Legal Briefing

In a weekly column, solicitor Juliet Phillips-James casts her expert eye over a range of legal matters and urges anyone with any questions or problems to come forward for help.

Q I have recently separated from my fiancée. Do I have the right to claim back the engagement ring?

A A breakdown of a relationship is often a difficult situation to find yourself in regardless of the circumstances, and it is regularly exacerbated when the parties do not know what they are entitled to following its breakdown.

If an engagement breaks down before marriage, the engagement ring is often one of the most valuable assets of the relationship (unless there is a jointly owned property), and there is regularly confusion as to who actually owns the engagement ring following the breakdown of the relationship.

Fortunately, the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1970, clarifies the position and provides that the gift of an engagement ring shall be presumed to be an absolute gift, unless the party claiming its return can prove that the engagement ring was given on the condition (either express or implied) that it should be returned if the marriage did not take place for any reason.

This effectively requires you to have discussed the arrangements in respect of the engagement ring with your partner before the point of proposal. Obviously, this is a difficult conversation to have prior to the proposal, as at that time, the breakdown of your relationship is neither foreseen nor intended.

If you do not have an express written agreement to this effect, this is often a difficult threshold to pass.

The situation is often made even more difficult, when the ring is family heirloom, has significant value and/or is subject to a finance agreement which has not yet concluded.

If you need any advice in respect of this, please do not hesitate to contact our Dispute Resolution Department by telephone on 01554 755101 or by email on contactus@gomerwilliams.co.uk.