Before you got married, you spent $10,000 buying your partner the wedding ring that they wanted. You knew that it was an expensive purchase, but you wanted to make the marriage perfect for your partner.
However, it’s now clear to you that the relationship isn’t going to last. The two of you are going to break up, and you want to get the ring back. Maybe you’re going to try to return it or maybe you want to sell it to a third party, getting back as much of the $10,000 as possible. Either way, you spent a lot of money on it and you want it to be returned to you
However, your partner argues that it was a gift and they should get to keep it. Who is right and what happens to the ring?
A conditional gift
The key is when your relationship ends. Generally, the court views rings as conditional gifts. Whether or not the condition was fulfilled depends on when the relationship ends.
For instance, if you asked your partner to marry you and they said yes, then the condition is that the two of you must get married. If they break the engagement off before the wedding, they cannot keep the ring. They have to return it to them because you would not have given them the ring in the first place if you knew they weren’t going to agree to marry you.
However, once you get married, then things become a bit different. Courts often say that the condition on the gift has already been met. If the two of you are getting divorced, your partner may not have to return the ring because they did fulfill their obligation to marry you. They are not required to stay married forever to keep the ring.
This can lead to disputes and many complications, so take the time to carefully look into your legal options.