Wedding rings can be incredibly expensive. Some people spend tens of thousands of dollars on the ring before the wedding even happens. It’s a symbol of the engagement and the intent to get married in the future.
If you and your spouse are now moving toward a divorce, and you’re the one who spent all of that money on the engagement ring, you may be wondering if you can get it back. After all, You purchased that ring all on your own and simply gave it to your spouse. Doesn’t that mean you should retain ownership?
Wedding rings are often separate property
It is true that wedding rings are often considered separate property, rather than marital property. But that doesn’t mean that that ring belongs to the person who bought it. It generally stays with the person who was given that ring as a gift.
The rationale here is that the ring is a conditional gift given to someone with the condition that they will get married. As long as your spouse did get married to you, even if they are now getting divorced, they have already fulfilled that condition. This means that they owned the ring before the two of you were married and it is their own personal property.
There are some situations in which a person can get the ring back if they don’t get married. For example, if your significant other initially agrees and then breaks off the engagement, you may be able to get the ring back since the condition wasn’t met. But if you’re getting divorced, you’re likely already beyond that point.
Dividing assets can certainly get confusing during a divorce, so be sure you know what legal options you have.