Broken Engagements
Broken Engagements 1
Arthur Branch
Business Law: Professor
September 10, 2007
Case Study: Broken Engagements: Who Gets The Ring?
Broken Engagements 2
Last night my wife and I were discussing the consequences of a broken engagement. She told me that when she was getting her under grad degree in Business Management, one of her courses was Business Law. There was a case study in the text which referenced broken engagements. The main question was, if a man proposes to a woman and she accepts, with all intentions of the couple marrying, if the woman calls off the engagement what happens to the ring? My thoughts are if a man proposes and the woman calls off the engagement prior to getting married, then she must return the ring.
My wife's point of view was it depends on the reason for the woman calling off the engagement and the location (residence) of the couple. If she called off the engagement due to cold feet, she fell out of love, or she just wanted a new piece of jewelry, then she should have to return the ring without discussion. However, if the man was caught or admitted to cheating or fondling another woman or other women, then she thinks that the woman has every right to keep the ring. As far as residence is concerned, that's pretty important because different states have different laws.
However my wife and I both agree that we believed that an engagement ring is a conditional item, meaning the wedding ring is given to the "proposed" by the "proposee" with the condition of the couple being wed. Meaning the man is proposing to the woman with the understanding that once she has that ring on her finger, the two of them will unite and be one. If it never reaches that point, then the condition was never met and in theory the ring has to be returned.
In the eyes of the law that could be looked upon as a gift however there was an intention behind the gift which was marriage....
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