Divorce in Mainland China: Can Hong Kong Real Property Be Divided Together? The Courts' Approach Is Changing

2026/10/14

Where both spouses are Mainland domiciliaries, married in the Mainland, and the husband, after marriage, resides permanently in Hong Kong and purchases a property in Hong Kong in his own name. After the relationship breaks down, the wife commences divorce proceedings before a Mainland court and seeks division of the Hong Kong property.

The question arises: can a Mainland court, in divorce proceedings, deal with the Hong Kong property together with the other assets?

Conclusion first: legally, it can; in practice, it is often "sidestepped."

From the perspective of applicable law, the proprietary relationship between spouses is governed by Article 24 of the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Application of Law to Foreign-Related Civil Relations. Where the parties have no common habitual residence and have not chosen the applicable law by agreement, but are both Mainland domiciliaries, Mainland law should ordinarily apply. In other words, a Mainland court is not without a legal basis for dividing Hong Kong property.

In the past, although the relevant guiding opinion of the Guangdong High People's Court has ceased to be effective, it once expressly provided that in divorce cases involving Hong Kong and Macao, so long as the property can be proven to be community property of the spouses, movable and immovable property in Hong Kong and Macao may be dealt with together with Mainland property. In practice, there have also been cases in which courts directly dealt with offshore property.

For example, a court in Beijing once heard a divorce case in which the parties, after marriage, purchased multiple properties in China and also purchased property and vehicles in Canada. The court ultimately awarded the Canadian property to one party and deducted a corresponding share from the division of the domestic properties. The reasoning was clear: where offshore property is difficult to value, the court does not directly fix a price, but instead determines ownership and then equalizes the position through the Mainland property.

In reality, however, the vast majority of Mainland courts are still unwilling to deal directly with Hong Kong property. There are four main reasons:

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First, they take the view that confirmation of title to Hong Kong immovable property exceeds the scope of the judicial power of a Mainland court;
Second, obtaining Hong Kong property registration records and completing notarization procedures is complex, making proof difficult;
Third, the value of offshore property is difficult to assess, leaving no basis for calculation in the division;
Fourth, in the past, Mainland judgments were difficult to enforce in Hong Kong, and the courts were concerned that "even if judgment is given, it will be to no avail."

Key change: after 2022, the enforcement obstacle has been leveled.

On 15 February 2022, the Arrangement of the Supreme People's Court Concerning the Mutual Recognition and Enforcement of Judgments in Matrimonial and Family Civil Cases Between the Mainland and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region came into effect. Hong Kong has corresponding legislation. Under these regimes, a ruling in a Mainland judgment that "property shall belong to one party" may be regarded in Hong Kong as "an order requiring one party to transfer property to the other," and is registrable and enforceable.

This means that a Mainland court's judgment determining the ownership of Hong Kong property is no longer a dead letter. The enforcement channel has been opened, and the courts' concern that "judgment may be given but cannot be enforced" has, as a matter of institutional design, basically been eliminated.

Lawyer's Opinion and Recommendations

Although the institutional obstacles have been substantially reduced, in practice the courts may still decline to deal with the matter on the ground that "Hong Kong assets are involved." Therefore, parties cannot simply assume that a Mainland court will certainly divide Hong Kong property together with the other assets.

Recommendations:

First, secure the evidence in advance. Hong Kong property registration records, title documents, funding records, mortgage repayment records, and the like should be obtained as early as possible and notarized or processed through a China-appointed attesting officer.

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Second, seek to agree on valuation as far as possible. If the parties can reach agreement on the current value of the Hong Kong property, the likelihood that the court will deal with it will increase markedly; if no agreement can be reached, consideration may be given to jointly commissioning a professional institution to carry out the valuation.

Third, seek to have it recorded in a mediation agreement. If the court is unwilling to deal with it by judgment, efforts may be made to have the mediation agreement confirm the ownership of the Hong Kong property and the compensation arrangement.

Fourth, prepare a litigation plan for both jurisdictions. If the Mainland court indeed does not deal with the matter, it will be necessary to assess the need to commence separate proceedings in Hong Kong.

Handling divorce-related property division involving Hong Kong involves different legal systems in the Mainland and Hong Kong, as well as multiple issues of evidence, valuation, and enforcement. The early involvement of a specialist lawyer can help the parties design a more secure path for division and avoid the predicament of "being divorced, yet unable to divide the property."