<p>A friend of mine recently broke off her engagement with the man that she was to marry. No fault of his – she changed her mind and broke it off. He asked for the ring back. She refuses to return it saying that it was a gift. It’s a really nice ring – probably cost at least $10,000. I think he’s within his rights to ask for it back, but I’m reluctant to tell her that since we’re friends. Opinions anyone?</p>
<p>Thats why you ALWAYS get the ring insured! That kinda stuff happens a lot.</p>
<p>She should return the ring. It is not a regular gift. It is a symbol of a promise to marry - she is not keeping the promise to marry. She should return it.</p>
<p>Of course she should give it back. If you book a seat on a flight and the flight suddenly fills up, they give you your money back (or airline credit, but that is hardly applicable). However, if you are the one who cancels your seat on the airline after paying, you are not entitled to your money back–it was, after all, your responsibility to follow up on your promise of occupying that seat.</p>
<p>It’s not a gift, it’s a security deposit. </p>
<p>Besides, it’s an engagement ring. When people ask about it, what’s she going to say? “I got it from the man I agreed to marry, but then I changed my mind, dumped him, and kept the ring because it was pretty?”</p>
<p>In all common sense, the recipient (male or female) could keep the ring at the cost of friendliness or vice versa. There are, however, legal precedents.
[quote]
**
Refusing the gift
**
Women traditionally refuse offers of marriage by refusing to take the offered engagement ring. In some states of the United States, engagement rings are considered “conditional gifts” under the legal rules of property. This is an exception to the general rule that gifts cannot be revoked once properly given. See, for example, the case of Meyer v. Mitnick, 625 N.W.2d 136 (Michigan, 2001), whose ruling found the following reasoning persuasive: “the so-called ‘modern trend’ holds that because an engagement ring is an inherently conditional gift, once the engagement has been broken, the ring should be returned to the donor. Thus, the question of who broke the engagement and why, or who was ‘at fault,’ is irrelevant. This is the no-fault line of cases.”</p>
<p>One case in New South Wales, Australia ended in the man suing his former fianc</p>
<p>To put it bluntly, she’s a huge bi**tch if she’s the one who’s breaking it off and STILL won’t give back the ring.</p>
<p>As a girl, I think it’s such a b!tchy thing to do to break off the engagement AND THEN keep the ring if the guy was absolutely in no way at fault.</p>
<p>Morally & in every way, the woman should return the ring. Her refusing to do so is proving that the finace made a lucky escape in not marrying this woman and perhaps should consider the $10,000 lesson much cheaper than if he had married someone with such a serious character flaw. You may want to re-examine your friendship with this woman as well.</p>
<p>what’s the difference between an engagement ring and a wedding ring?</p>
<p>Yes. The engagement ring is a symbol of the coming wedding. Once the wedding is off, the ring should be returned. </p>
<p>That’s extremely selfish of her and he should be glad he got out when he did. True colors have shown.</p>
<p>No way is it acceptable for her to keep the ring. She needs to give it back right away.
He is lucky , in a way to find out what she is all about before walking down the aisle with her ( though I would bet he doesn’t see that at this moment )</p>
<p>my philosophy class agreed that she should give back the ring.</p>
<p>Who cares what she thinks. In most states the law will allow the man to sue her for the ring or the cost of the ring. She doesn’t have a leg to stand on. The Judge will tell her what to think.</p>
<p>OP: google your state’s laws on this exact thing and print her a copy. Do the right thing and print HIM a copy as well.</p>
<p>well I’ll put ti ya this way. My sis’s fiance broke up with her and she sent the ring back. It was a rough break up though and she sent back EVERYTHING!</p>
<p>The ring is typically legally considered to be a conditional gift. If she breaks off the engagement, he’ll likely have legal precedent to get it back through the courts. She’s not allowed to keep it, because the ring was a gift contingent upon her marrying him. If she doesn’t marry him, she rescinds her right to keep the gift. This has been upheld in court many times.</p>
<p>sounds like a gold digger</p>
<p>All the sexist comments aside, she has to give back the ring. She has both a moral and legal duty to do so.</p>
<p>Yep, she is a gold digger. And it would be in her best interest to give the ring back before he rightfully sues her. If she sells it, then that $10,000 she makes off of it will soon be his.</p>
<p>I think the girl should definitely give it back!</p>
<p>It would be fitting if the jilted fiance sued your friend to get his ring back. He would surely win and the circumstances of the case, including names, would loom large in local headlines. It would be fair warning to anyone else who might consider dating your friend.</p>