Keep property separate when you marry: lawyer

• By Yang Yuan-ting and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writer

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Couples should keep their properties separate when they marry to avoid situations such as the one Chen Hsing-yu (陳幸妤) — the daughter of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) — described, a former family court judge said yesterday.

Chen Hsing-yu yesterday wrote in a post online that she had purchased a property and gifted it to her then-husband Chao Chien-ming (趙建銘), but she was the one who paid the mortgage.

Two days before, she had left a “one-star” negative review on a Google review of an orthopedic clinic run by Chao, criticizing his medical practice and accusing him of having an affair while showing no regard for her or their children.

Chen Hsing-yu, the daughter of former president Chen Shui-bian, left, is swarmed by photojournalists in Tainan yesterday.

Photo: Wang Chieh, Taipei Times

The clinic wrote a reply to the comment, saying: “What she wrote is completely untrue.”

“I will continue to serve my patients through my own abilities and hard work,” it said.

It was unclear whether the comment was posted by Chao or by a social media administrator.

Chen Hsing-yu yesterday wrote that she had transferred the property to Chao, who uses it for his private clinic, as a gift, but had kept the NT$60 million (US$1.87 million) mortgage in her name and paid it off.

Gifts of property between spouses are not included in the division of marital assets after divorce, she wrote, urging others not to make the same mistake.

Chen Ciou-jyun (陳秋君), a lawyer who previously worked as a judge in civil, criminal and family courts, said that many Taiwanese give property to their spouses for tax reasons.

When a marriage dissolves, such arrangements often leave the gifting party without recourse, as the law has specific requirements for a giver to claim a property or asset they gave away, she said.

Chen Hsing-yu could not prove that her ex-husband breached a contractual condition in keeping the clinic because no contract was signed, Chen Ciou-jyun said, adding that she had not claimed Chao was abusive, which would have entitled injured parties to compensation if proven in court.

Chen Hsing-yu can request alimony to support herself or her children, but her economic circumstances and medical license make it unlikely that a court would accept the claim, the lawyer said.

She could attempt to prove that the clinic was intended to be jointly owned or wholly owned by her, which would require witnesses or records such as text messages, Chen Ciou-jyun said.

Couples entering into marriage should agree to a separation of property regardless of their income level to ensure both parties receive an equal share if they divorce, she said.

That legal protection applies to rent generated by jointly owned properties, she added.