Legal Question in Family Law in Washington

Do I have to return the wedding ring

I have been in a relationship with my

boyfriend for almost four years. We

lived together for one year and then I

asked him to marry me. We went out

and got a wedding set in both our

names, but he is the one who made

the payment. He then started to

drink heavy and verbally abuse me. I

do not want to marry him now, and I

was told that I did not have to return

the rings after having them for two

years now. I was told that they are

considered a gift. He has never asked

me to marry him, but still paid for

the rings. I want to know do I have

to return the rings to him or are they

mine. Are they a considered a gift?

Can he take me to court to get them

back?


Asked on 10/06/08, 11:57 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Christopher Steuart IT Forensics, Inc.

Re: Do I have to return the wedding ring

Spinnell v. Quigley, 56 Wash. App. 799, 785 P.2d 1149 (Wa.App. 1990) would appear to be WA State's last word on the return of a ring in the context of the termination of an engagement to marry. Spinnel says that the ring is a token given in anticipation of marriage and should be returned if the marriage does not occur, but qualifies the right of recovery based on who terminated the engagement and then whether that termination of the engagement was justifiable. I would say you have an arguable position that you decided to terminate the engagement because of his bad behavior, so the question would come down to, did his behavior become worse after the engagement and do you have credible evidence of that change. A court would then have to decide whether your decision was justified.

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Answered on 10/08/08, 5:52 pm


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