Ever wonder if you would be able to keep your engagement ring if you got a divorce?  In some cases, an engagement ring may be one of the most valuable assets a person owns and perhaps one of the most sentimental. The engagement ring has a special significance to each spouse.  However, the sentimental nature of the ring may create an additional dispute at the time the parties move forward with a divorce. This is especially true when there are few assets to divide, there is significant debt and salaries have been reduced.

What if the engagement is called off immediately before the wedding? Who gets the ring?  Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck called off their engagement just hours before their wedding.  Under New Jersey law Jennifer would not be entitled to keep the ring because the wedding did not happen.  However, those individuals that do not cancel their wedding, such as Chelsea Clinton, will be able to keep their ring after divorce.

The courts of the New Jersey view the engagement ring as a conditional gift.  In other words, the ring should be returned when the engagement is broken. Once the parties marry, the condition of the gift has been met and the engagement ring generally becomes the sole property of the recipient unless there is a written pre-nuptial agreement that states otherwise.