Working on China Divorce Stock Options Restricted? Upload the relevant files to Caira and turn the issue into a practical document checklist. Ask about China law, draft letters or forms, and upload files for review.
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Equity awards need grant date, vesting, exercise, employer restrictions, tax and marital timing evidence.
For a RMB 15 million equity package, unvested RSUs and exercised options should not be lumped together.
Caira can build a vesting schedule and document list from plan rules and employer letters.
Do not value stock rights from screenshots alone when restrictions and tax may matter.
Stock options, restricted shares, and RSUs can make a China divorce feel unfinished even when the house, bank accounts, and car are easy to list. Equity awards may vest over time, depend on employment, be governed by an offshore plan, or disappear if the employee resigns. One spouse may see them as compensation earned during marriage. The employee spouse may see them as uncertain, non-transferable, or tied to future service. Both positions can contain part of the truth.
The official framework starts with the Civil Code for marital property issues, but the documents rarely stop there. The Labor Contract Law may matter because the award is connected to employment terms, confidentiality, resignation, termination, and compensation structure. The Company Law matters if the award converts into company equity or restricted shares in a Chinese company. For listed, offshore, or multinational plans, plan rules and tax documents can be just as important as the label used in casual conversation.
Start with the award map
Do not begin by arguing whether the options are definitely divisible. Begin by mapping the award. Identify each grant separately: grant date, number of units or options, vesting schedule, exercise price, performance conditions, expiry date, employer entity, issuing entity, governing law, and whether the award is transferable. A single executive may have annual grants with different rules. A start-up founder may have restricted equity, option pools, repurchase rights, and shareholder agreements layered together.
The marriage timeline then sits beside the award timeline. Important dates include marriage, separation if relevant, filing, trial, vesting, exercise, sale, tax withholding, and employment termination. An award granted before marriage but vesting during marriage may raise different arguments from an award granted during marriage for future service after separation. Avoid one-size conclusions.
Bilingual equity-award document checklist
Award notice / 授予通知: grant date, units, exercise price, vesting conditions.
Plan rules / 股权激励计划: transfer restrictions, forfeiture, repurchase, governing law.
Vesting record / 归属记录: vested, unvested, exercised, cancelled, or expired awards.
Employment documents / 劳动合同及补充协议: role, bonus terms, confidentiality, resignation impact.
Tax and payroll / 个税及工资记录: withholding, reported income, sale proceeds, employer statements.
Company records / 公司文件: shareholder register, capital contribution, board approvals, option plan documents.
Ask for native files where possible. Screenshots from an equity portal are helpful but incomplete if they omit plan rules, hidden conditions, or tax treatment. If the employee spouse controls the portal, preserve dated screenshots and request formal disclosure through Caira or court procedure rather than relying on verbal summaries.
Valuation needs humility
Options and RSUs are not the same asset. A vested share with market liquidity is different from an underwater option, an unvested RSU, a restricted share subject to repurchase, or an award in a private company with no sale market. Registered capital, headline valuation, and last financing price may all be misleading. Tax, lock-ups, foreign exchange issues, and employer restrictions can materially affect value.
For listed-company awards, statements, market prices, vesting dates, and tax records can support a practical valuation discussion. For private-company awards, consider cap tables, financing rounds, buyback rights, articles, shareholder agreements, and whether the employee can ever transfer the interest. A court may prefer compensation by value rather than forcing a transfer that the plan prohibits, but the suitable remedy depends on the documents and local practice.
Disclosure questions for the employee spouse
A focused request is more productive than asking for everything about your job. Useful questions include: What equity awards have been granted by any employer or affiliate? Which awards are vested, unvested, exercised, cancelled, sold, or forfeited? What conditions remain? What happens on resignation, dismissal, retirement, change of control, or divorce? Have any awards been pledged, transferred, repurchased, or settled in cash? Were taxes withheld or reported?
Where the spouse says the awards are worthless, ask for the document that creates the limitation. Where the spouse says the plan is confidential, ask for a redacted plan, Caira-to-Caira review, or court-supervised disclosure. Confidentiality should be managed, but it should not become a blanket excuse for hiding compensation.
Common traps
First, do not assume every unvested award is excluded. The reason for the grant and the service period may matter. Second, do not assume every vested award can be transferred. Plan restrictions may require valuation or compensation instead. Third, do not ignore tax. A gross equity value can overstate what the employee actually receives. Fourth, do not miss offshore layers. Many China executives receive awards from a Cayman, Hong Kong, or US parent while working for a mainland subsidiary.
The aim is not to promise a spouse a fixed percentage of every option or RSU. The aim is to make the equity visible, classify it carefully, value it with the right caveats, and avoid a settlement that releases unknown compensation. In high-income divorces, a well-organized award map can change the negotiation even before anyone reaches the harder legal argument about division.
Document wording to adapt
请提供股权激励协议、授予通知、归属时间表、行权记录、离职条款、纳税记录、公司说明及婚姻期间相关付款证据。
Sources
Civil Code materials in the official law database
Ministry of Civil Affairs or local civil-affairs guidance
local court guidance for litigated disputes
This article is general information, not legal, financial, medical or tax advice.
