Parents open a special account for their child and deposit New Year's gift money. Is it permissible for the parents to use that money freely? Recently, the Songjiang District People's Court in Shanghai heard such a case and ordered the mother to return most of the New Year's gift money.

A Chinese couple, Mr. Wang and Ms. Li, had a son in 2020, and they opened a bank account in the boy's name, depositing received birth celebration money and other funds. Over the subsequent years, congratulatory gifts and New Year's gift money received from grandparents and relatives were successively deposited, and the bank card was kept by the mother, Ms. Li. In August 2025, the couple divorced, and the father was to take custody of the boy. When the father received and checked the bank card, he found that only about 40 yuan (approximately 945 yen) remained from the original deposit of over 290,000 yuan (approximately 6.85 million yen), so he demanded repayment from the mother and sued her in court.

The court recognized that "this bank account was jointly opened by the parents for the boy, and the deposits mainly occurred during special occasions such as the Lunar New Year and birthdays, making it clear that the nature of the funds consists of New Year's gift money and congratulatory gifts donated by close relatives, and legally belongs to the minor's personal property," determining that the parents only possessed management rights, not ownership rights.

Article 35 of China's Civil Code stipulates that guardians shall not dispose of the property of their wards except for the purpose of protecting the interests of the wards.

The court reviewed each expenditure, deducted amounts actually used for the child, and considering the child's age, education, and living expenses, judged that these funds were the child's personal property, ultimately ordering the mother, Ms. Li, to return 220,000 yuan (approximately 5.2 million yen). (Provided by/CGTN Japanese)