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?
1 Answer from Attorneys
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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