If you are in the process of ending your marriage, you likely realize you must divide all your marital assets. According to Florida law, you and your soon-to-be ex-spouse have an equitable interest in your joint wealth. When splitting your assets, therefore, you and your husband or wife should receive an equitable or fair share.
Even though your engagement ring is certainly part of your marital history, it may not be part of your marital estate. If you are wondering whether it is acceptable to keep your engagement ring after your divorce, you have a couple of things to consider.
Is the ring marital property?
Florida’s equitable distribution rules apply to marital property and not to separate property. Generally, separate property is anything you owned before your marriage took place. It also likely includes gifts.
Your engagement ring is a gift your spouse gave you before your marriage, so it probably belongs exclusively to you. Put differently, as a premarital gift, your engagement ring is likely not subject to equitable distribution during your divorce.
Do you want to anger your spouse?
Even though you may have no legal obligation to return your engagement ring, you may have a moral one. If your engagement ring is a family heirloom, your soon-to-be ex-spouse may want it back. You may not want to anger your husband or wife by refusing to return the ring.
Moreover, if you have a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement that requires you to give back the ring or do something else with it, you probably have to comply with the agreement. Ultimately, though, what happens to your ring is likely up to you.
