Which Spouse Keeps the Engagement Ring in a Divorce?

As you divvy up property in your divorce proceedings, you may consider your jewelry your personal property and therefore protected in your possession. However, you may be concerned about one particular piece; namely, your engagement ring. This is because your spouse may have purchased this item and given it to you when they proposed marriage. So, you do not know if this means it technically belongs to them. Well, for this, please follow along to find out which spouse gets to keep the engagement ring after a divorce and how one of the proficient Clarksville divorce lawyers at Fendley and Birch can help you negotiate a fair distribution of assets.

What spouse gets to keep the engagement ring after a divorce?

You should know that your engagement ring is considered a conditional gift. That is, it is contingent on you and your fiancé getting married at a later date. So once you and your fiancé finally tie the knot, it is categorized as your separate property outright. Therefore, in the event of a divorce, it is not subject to equitable distribution proceedings, which only applies to marital property.

With your engagement ring remaining in your possession, you may do virtually anything you want with it. For one, you may keep it as a memento of the happy moments you experienced in your marriage. Or, you may sell it and keep the proceeds for yourself.

What happens to the engagement ring if the couple never marries?

While your engagement ring becomes your separate property after you get married, the same cannot be said if you and your fiancé never make it to the altar. This is because, to reiterate, your engagement ring is a conditional gift. So, if the condition of the gift (i.e., marriage) is never met, the receiving partner must return it to the giving partner. This is regardless of which partner initiated the cancelation of the wedding.

On that note, say, for instance, that you and your fiancé wrote up a prenuptial agreement ahead of your scheduled wedding date. Well, this agreement may have included a clause for the engagement ring should one of you call off the wedding. This clause may have outlined a “buyout” plan, in which you may keep the engagement ring so long as you follow a payment plan to compensate the giving partner. Or, this clause may state that the giving partner cannot and should not ask for it back, or for the return of its monetary value.

In another example, say you hastily sell your engagement ring after learning your fiancé wants to cancel the wedding. Without a pre-existing prenuptial agreement, you may be legally obligated to pay its monetary value back to the giving partner.

For more information on if and when to pursue a divorce, please don’t hesitate to contact one of the talented Clarksville family lawyers from Fendley and Birch. We look forward to hearing from you and later on helping you.