Claiming wedding gifts (gold, money) after divorce: How is the law regulated?

In fact, in many cases, after divorce, one party asks the other party to return the wedding gold, wedding money or assets given on the wedding day with the reason that "the marriage has ended, the wedding gift must also be returned". However, the current law does not automatically allow claiming all wedding gifts after divorce. The determination of whether or not a refund is requested depends on the nature of the property, the donor, the will to donate and whether the property is determined to be common property or separate property of the husband and wife. So wedding gold and wedding money are considered common property or separate property? Do the parents of both parties have the right to claim back the wedding gift given? When divorced, how will the Court handle this property? Let's learn about the relevant laws and regulations with HTC Vietnam Law Firm to protect your legitimate rights and interests.

1. Legal provisions on common property and separate property in marriage

1.1 Concept of common property

According to the provisions of the Law on Marriage and Family 2014, the common property of husband and wife is determined to include all property created by the spouse during the marriage period; incomes arising from labor, production and business activities; yields and incomes arising from separate property as well as other lawful incomes obtained during the marriage period, except for the case specified in Clause 1, Article 40 of the Law on Marriage and Family 2014.

In addition, the property that the husband and wife are jointly inherited, donated jointly or other assets that the two parties have agreed to determine as common property are also recognized by law as common property of the husband and wife.

1.2 Concept of private property

Currently, the 2015 Civil Code, the 2014 Law on Marriage and Family and relevant legal documents have not given a specific concept of "private property". However, based on current legal provisions and applicable practice, it can be understood that private property is property under the independent ownership of an individual and not under common ownership with another person, unless otherwise agreed by the parties.

In a marital relationship, separate property usually includes property that each party had before marriage; property inherited separately or donated separately during the marriage period; property formed from the spouse's own property; at the same time, it can also include a number of property rights and intellectual property rights associated with individuals in accordance with the law.

2. Are wedding gifts (money, gold) determined to be common property or separate property?

2.1 Cases in which it is determined to be common property

According to the provisions of Article 33 of the Law on Marriage and Family 2014, the common property of husband and wife includes property created by the husband and wife during the marriage period as well as the property that the husband and wife have agreed to determine as common property. Accordingly, a property can be considered as common property in 02 cases: Property formed during the marriage period; The husband and wife have an unanimous agreement to determine that it is the common property of both parties.

For wedding gold, the determination of whether it is common property or separate property should be based on the will of the donor as well as the purpose of giving that property. According to Clause 1, Article 43 of the 2014 Law on Marriage and Family, property donated separately to a spouse during the marriage period is determined to be the donor's private property. Therefore, if during the wedding ceremony, the giver of gold and money clearly expresses his will to give it separately to the bride or groom, the gold and money will be considered the recipient's private property and not part of the common property of the husband and wife upon divorce.

On the contrary, in case the wedding gold is donated to both husband and wife for the purpose of supporting the creation of initial capital, stabilizing life or developing the family economy, this gold will be determined as the common property of the husband and wife.

2.2 Cases where it is determined to be private property

According to the provisions of Clause 1, Article 43 of the Law on Marriage and Family 2014, wedding gold in some cases can be determined as the separate property of the husband or wife. This determination depends on the time of formation of the property, the origin of the property as well as the will of the parties in the marriage relationship.

For property acquired before marriage, the law stipulates that this is the separate property of the person who had such property before the marriage period. According to Clause 1, Article 43 of the Law on Marriage and Family 2014, the separate property of the husband and wife includes the property that each person had before marriage. Therefore, in case gold and money are owned by one party before the time of marriage registration, in principle, these gold and money are still under the sole ownership of that person and do not automatically become common property of the husband and wife after marriage. However, the law still respects the right of the parties to self-determination, so husband and wife can agree to enter separate property into the common property. If there is no agreement to merge separate property into common property, the property existed before marriage is still determined as independent separate property of the husband or wife.

