at the law firm.
The real estate team went to the project site for due diligence today. Since she was on duty at the front desk, no extra work was assigned to her. Yu Xingge had been reviewing the consultation cases from today. Since Han Chichi left, several more consultations had come in, but none of them had the potential to become cases; they could be answered with a simple legal review. As she calmed down, the more Yu Xingge thought about it, the more she felt that her answer regarding the virtual property issue had been too hasty.
Is there really a good standard? She rested her chin on her hand.
Li Ruochun dragged his weary body back to the law firm. A client in Hongxi needed witnesses for a will, and after three days of traveling back and forth by high-speed rail and taxi, all he wanted now was to go back to the firm, pack his things, and get a good night's sleep. It was almost ten o'clock, and the lights were still on in the family law office area? When he got closer and took a closer look, oh, it was that young woman from the real estate team.
Hearing the mechanical female voice at the electronic door announce his arrival, Yu Xingge turned around: "Hello, Attorney Li." He nodded: "Still working overtime so late?" Li Ruochun didn't stop walking, intending to exchange pleasantries, but as he passed her workstation, he inadvertently glanced at the words "virtual property." He stopped: "Are you researching marriage and family cases?"
Yu Xingge was still immersed in her thoughts. She had found an article by an industry authority that provided a detailed summary and personal perspective on the division of virtual property in current divorce cases. "A client consulted me this morning. Strange," Yu Xingge muttered to herself. "For accounts registered before marriage and then significantly appreciated after marriage, I've looked at some cases and opinions. Without exception, they're all considered joint property and divided accordingly. Why does the client still have doubts? Even if it's divided, it should still be in her favor."
"Hmm? That doesn't seem right. Let me see." Li Ruochun became interested: "Why would it be considered joint property and divided between the accounts? How would it be divided? Virtual property, because it has the attribute of being indivisible, should theoretically belong to the individual. Where did you find this precedent?"
"That's it," Yu Xingge said, pointing to the computer screen and reading aloud word by word: "In the divorce dispute between Yin Moumou and Wang Mou, the court held that the disputed WeChat public account was registered and operated by the husband in his own name on the public platform. The public account was registered and opened by the internet platform based on the parties' personal information and other relevant circumstances, and thus possesses certain personal rights attributes. The profits of the WeChat public account during the marriage should be divided as joint property..."
Yu Xingge suddenly woke up: "I understand!" She stood up excitedly, "Thank you so much, Attorney Li!" Without saying more, she immediately called Han Chichi. Beep beep beep…
No one heard.
Unable to contact Han Chichi immediately, Yu Xingge rushed to the front desk, retrieved the case registration record, and found her address: Room 2303, 23rd Floor, Building 7, Qijiayuan, Wushan Village, Meilin Street, Nan'an District, Dongjiang City. She hailed a car and hurriedly went downstairs to take a taxi there.
A knocking sound rang out. "Who is it?" Han Chichi went over and looked through the peephole. Wasn't that Lawyer Yu? Why had he actually followed her home? Han Chichi was not happy. She opened the door, about to complain.
"Ms. Han! Have you misunderstood me?"
"Misunderstanding? What do you mean?" Han Chichi looked completely bewildered.
Yu Xingge's tone was hurried: "This morning I said that if virtual property is registered and acquired before marriage, but the profits are generated after marriage, then the increased value of the account will be divided as marital property. Perhaps that's too formal; do you think this division refers to the division of the account itself? Actually, you don't want to lose this account, do you?"
"Of course I don't want to, it's all my hard work." Han hesitated for a moment, "Isn't it? Okay, you come in first. I'm home alone today."
"No need, no need, just two sentences." Yu Xingge's eyes sparkled: "There might be some misunderstanding. What I mean by division is actually the redistribution of the income. That is, if your account value increases from 1 to 100 after marriage, then half of that increase of 99 will be given to the husband, because this is considered joint income after marriage."
"To use another analogy, suppose you have an investment account where the money grows from an initial value of 100 yuan to 1000 yuan after marriage. The 900 yuan would be considered marital property and the profits would be divided equally. However, all of the husband's profits after marriage would also be divided equally with you. As for your social media account, you are the operator and registrant, which has a personal attribute and cannot be simply divided as ordinary property. Generally, the court will rule that the account can continue to be used and operated by the original registrant and operator, i.e., you, and the existing payments and receivables from the account also belong to you, but you must provide certain financial compensation to the other party. Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"
She said in a light, rising tone, "I've reviewed a lot of data and cases, and the likelihood of your case being judged this way is extremely high. After all, if you convert virtual assets into traditional currency, it's quite obvious. There's not much controversy. And the law is all about fairness and justice."
"I understand," Han Chichi said, still feeling somewhat uneasy. "Is it possible that this account won't be included in the asset distribution?"
"That's probably not possible," Yu Xingge said regretfully. "Based on the number of followers on social media accounts, once they reach a certain number after marriage, they can also obtain GG income, platform traffic income, etc. These considerable economic benefits have property attributes, and property rights and income should belong to the joint property of the couple."
Han Chichi said indignantly, "I've never seen a single penny of his money since we got married, and I haven't received a single cent of his assets, yet I have to share all my earnings with him. Is that fair?"
Yu Xingge didn't say anything. Isn't that unfair?
That's how marriage works; the moment you receive your marriage certificate, you're legally considered one entity. In reality, when the woman controls the finances and the man has no income, people often feel it's unfair. But when the woman stays home full-time to care for the family and the man bears all the financial burden, divorce in that situation can also feel unfair to the man. Therefore, countless women, because their hard work in caring for the family isn't appreciated or recognized, don't receive the value and compensation they deserve in a divorce.
When the genders are reversed, the results are very different. Why?
"I earn money, but I still have to take care of his family and his parents. But he doesn't have to worry about my parents at all. That's why I'm not happy. If he kept the house perfectly tidy, I wouldn't say anything, but look at him."
She vacated the living room behind her. It looked like a mini-battle: in the halo of the crystal chandelier, beer bottles lay sprawled on the edge of the coffee table, condensation slowly seeping into the wood grain. Peanut shells and sunflower seed scraps were embedded in the carpet, and a few cigarette butts lay askew on the edge of the fruit bowl, staining the half-eaten cantaloupe an eerie grayish-yellow. Dark wine stains, mixed with spilled chili oil, stained the leather sofa, glistening stickily in the moonlight. Han Chichi felt a sharp, sharp pain in her lower back. Meanwhile, the man and family who should have been cleaning up were in a karaoke bar, playing their second round of karaoke. "It's so late and I'm still cleaning the living room. Even though we're getting a divorce, if he wants to bring his friends over for dinner, I, as the hostess, have to fully cooperate."
Yes, how unfair! The responsibility of caring for the family is naturally borne by women, as if it's ingrained in their genes from birth. But men never seem to see this.
After these two remarks, the resentment Han Chichi felt when she opened the door had completely vanished. For the first time, she seriously examined the lawyer. Even if she had made up her mind to divorce and entrusted the case to a lawyer, shouldn't she at least be a responsible person like this Lawyer Yu?
"Attorney Yu," Han Chichi's smile shimmered under the light, "Although it's late, if you don't mind, let's talk about the case."