As family lawyers, a lot of the clients we meet are seeking legal advice in relation to the breakdown of their marriage, whether it be the divorce itself or resolving the issue of the finances or arrangements for the children. Sometimes however, unfortunately the parties separate before the wedding actually takes place. In those instances, the usual issues can arise in relation to children and resolving the ownership of any jointly owned property, similar to the problems that become apparent during divorce (although different law applies when resolving issues of property in cohabitation matters) but one question that doesn’t arise in divorce, and has a lot of people scratching their heads, is that of the engagement ring – to keep or not to keep when an engagement comes to an end?

Morally, you may think that the ring should be returned to the person who gave it in the first place; the engagement ring can be considered as a token of a promise to marry and of course, is usually one of the most expensive pieces of jewellery that you’ll buy for your other half.  However where does the law stand?  Does the recipient of the ring have a legal duty to return the ring, if not morally?

The answer is, somewhat straightforward and is contained with the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1970.  The Act provides for any party entering an agreement to marry, who in turn makes a gift of property to the other party during that agreement on the basis that it shall be returned if the agreement is ended, is able to seek to recover that property if the agreement to marry is ended. However, in the case of engagement rings, this is presumed to be an absolute gift meaning that the recipient of the ring is entitled to keep this unless it can be proven that the ring was given on the condition that it should be returned to the giver if the marriage does not take place.

The problem herein is when do you have that tricky conversation with your betrothed?  It’s surely got to be the greatest romance killer for your other half to go down on bended knee, pop out the ring and ask the question, only to follow this with ‘and by the way, if we end up separating before we get married, you have to give me the ring back’.  And this is where the problem can arise if the engagement sadly ends before the marriage takes place.

It may be the case that you and your partner may discuss entering into a pre-nuptial agreement prior to the marriage taking place; whilst not definitively legally binding, we are finding that the courts are mindful of such agreements when parties are divorcing, and therefore it would make sense to have a clause within any such agreement that defines what will happen to the ring in the event of the marriage not taking place; by doing so, you are making an express declaration of your intentions which should satisfy the courts if an issue does arise.

At Jackson Lees, our experienced team of family lawyers are here to help you with every legal aspect of relationship breakdown, be that divorce, engagement or cohabitation together with both pre and post-nuptial agreements.

If you would like to talk to one of our specialist family law advisers, please call us free on 0800 387 927 (now also free to call from mobiles), request a callback at your convenience or email us your enquiry.