Q: My fiance broke up with me. Do I have legal right to keep the ring?

My boyfriend asked me to marry him. I said yes. He gave me an engagement ring. He later decided he was not ready to get married and broke off the relationship saying he did not love me any more and doesn’t think he ever really did. His father actually purchased the ring and he was paying his father back in monthly installments.

A: To Answer Your Question: This is a pretty popular question as it happens more often than you might think. However, I agree with the other attorney answering this question. The ring should be returned. Though it may not seem fair as he is the one that broke off the engagement, an engagement ring is a gift in contemplation of marriage. Since this marriage is not going to happen then the ring should be returned.

Though it doesn’t matter whatsoever that his Father paid for the ring and he is paying his Father back, you could give the ring back to his Father and let him decide if and when the son should get the ring back, either way bottom line is, yes, you should return the ring. No sense letting any further legal action happen.

Answered by:

Evan Bornmann
Re-Published from: AVVO Legal Answers and Questions