婚前协议:当爱情、婚姻遇见金钱

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`.

我们彼此相爱且相互信任，绝不会离婚，所以婚前协议与我们无关，它只会损害我们的感情。这是时下许多中国年轻人的想法，但他们想法并不能代表父母。

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，随着人们变得愈加富有以及离婚率的节节高升，越来越多的夫妻考虑到离婚时的财产分割问题，会选择签署婚前协议。

"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.

上海离婚案件律师梁麦克说“我想没人会在婚前就谈论离婚，这就好比在婴儿刚出生时就谈论死亡一样，听上去很荒唐。但实际上来说，婚前协议能帮助人们在法庭上节约时间、减少纠纷。”

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.

在西方国家，婚前协议十分普遍，双方在结婚登记前签下这份合法的契约，其中涵盖财产分割的方方面面。但多年来，许多中国人对这种法律文书嗤之以鼻，认为这些充分证明了富人的精于算计和冷酷无情——过于精明以至于会在婚前就已考虑到离婚的可能性。

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.

但随着经济的迅猛发展，相当多的中国老百姓手里都拥有一些财产——房子、车子、黄金、珠宝、股票、艺术品、古董和其他资产。目前大多夫妻会在处理纠纷时才会选择财产划分，很少有新人能在婚前便划分财产的。

"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.

梁律师称：“在过去的三年中，不断的有准新人向我咨询，老少参半。”

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.

他补充说，很多人都瞒着自己的另一半，单独前来询问是否能办理婚前财产的个人所有权认证。

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.

梁律师解释说，一些人在取得房子、汽车及其他婚前采购物品所有权后大松了一口气，其实本没有这个必要。很多人不知道，依据法律，未经当事人允许，这些资产无论是在现在还是将来，都不会成为共同财产，也不会在离婚后转手他人。

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.

但也有许多人担心这份既功利又现实的婚前财产协议，会破坏夫妻间所应有的信任，显示出恋人间信任与真爱的缺失。因此他们决不会选择这样做。

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岁的瑞贝卡•刘是一名会计师，与29岁的男友杰瑞•徐交往了一年半，近日两人却在谈婚论嫁之时分手了。

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."

原因很简单：杰瑞•徐的父母为他买了房子和汽车，并坚持要二人签订婚前协议。这样一旦离婚，徐不会失去这些财产。徐听从了父母的决定并表示：“这是他们出的钱，我没有资格去跟他们争论此事。”

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."

男方对父母的顺从态度让瑞贝卡•刘很难过，她认为这个协议意味着“对我们之间的恋情，我给予他的爱，甚至是我的为人都持不信任的态度”。

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

双方争辩了两个月，都不愿做出妥协，最后以分手告终。