• A broken engagement doesn't necessarily give the recipient ownership of the ring.Engagement Ring image by Kimberly Barton from Fotolia.com
  
  When an engaged couple breaks up, who keeps the ring often depends on where the couple lives. Different states have adopted different rules for deciding what to do with the slightly problematic question of the engagement ring.
  
  

Traditional Rule

• The period of engagement is designed to give both parties the opportunity to decide whether or not marriage is right for them. In Colorado engagement rings have been given special attention due to the cost and symbolic representation behind them. Customarily, if an engagement comes to a mutual end, the engagement ring is returned to the donor. This is especially true if the recipient breaks the engagement or enters an engagement with the intention of not going through with the marriage.
  
  

Completed Final Gift vs. Conditional Gift

• Unlike a birthday or Christmas gift, an engagement ring is a conditional gift. The ring is given on the condition that the recipient promises to marry the person who gave the ring. If this condition is not fulfilled, the ring becomes symbolic of an investment that has not borne fruition. However, exceptions do exist.
  
  According to J. Thomas Oldham, author of "Divorce, Separation, and the Distribution of Property", "if people are planning to marry after one party divorces, but the party does not in fact divorce, the conditional gift theory is generally not applied, because the still married person does not have the capacity to be engaged to another." Thus, any proposal of marriage with an engagement ring implies that the ring itself becomes a completed final gift.
  
  

Fault vs. No Fault

• Many states have adopted a "fault" approach in that whomever breaks off the engagement also gives up their right to claim the ring. However, this way of deciding who keeps the ring can see the separated couple embroiled in a legal battle to decide who was responsible for the ending of the engagement if the situation is not a cut and dried breakup.
  
  The converse of this approach is a "no-fault" one. Similar to the traditional rule, in this situation the ring is returned to the donor regardless of who breaks the engagement. The intricacies of determining who 'deserves' the ring after the end of a relationship can prove extremely convoluted.
  
  According to the National Legal Research Group in an article published on Divorce.com, Colorado has adopted the majority rule that "engagement presents must be returned if the engagement ends through no fault of the donor. [However], if the donor is at fault for the failure of the marriage to occur, there is a split of authority regarding who would retain the ring."
  
  

The Best Advice

• Seek out a reputable lawyer in your area to help you. The cost involved in going to court may far outweigh the value of the engagement ring.