In the stare of Illinois...who keeps the engagement ring ?

Question

I know there are different laws in each state. I f the man breaks the engagement who keeps the ring?

Answer 1

If he bought you the ring, you should give it back to him if he wants it. That's only fair, regardless of what the law says.

Answer 2

Engagement rings are a gift. If the engagement is broken off, a gentleman will never ask for the ring to be returned. The lady in question may return it if she knows that it is a family heirloom and has deeper significance to the gentleman. Once married the engagement ring is the property of the wife. If the relationship founders and end in divorce, she gets to keep any rings or jewellery that were gifts. When couples get engaged, the norm is for the man to provide the engagement ring. If he has any sense he will agree with the lady in question,what sort of ring it will be. From personal experience, I was engaged three times and wound up marrying fiancee #3. All told it was an expensive experience. Fiancees #1 and #2 still have the rings I gave them.

Answer 3

This is more of an etiquette question than anything. I believe overall a ring becomes a gift of intention. It's up to the girl to return the ring, but I don't think there is any obligation to do so if the guy broke off the engagement. However, why would you want to keep it, unless you need to pay off some of the debt incurred during the engagement for wedding prep? And if that's the case, you could probably get him to pay half of that debt. It's not like the old days with betrothals, wedding gifts, etc. The modern day is all about being equal.

Answer 4

An engagement ring is a gift with an implied condition. That condition being that the marriage will take place. If the man breaks off the engagement, it may well be that he must relinquish the ring to his former intended. If a woman breaks off the engagement, she usually has to give it back. This is different from divorce in that the condition has already been met, and in that event both parties keep the respective rings.

Answer 5

woman keeps it in Illinois...the engagement is an implied contract. If the man breaks the engagement, the woman loses the benefit of the contract (the marriage) and the man forfeits the ring. This is not true in every state, but is the situation in Illinois. This is a legal question, not a question of etiquette.

Answer 6

OK - regardless of any state law, if you break up before the wedding, what are you going to do with the ring anyway?

are you really going to wear it after the breakup? if not as a ring, then do you seriously want another piece of jewelry that will remind you of a painful breakup? (i don't even keep pictures of my ex's. what's the point?) if you plan on selling it off, realize that you will get about 1/3 of what he paid for it - broken engagements are more common than you think, and the jewelers don't need any more inventory.

i agree with above posters that stated etiquette - give it back if you are breaking up, its the "bigger person" thing to do. who needs the baggage?

Answer 7

When an engagement is broken, the ring goes back to the person that bought it.

Answer 8

If the guy breaks the engagement then the woman keeps the ring because the guy failed fulfill his committment of getting married and vise versa.

Answer 9

I don't know that there are any true laws governing that for a simple "break-up" -- the laws I found dealt with possession after divorce. Here is what others on this site have said before:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20061127162451AATs8oL
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=1006052025416

Answer 10

Generally speaking, the ring is the woman's, as it was a gift.

If she chooses to return it, she may