Chinese woman in ‘fake marriage’ sues mother-in-law for share of family assets

Xue Li, 51, agreed to marry Xu Tian, a 48-year-old senior manager at a state-owned company in Beijing, who had long been in a relationship with another man, doctor Xue Chong. Because same-sex marriage is illegal in China, the couple kept their relationship private and pretended to be father and son in front of neighbors, according to the South China Morning Post.

In 2024, the village where Xu’s mother lived became part of a relocation project, with each registered household member eligible for 2.3 million yuan (US$323,000) in compensation. To secure an additional payout, Xu and his partner arranged for Xue Chong’s divorced sister, Xue Li, to serve as Xu’s legal spouse, The Paper reported.

A bride and groom during a wedding ceremony. Photo by Pexels

In Dec. 2024, Xu and Xue Li registered their marriage. They held no wedding, made no announcement to relatives, and did not live together.

Two months later Xu died in a traffic accident, ending the arrangement between the two families.

Xue Li immediately filed a lawsuit against Xu’s mother to assert her rights as his legal spouse and claim a share of the accident compensation, relocation payments, and his other assets.

Xu’s mother responded with a countersuit and asked the court to declare the marriage invalid. She said the couple never lived together and only registered the marriage to obtain compensation money.

Xue Li maintained that the motive behind the marriage did not affect the legal status of their registration.

The court ultimately ruled that the marriage between Xu and Xue Li was legally valid. It cited China’s Civil Code, which allows annulment only in cases of bigamy, incest, or underage marriage. It said the intention to profit did not make the marriage void and awarded Xue Li part of Xu’s estate.

Xu’s mother later filed an appeal on Nov. 24.

The case has drawn widespread attention on Chinese social media and sparked discussions about the risks of financially driven marriage arrangements.

Under Chinese law, using marriage to obtain government compensation can be considered fraud, carrying a prison term of up to 10 years if criminally prosecuted.