Who gets the wedding and engagement rings when you get divorced? Is any gift given during the marriage automatically yours to keep? The rules of property division in Southern California divorce law may look easy at first glance, but when it comes to dividing up your home and your life together, you know how complicated it can get. Talking with an experienced divorce attorney is the best way to understand how the rules apply to your situation, but here are the basics to get you started.
What is community property?
In California, any income you earn during the marriage is considered community property. That means that whatever you spend your income on is also community property. Community property (and community debt) is typically divided equally.
In contrast, property that you owned prior to the marriage will be yours after the divorce—unless it got so tangled up with community property that you can’t really track it anymore. For example, maybe you had a savings account when you were single, and you used that money to renovate the house you bought together during the marriage. Those funds have mingled with the community property and it would be difficult to determine what percentage of the house would be yours alone. But if you owned a house prior to your marriage and kept it as a rental property, the income from the rent would be your separate property, and yours to keep.
Who gets to keep the wedding and engagement rings?
In California, there is a law specifically addressing the problem of who gets to keep the engagement ring if a couple splits up BEFORE the marriage. In that situation, the engagement ring belongs to the person who GAVE the ring.
The law doesn’t specifically say what happens if the marriage takes place. But typically, California courts allow the spouse who RECEIVED the ring to keep it. It’s as if when the wedding took place, the engagement ring and wedding ring (and any other gifts given before the marriage) are marked as the separate property of the recipient. So the recipient gets to keep those gifts along with any other separate property he or she owned at the time.
What about replacement rings and other gifts?
Courts may treat replacement rings and other gifts given during the marriage differently from gifts given before the wedding. When couples upgrade the engagement ring or give each other expensive anniversary gifts, you would think that the gift would be theirs to keep—but that’s not necessarily true under California law.
Remember how each spouse’s paycheck is considered community property, not their own separate property? When you purchase a gift with money that is community property, it remains community property. If you want a gift to become the separate property of the spouse who receives it, California law says that the giver must put that in writing.
But there is an exception for jewelry that is not “substantial in value.” In that case, there is no need to have it in writing—the person who wears the jewelry gets to keep it. However, there isn’t a set amount that proves whether the gift was substantial or not. The law requires the court to look at the couple’s assets and determine what would be considered a substantial amount for their financial situation.
Do you still have questions?
If you have questions about gifts you’ve received or given and how to divide the property in your Southern California divorce, make an appointment to see us today. At Kendall Gkikas & Mitchell, LLP, we have over 20 years of experience handling Southern California property division matters. Call 909-482-1422 or email info@parents4children.com to set up your initial consultation.