For property formed from separate property and yields, income arising from separate property during the marriage period. Specifically, pursuant to Clause 2, Article 43 of the Law on Marriage and Family 2014, property formed from the separate property of the husband and wife is still considered the separate property of the person who has such property. This means that if one party uses its own property to transform it into another property, the newly formed property is still essentially its own property. However, for yields and incomes arising from separate property during the marriage period, the re-determination shall comply with the provisions of Clause 1, Article 33 and Clause 1, Article 40 of the Law on Marriage and Family 2014. According to these regulations, yields and incomes arising from separate property during the normal marriage period will be determined as common property of husband and wife, unless otherwise agreed by the husband and wife or in the case of division of common property during the marriage period in accordance with the law.

3. How does the law regulate the case of requesting wedding gifts (money, gold) after divorce

The settlement of disputes related to wedding gifts upon divorce is carried out based on many different legal grounds, the most important of which is the will of the donor of the property, the time when the gift arises and the actual management and use of the property. These grounds are determined based on a combination of the provisions of the Law on Marriage and Family 2014, the Civil Code 2015 and the current civil procedure law. Accordingly, the time of donation before or after marriage registration is important in determining whether this is common property or separate property according to the provisions of Articles 33 and 43 of the Law on Marriage and Family 2014. At the same time, the party that makes the request for identification of separate property is also obliged to prove its claim in accordance with the provisions of the civil procedure law.

In practice, the will of the donor is considered the most important basis for the Court to consider and settle the dispute over wedding gifts upon divorce. According to the provisions of Article 457 of the Civil Code 2015, donation of property is an agreement between the parties, whereby the donor transfers the ownership of his property to the donated party without claiming compensation. From this provision, the Court will consider the object that the donor is aiming for when handing over property during the wedding ceremony. In case the donor clearly expresses his will to give to the bride or groom alone, such as specifically stating "to give to the daughter alone", "to give to the son separately" or there is a document, audio or video recording clearly showing this content, this can be considered as a basis for establishing separate property according to Article 43 of the Law on Marriage and Family 2014. However, in reality, most wedding gifts are given in the general atmosphere of the wedding ceremony without a specific delineation of the recipient of the property. In case there is no clear evidence proving the will to donate separately, the Court usually has a basis to determine that this is a property donated jointly by the husband and wife to serve the construction of family life.

In addition, the obligation to prove is a particularly important factor in the process of resolving disputes at the Court. According to Article 91 of the 2015 Civil Procedure Code, the involved parties making a request must be obliged to prove that the request is grounded and lawful. At the same time, Clause 3, Article 33 of the Law on Marriage and Family 2014 also stipulates that in case there are no grounds to prove that the property that the husband and wife are disputing is the separate property of each party, such property is determined to be the common property of the husband and wife. This regulation creates the principle of speculating on common property in marital relations.

Therefore, if a party believes that the wedding gold or wedding money is its own property, that party must present objective documents and evidence to prove the unique origin of the property such as the donor's confirmation, donation documents, images, videos or other documents of proof value. In case there are insufficient evidences, the Court will usually determine that the property is the common property of the husband and wife and divide it according to the principle of dividing common property upon divorce.

In addition to the will to give and the obligation to prove, the process of managing and using the property after receiving the wedding gift is also the basis for the Court to consider the legal nature of the property. According to Article 46 of the 2014 Law on Marriage and Family, husband and wife have the right to agree to merge separate property into common property. Therefore, although wedding gold can be initially identified as the private property of one party, if this property is later used for the common purpose of the family such as selling to buy a house, purchasing living assets, investing in a joint business or serving the essential needs of the family, the property can be considered as harmonious into the common property of the husband and wife. When resolving disputes, the Court will consider both the process of using the property, the contributions of the parties as well as the purpose of using the property to ensure the legitimate rights and interests of the husband and wife in accordance with the law.

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Best regards!

(Written by: Do Minh Nguyet; Date written: 15/05/2026)

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