"Baby" swiped over 130,000 yuan! A Fuzhou court rules: The "Family Card" spending amount must be fully refunded!

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The Taijiang Court legally concluded a case

Regarding a gift contract dispute caused by opening a family card due to extramarital affairs

The court ruled that the involved gift transaction is invalid

The third-party outside the marriage must fully refund over 130,000 yuan in expenses

Case

Huang and Lin are legally married. During their marriage, Huang discovered that her husband Lin had labeled the social media account of a woman named Yan as “Baby.” Their chat records contained ambiguous language, indicating improper interactions.

From October 2022 to May 2023, Yan used the family card function opened by Lin for her, accumulating expenses totaling over 130,000 yuan. After the incident, Lin confessed to his extramarital affair in an effort to retain his wife.

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Huang believes that Lin, without her consent, used their joint marital property to gift a third party outside the marriage through the family card, severely infringing on her legal property rights. This behavior violates public order and good morals and should be considered invalid. She sued Yan at the Taijiang Court, requesting the court to declare the gift invalid and to have Yan return all the expenses.

During the trial, Yan argued that she and Lin were business partners. The family card was a work benefit provided by Lin in his capacity as a major shareholder of the company to facilitate procurement for senior management, not a gift, and was unrelated to the extramarital affair. However, Yan failed to provide any valid evidence such as financial flow records or reimbursement documents to support her claim.

The court’s findings

The family card is essentially a payment tool used to pay on behalf of relatives, mainly for daily expenses within close relationships. During the account opening process, the platform clearly indicates whether the funds are “gifts” or “gifts,” and in the absence of contrary evidence, such transactions are generally legally classified as gratuitous gifts.

In this case, Lin’s interactions with Yan exceeded normal social boundaries. His gratuitous gift of a large amount of joint marital property was neither necessary for daily family life nor approved by the co-owner Huang, seriously damaging her legal rights.

The court ultimately determined that this gift violated public order and morals. It legally declared Lin’s act of gifting over 130,000 yuan to Yan through the family card invalid, and Yan must fully refund the involved amount to Huang.

Judge’s reminder

Be cautious when opening functions like family cards or relative cards. If the funds are actually loans, payments on behalf, or work expenses, it is essential to sign a written agreement in advance, keep chat records and financial receipts, and clearly specify the nature of the funds to avoid property disputes.

Marriage is protected by law, and spouses have a duty of fidelity. Any extramarital “emotional investment” that violates public order and morals cannot be legally recognized or protected. Do not let sweet emotional expressions become tools that harm family members or cross legal boundaries.

Reporter: Lin Chunchang Correspondent: Zhang Ruijia

Source: Fuzhou Evening News