Who Gets to Keep the Engagement Ring?

There are two situations where you might like to get back the rather expensive ring you bought your bride before your relationship ended: a broken-off engagement or a divorce. The answer to “who gets the ring?” is different in each situation.

Broken-Off Engagement: engagement rings are considered “conditional gifts.” In other words, the gift becomes final upon the condition that your bride eventually marries you. Prior to the vows, however, that condition has not been completed, so you can still revoke the gift. So, if the engagement is called off, you should legally be able to get back the ring.

Divorce: after the vows are said and the marriage license is signed, the condition of that conditional gift has been fulfilled. The ring is now considered a gift. Further, because it is a gift, it is a nonmarital asset for distribution purposes if the two of you ever get divorced. That means that the ring’s value will likely not be split between the two of you during a divorce. Instead, it belongs to your spouse. This was true even in a case (Randall v. Randall) where the ring was the former husband’s family heirloom.

If you are going through a divorce and have questions about division of assets or any other topic, contact a Florida Family Law Attorney to discuss your options.