If you give someone an unconditional gift, it unequivocally becomes their property. If they then take this property into a marriage, it is still a separate asset because they owned it before the marriage. If the couple then gets divorced, that person can keep their own separate assets.
For example, say that a couple is dating in college when a young man buys an expensive piece of jewelry for his girlfriend. They later get engaged and married, and this is followed by a divorce. The woman does not have to give the jewelry back that she received in college because it was already hers prior to the marriage, so it’s not a marital asset.
The impact on engagement rings
The important thing to know is that not all gifts are unconditional. In many cases, something like an engagement ring is viewed as a conditional gift. It is a gift being offered to one person by their partner, but only under the condition that they agree to get married.
So what happens to the ring if they get divorced? If they already got married and then divorced, the ring may still be a separate asset because the condition was met. But if they break up during their engagement, then the person who received the ring may have to return it. They can’t keep it just because it was a gift, as they never fulfilled the condition of getting married to start with.
Because of the high expense of engagement rings and wedding rings, conflicts over these assets are common. If you find yourself in this position, be sure you know what legal steps to take.