Engagement and wedding rings are often very valued possessions. Not only do they serve as a symbol of your love and relationship, but modern rings are also generally worth a significant amount of money. For these reasons, many people naturally wonder what happens to these rings if they decide to get a divorce.
Are rings marital property?
Washington is a community property state,1 which means that all property acquired during the marriage will be divided between the spouses. The question then remains whether a wedding or engagement ring is considered to be marital property. First, an engagement ring is generally given prior to the marriage, so that would mean it would not be considered marital property, but instead separate property.2 Wedding rings, on the other hand, are generally exchanged at the ceremony so could be considered marital property.
Rings are a gift
Many divorce courts have decided that engagement and wedding rings should be considered to be personal gifts from one spouse to another. Such gifts are not considered to be marital property and are, therefore, not generally recoverable in a divorce. For this reason, in most situations, each spouse will simply keep their own rings and can do with them as they please.
One exception may be if the spouses decided to upgrade and replace their rings after they had been married for some time. If they used funds from a shared bank account or other joint assets to purchase the new rings, those rings could be viewed as marital property and could be subject to division in accordance with Washington property division laws.
In many situations, spouses naturally agree to keep their own rings in a divorce without any conflict or controversy. However, if you have a dispute regarding your rings or any other type of property in your divorce, you should always seek the assistance of an experienced Washington family law attorney. At the Dickson Law Group, our skilled divorce lawyers help people in Seattle and Tacoma through the every step of the divorce process and always represent their client's best interests in every divorce case.
References:
