When you got engaged, your fiancé gave you an expensive wedding ring. Perhaps they even bragged about how much they paid, proud of having made such an extravagant purchase.
But that price point has now become a problem because the two of you are getting divorced. Your spouse insists that you have to give them the wedding ring back, especially because they took out a loan and they’re still paying it off. But are you legally obligated to return the ring?
A ring is usually separate property
It’s true that Texas is a community property state, but that applies to property that is required during a marriage. Those joint assets are owned together. A wedding ring is technically obtained before a marriage, so it is a personal gift. This makes it separate property for the person who received the gift. The ring is yours, and you already owned it when you got married, so you can keep it.
Some people argue that a wedding ring is a conditional gift and that the condition is being married. They claim that a divorce breaks this condition and that means the ring has to be returned. But the courts often view the condition as agreeing to get married, which has already been met. The end of that marriage doesn’t mean the marriage never happened. Since the condition was met, the ring can stay with the person who owns it.
Contentious divorce proceedings
A wedding ring is just one potential issue that can make divorce proceedings a bit more contentious. Those who find themselves in this position need to know what legal steps to take.
