Divorce, husband suddenly asks wife to divide land to buy before marriage

Ms. N.B. T (in Thai Nguyen) asked: "I am from Ha Giang, I went to Thai Nguyen to study at university. After graduating, I was lucky to get a job here. Working far from home, I always kept in mind to save to try to have a stable place to live. After 5 years of saving, accumulating, plus support from my parents, I bought a 50m2 piece of land, on which there is a level 4 house with a corrugated iron roof.

In 2020, I got married. My husband also came here from elsewhere to work, is renting a room, so after getting married we moved in to the house I bought.

2 years later, after giving birth to my daughter, a room was too cramped, so I discussed with my husband to renovate the house. After deliberation, the level 4 house was too old, so my husband and I spent all our savings, then borrowed from parents and siblings on both sides to build a new house.

We built on that land, a house with 2 bedrooms, 1 living room. After building the house, my husband and I agreed that each month my husband would keep the remaining 3 million VND of salary for me to spend on the family and save it to pay off debts. By now, the basic debt has been almost paid off.

Recently, my husband no longer gives the full salary as the two of us agreed. I asked and he said that he has to go on many business trips lately, so he needs to keep it for spending. Once when I washed clothes for my husband, I accidentally discovered a jewelry purchase bill. I was surprised because it had been a long time since my husband bought me any gifts. I put it back in my pocket as if I didn't know anything and quietly followed my husband's daily actions.

After a period of monitoring, I discovered the truth. My husband is "dating" a single mother. That is the reason my husband does not bring his salary back as the two of us agreed.

Annoyed by being deceived, I proposed divorce. When applying, we agreed that I would raise my daughter and he would be responsible for providing 2 million VND per month for the child. Regarding common property, in addition to belongings and vehicles, my husband requested the Court to appraise the land and house and then divide it in half, I received the house and land and paid him half in cash. I do not agree with this request because the house and land was bought by me before we got married, is my private property before marriage. But he said that I agreed to live together on this land, now he has no other place to live, so he must be divided in half. Lawyer, please ask, in this case, how is my house and land resolved? What are my husband's rights to this house and land?

Regarding the legal issue you asked, lawyer Duong Thu Hien - Thanh Lam Law Company Limited - advises as follows:

Clause 4, Article 59 of the Law on Marriage and Family 2014 (amended and supplemented in 2025), stipulates the Principles of settlement of property of husband and wife upon divorce:

“4. Private property of husband and wife is owned by that person, except for cases where private property has been incorporated into common property according to the provisions of this Law.

In case there is a merger or mixing between separate assets and common assets and the husband and wife request property division, they are entitled to pay the value of their assets contributed to that asset block, unless the husband and wife have other agreements.

Based on the provisions of law, if you only put the house and land into common use without agreeing to let your husband also be named in the Certificate of Land Use Rights, it is still determined to be your private property. When divorcing, your husband cannot request the Court to divide the land. However, during their cohabitation, your husband and wife demolished the old house and built a new house together, so you must pay your husband the value of the house based on the contributions of each party to construction.

Conversely, if you have agreed to merge your land and house into the common property of husband and wife (expressed in being jointly named in the certificate of land use rights, house ownership or having a separate written agreement), then this land and house is the common property of you and your husband. The division of property at this time is carried out according to the principle of division of common property of husband and wife upon divorce as stipulated in Clauses 2, 3, Article 59 of the Law on Marriage and Family in 2014 (amended and supplemented in 2025). Specifically, Clauses 2 and 3, Article 59 stipulate as follows:

“2. Common property of husband and wife is divided in half but taking into account the following factors:

a) Family and spouse circumstances;

b) The contribution of husband and wife to the creation, maintenance and development of common property. The labor of husband and wife in the family is considered as income-generating labor;

c) Protect the legitimate interests of each party in production, business and occupation so that the parties have conditions to continue working to generate income;

d) The fault of each party in violating the rights and obligations of husband and wife.

3. Common property of husband and wife is divided in kind, if it cannot be divided in kind, it is divided according to value; whichever party receives the property in kind with a value greater than their own share, they must pay the other party the difference.

When dividing common property, which is land and houses in this case, if your husband has housing difficulties and cannot find a new place to live, you have an obligation to support your husband in finding a new place to live. Your husband has the right to reside for a period of 6 months to find another place to live.

The above is the advice of the lawyer, wishing you to soon resolve your problems.