Contents
 
 
      In accordance with Marriage law of the People’s Republic of China and the relevant laws and regulations, the matrimonial relation can only be dissolved through two ways, i.e.: divorce by agreement and divorce litigations. There is no legal ground in China that matrimonial relation can be automatically dissolved after separation for a period of time in society.
      Divorce by agreement refers to dissolution of marriage on the basis of free will and both parties have reached agreements on legal issues of divorce as approved by matrimonial registry at civil affairs bureau.
      According to the current “regulations concerning matrimonial registration”, divorce by agreement is the most economical and swift method. Under the agreements on legal issues of divorce by both parties, the marriage registration office shall deal with divorce procedures on the spot and the conjugal relation is dissolved legally.
Benefits in details of divorce by agreement via marriage registration office of civil affairs bureau:
     1. Short time period. As for divorce by agreement, as long as formalities are complete with nothing necessary missing, generally, divorce certificate can be issued on the spot, while divorce litigation takes at least one month. In case one party is abroad or his/her whereabouts is unknown in foreign country, it may even take more time to conduct divorce cases, the longest of which may last for two years or so. In accordance with Civil Procedures Law of the People’s Republic of China concerning censorship, it should take 3-month judgment through summary procedures, while 6-month judgment through general divorce procedures. For instance, as for an ordinary divorce case in Shanghai, in case property disputes are under 5 million Yuan without big and complicated elements, most of them shall be conducted through summary procedures, while important and relatively complicated cases shall go through general procedures. Therefore, divorce by agreement lasts for the shortest time, which is the most economical with a view to time.
     2. Low expenses. No matter how much property both parties possess, the divorcer is only charged with 10 Yuan or so for general divorce formalities. However, divorce proceedings are charged based on amounts of controversial property, i.e.: the more disputed property the party involved possess, the higher the court shall charge with, The low will be 50 Yuan, and the high will be a thousand, ten thousand or even hundred thousand Yuan. In accordance with the current The People’s Court’s charging measures for brief fees, divorce proceedings are charged on amounts of controversial property. In case the amount is below 10,000 Yuan, expenses shall be 50 Yuan; the part more than 10,000 Yuan shall be charged with service fees by 1 %. In addition, in the event that the case is involved with property insurance or property assessment, insurance and assessment fees shall be charged separately, which are not a small amount of expenses. In conclusion, compared with divorce litigation, divorce by agreement is basically no cost at all.
     3. Low pressure. As divorce by agreement can be conducted rapidly, unlike divorce litigations, it relieves the persons involved from several months’ lawsuit and mental sufferings from parents and friends around, as the formalities of divorce by agreement are relatively private. However, in the process of divorce proceedings, the persons involved usually need to spend several months in the lawsuit, so that the stress from themselves, relatives and the court is unavoidable. In other words, they have to suffer from more fatigue and mental stress.