Court denies divorce bid over child’s paternity

Case has reignited the debate on ‘cooling off ’ period for couples that aims to save marriages

A man in central China is appealing against a court decision rejecting his divorce application on the grounds his daughter was not his biological child.

The case has revived the debate over the virtues of a “cooling off” period for divorce applications introduced this year.

The man, 44, identified only by his surname Tang, filed the request with the Liling People’s Court in Liling, Hunan province, earlier this year after learning his three-year-old daughter was not his biological child, the Shangyou News reported on Friday.

The couple said they had become incompatible while Tang stated he filed the application because they disagreed on the division of their property, the report said.

But the court rejected the request last week, saying the couple should take some time to rethink their decision.

“[They should] give each other some time to repair their relationship, which is better for social stability and family harmony,” the court said.

The report said the decision was in line with “the legislative intent of the ‘cooling-off’ period”, a rule that took effect from January in response to the rise in divorce rates.

The law requires couples to wait 30 days after filing for a divorce to “rethink” their decision. After that period, they must return to the civil affairs department to finalise the divorce.

Tang said a DNA test confirmed in January he had been raising another man’s child, according to the report.

But Fu, the mother of the child, was quoted as saying Tang begged her to “borrow sperm” because they had not been able to conceive a child.

“I gave it a try and soon succeeded … I didn’t know whether she was his or not,” Fu said.

She said she agreed to the break-up, but on condition she had sole ownership of their flat, which was in both her name and Tang’s but bought by her parents.

The case prompted heated discussion online, with many questioning how such a relationship could be repaired.

Wu Jiezhen, a Guangzhoubased divorce lawyer, said the new rule could lead to even more disputes between estranged couples.

While it might discourage a small number of couples from having impulsive break-ups, it could also prompt some to reconsider settlements they had reached earlier, he said.

“In reality, with this coolingoff period, people don’t change their mind about the break-up itself, but they do change their mind about how they should split their property and raise their children,” Wu said.

Many divorces which could have been completed in private in the past might go to court in the future, he said.