婚前協議:當愛情、婚姻遇見金錢

We`re in love, we trust each other, we`ll never get divorced - who needs a prenup? It`ll just spoil our relationship. That`s many Chinese young people`s thinking, though maybe not their parents`.

我們彼此相愛且相互信任，絕不會離婚，所以婚前協議與我們無關，它只會損害我們的感情。這是時下許多中國年輕人的想法，但他們想法並不能代表父母。

Nevertheless, as people become more affluent and divorce rates rise, an increasing number of couples are signing prenuptial agreements on division of property in case of divorce.

然而，隨着人們變得愈加富有以及離婚率的節節高升，越來越多的夫妻考慮到離婚時的財產分割問題，會選擇簽署婚前協議。

"I know nobody wants to talk about divorce before marriage -- it sounds ridiculous. It`s like talking about a funeral at a newborn`s birthday. But practically speaking, a prenuptial agreement does save a lot of time and disputes in court," Shanghai divorce lawyer Mike Liang said.

上海離婚案件律師樑麥克說“我想沒人會在婚前就談論離婚，這就好比在嬰兒剛出生時就談論死亡一樣，聽上去很荒唐。但實際上來說，婚前協議能幫助人們在法庭上節約時間、減少糾紛。”

Prenuptial agreements, not unusual in the West, are legal contracts signed before two people enter civil union, and include details of property division. For many years these legal instruments were considered peculiar by many Chinese. They were considered proof of how cold-blooded and calculating rich people can be - so shrewd they must even consider the possibility of divorce before marriage.

在西方國家，婚前協議十分普遍，雙方在結婚登記前簽下這份合法的契約，其中涵蓋財產分割的方方面面。但多年來，許多中國人對這種法律文書嗤之以鼻，認爲這些充分證明了富人的精於算計和冷酷無情——過於精明以至於會在婚前就已考慮到離婚的可能性。

But along with hectic economic development, a large group of ordinary Chinese now own some property - apartments, vehicles, gold, jewelry, stocks, art, antiques and other assets. Now there is property to divide in a settlement, and quite a bit can be acquired before marriage.

但隨着經濟的迅猛發展，相當多的中國老百姓手裏都擁有一些財產——房子、車子、黃金、珠寶、股票、藝術品、古董和其他資產。目前大多夫妻會在處理糾紛時纔會選擇財產劃分，很少有新人能在婚前便劃分財產的。

"I have been getting a lot of inquiries from couples who are about to get married, from young to old, about half and half, and increasingly more in the past three years," lawyer Liang said.

樑律師稱：“在過去的三年中，不斷的有準新人向我諮詢，老少參半。”

He adds that many people come to him as individuals, asking whether they can conduct the required ownership verification of prenuptial property by themselves alone - without telling the future spouse.

他補充說，很多人都瞞着自己的另一半，單獨前來詢問是否能辦理婚前財產的個人所有權認證。

Some are relieved to find out that ownership of their apartment, car and other things purchased before marriage does not have to be verified, Liang said. By law, which many don`t know, they are not and will not be considered community property and won`t change hands in a divorce, without consent.

樑律師解釋說，一些人在取得房子、汽車及其他婚前採購物品所有權後大鬆了一口氣，其實本沒有這個必要。很多人不知道，依據法律，未經當事人允許，這些資產無論是在現在還是將來，都不會成爲共同財產，也不會在離婚後轉手他人。

But many others worry that the materialism and pragmatism represented by a prenuptial accord may harm the necessary bedrock trust in a relationship, suggesting lack of faith and true love. Many who do consider it decide never to raise the issue.

但也有許多人擔心這份既功利又現實的婚前財產協議，會破壞夫妻間所應有的信任，顯示出戀人間信任與真愛的缺失。因此他們決不會選擇這樣做。

Rebecca Liu, a 27-year-old accountant, recently broke up with her 29-year-old boyfriend Jerry Xu as they started discussing the possibility of marriage, after dating for a year and half.

27歲的瑞貝卡•劉是一名會計師，與29歲的男友傑瑞•徐交往了一年半，近日兩人卻在談婚論嫁之時分手了。

The reason was simple: Xu`s parents, who bought his apartment and car, insisted on a prenuptial property agreement so he would not lose the property in case of divorce. Xu obeyed his parents decision, saying, "It`s their money and I don`t have any grounds on which to argue with them about this."

原因很簡單：傑瑞•徐的父母爲他買了房子和汽車，並堅持要二人簽訂婚前協議。這樣一旦離婚，徐不會失去這些財產。徐聽從了父母的決定並表示：“這是他們出的錢，我沒有資格去跟他們爭論此事。”

His compliant attitude upset Liu who says an agreement would demonstrate "lack of trust in our relationship, my love for him and even my morality."

男方對父母的順從態度讓瑞貝卡•劉很難過，她認爲這個協議意味着“對我們之間的戀情，我給予他的愛，甚至是我的爲人都持不信任的態度”。

They broke up after two months of arguments, neither willing to compromise.

雙方爭辯了兩個月，都不願做出妥協，最後以分手告終。