Divorce damages (离婚损害赔偿) are governed by Article 1091 of the PRC Civil Code. Where a divorce results from one spouse's serious fault, the no-fault spouse has the right to claim damages. The listed faults are bigamy; cohabiting with another person; domestic violence; maltreatment or desertion of family members; and other serious fault. Damages can cover both material losses and compensation for emotional harm.
Why it matters
Divorce damages are separate from property division, although a court may also favour the no-fault party when dividing community property (Article 1087). The threshold is high: an ordinary affair is not automatically "cohabiting with another person", which generally means living together continuously and stably. The claimant must prove the fault, and evidence must be lawfully obtained. Awards for emotional harm in practice are often moderate. Still, a well-supported claim can meaningfully change the overall settlement.
How it works in practice
A Chinese wife discovered that her husband, a foreign executive in Guangzhou, had been living with another woman in a rented flat for more than a year. Her lawyer gathered the lease, property management records and neighbours' statements. In the divorce, the court found cohabitation, awarded her damages for emotional harm and gave her a larger share of the community property. Separately, money he had spent on the other woman was addressed as a misuse of community funds.
Common mistakes
- Assuming any affair qualifies; courts look for serious, provable fault
- Collecting evidence illegally, such as hacking phones or installing hidden cameras in private spaces
- Waiting too long to file; the claim is generally made in the divorce proceedings
- Waiving damages in a registry divorce agreement without realising
- Expecting punitive-sized awards; amounts are usually measured