Engagement rings are very expensive in the United States. A study by The Knot found that the average cost is over $5,000. While there certainly are couples who are buying less expensive rings, the fact that this is the average demonstrates that there are also couples paying $10,000 or more.
In other words, the engagement ring is a major investment and represents a significant cost. If the engagement is broken off, does the person who purchased it or the person who received it get to keep it?
Rings as a conditional gift
In many cases, courts will look at engagement rings as conditional gifts. They are not direct gifts that the recipient gets to keep in all situations. They are only something that was given under the condition of getting married.
This means that it may really depend on when the relationship ends. If a couple gets engaged and then one person breaks off that engagement, the ring may belong to the person who purchased it. The condition of marriage was never met, so the other party has to return the ring.
It can get more complicated if the couple did get married and then divorced. Does the divorce mean that the marriage condition is not met because the marriage did not last, or does the court believe that the condition of marriage was already met, even if that marriage eventually ended, meaning that the ring belongs to the recipient?
When couples go through divorce, engagement rings are just one asset that can lead to conflicts, but they help show how complicated it can be to split up marital assets or even define marital property. While going through this process, couples must know exactly what legal options they have.