Last Updated on April 14, 2024 by Ali Hamza

Divorce may sometimes be a long and tiring process. It is also emotionally draining sometimes. However, the question here is, what happens to the assets and the gifts exchanged between two people when they are married? The most important question is what happens to the jewellery during divorce? Jewellery in divorce settlement is an important aspect. In other words, jewellery valuation is an important step during divorce settlement. Who will get the engagement ring? What about the jewellery that they receive from their spouses during special occasions? All these are some of the important questions that keep on coming in the minds of the people during the process of divorce.

In this article we shall try to look at the answers to some of these questions. There are many valuation companies out there who can help you in carrying out the valuation of your jewellery, if you are facing a divorce settlement. Prestige Valuations is one such company in the UK which provides you onsite and online valuation services for jewellery such as probate jewellery valuation, for watches and other important assets. Not only that, they also help you with jewellery repairing services and jewellery remodelling services.

Let us now have a look at and try to find out the answer to the question, regarding what actually happens to your jewellery during the divorce settlement.

How do couples deal with their jewellery during divorce?

This is one of the important questions that divorce lawyers often hear from their clients. In general, either of the spouses can keep their jewellery after divorce, no matter if it was gifted to them or bought for them. This is however possible, if either of the parties do not show the intention to get back the jewellery that they had gifted to their spouse, once the marriage is over.

However, this is not always the case. After the introduction of the Married Women’s Property Act in the United Kingdom in 1882, wives had to return all the jewellery that they had been gifted by their husbands. This also includes the engagement rings and the wedding rings that they had received from their husbands. It is because these jewellery pieces were considered to be for the purpose of decoration for the wife and not to be owned by her. Today, the law has made some changes with the changing of the time and has become equally favourable towards both men and women. A wife can keep all the jewellery and assets that she had received from her husband after the divorce, if she wishes to.

Is it necessary to return the engagement ring after the divorce?

According to the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act of 1970, the engagement rings are supposed to be a gift. This is considered as a gift, unless the engagement ring is given with a condition to be returned, if the marriage does not last forever for different reasons. And if the engagement ring is a family heirloom, this reason seems to be justifiable. For instance, if the engagement ring that the spouse receives from their partner belongs to someone from the previous generation of the family, in such a case, it is not considered as a gift and should be returned, if the marriage breaks down. During this process, jewellery valuations are done.

What is done with the gifts exchanged between the engaged couples?

It is natural for the engaged couples to exchange gifts between each other when they are in a relationship. Sometimes the gifts are normal and not that expensive, whereas, sometimes the gifts are highly valuable and expensive. Generally when it comes to valuable gifts, they often exchange expensive jewellery pieces, such as rings, earrings, necklaces and so on; watches and other valuable assets. But what happens to the gifts when the engagement is called off? The answer is very simple. If the couple exchange these items as a token of gift, they can keep it with themselves, even if the engagement is broken. But if it is a family heirloom or given with a condition to be returned, if the engagement is called off, at that point, they have to return the gifts that they had once exchanged with each other.

Summing Up

These are some of the points that the couple has to keep in mind, if they are heading for a divorce. They can keep the items that they have received from one another, but if they want their items back, they have to go through the jewellery valuation process.