Engagement Rings: Ownership After Broken Engagement or Divorce

An engagement ring can be a large financial investment for the purchaser and gift-giver. The traditional rule-of-thumb for purchasing an engagement ring is to spend up to three-months’ salary on the ring! Other times an engagement ring is a family heirloom, or a family diamond or precious stone that has been reset into a new ring especially for the recipient. But what happens to the engagement ring if the wedding doesn’t happen? Or what happens to the ring if you end up divorced? We provide the answers to these burning questions, below.

Who gets the engagement ring if the engagement is called off?
In South Carolina, if an engaged couple calls off the wedding, the ring-giver will receive ownership of the ring after the engagement has ended. It does not matter which partner called off the engagement, as no “fault” is considered in the determination of engagement ring ownership. An engagement ring is considered a conditional gift given on the condition of marriage. If the marriage does not occur, then the condition has not been fulfilled and the ring should be returned to the original purchaser of the ring upon request.

In North Carolina, an engagement ring is also considered a conditional gift. If the engagement falls through, no matter who is at fault for the break-up, the ring-giver is entitled to the ring. Again, this is because the marriage did not occur, and the engagement ring was given on the condition that marriage is fulfilled.

Other states have various views on who receives the engagement ring if the wedding is called off. Some states’ laws say that if the recipient of the ring called off the wedding, they must return the ring to the ring-giver. If the ring-giver called off the wedding, then the recipient of the ring gets to keep the ring. Still other states say that the engagement ring was a simple gift, and the recipient of the gift gets to keep the ring even if the wedding does not occur.  

Who gets the engagement ring if you get divorced?
In both North and South Carolina, if you get divorced, the engagement ring will generally remain the property of the recipient of the ring. This is because the condition of marriage has been fulfilled, and so the gift is no longer conditional. South Carolina courts have issued case law directly on this point.

Additionally, an engagement ring is a gift that is typically given prior to a marriage and so the ring is considered “separate” property in a divorce. If the engagement ring was purchased or upgraded after marriage, using joint marital funds, then the ring would more than likely be considered “marital” property, and could be subject to equitable distribution (or equitable apportionment, if you’re in South Carolina) and the value would be considered in the overall distribution of your marital estate.

If the ring is a family heirloom that you would like to have returned if you divorce, you would need to plan ahead for that circumstance. The best way to make sure that your family heirloom ring is returned from your spouse upon a divorce is to have a prenuptial agreement signed prior to your marriage. You could also enter into a postnuptial agreement after your marriage to ensure if you ever separated and subsequently divorced, you would receive your priceless family heirloom back from your spouse.

​Please reach out to our office to schedule a consultation about a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement to protect your precious family heirlooms, or if you have further questions about what might be considered marital or separate property.   

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