Beyoncé’s famous song prompts a really sensible question as it’s safe to say that engagement rings do not come cheap. They can be expensive and are a meaningful investment.

Who keeps the engagement ring after a breakup can be one of the really difficult things to sort out as it’s also painful, emotive and valuable. A dispute over the engagement ring can often outweigh other assets like houses and pensions because it is such a tricky item. And what happens if you didn’t even make it down the aisle?

Some of the most expensive engagement rings are in the hundreds of thousands and even millions; sources suggest Beyoncé’s ring is worth around $7.5million these days and that’s before we look at the engagement ring collections of the Kardashians and Paris Hilton. However, the value of the ring in money terms isn’t always the problem. More often it’s the emotional value connected to it.

English and Welsh law is relatively straightforward. An engagement ring is generally classed as a gift. As such, the person who received it should legally be able to keep it as theirs. However, where an engagement ends, the giver might say that the gift was given on condition that the couple would actually marry. If the wedding is called off the gift should be returned.

This is not always easy to prove though; imagine posting the ‘I said yes!’ picture on social media which shows a lovely diamond engagement ring, alongside the legally binding contract that states you will return the ring in the event you do not get married. Not exactly the romantic proposal you were expecting. The law around an engagement ring can be even more complex if the ring is a family heirloom because of the connection to the family, possibly regardless of it’s commercial value. An example of this might be the sapphire and diamond ring worn by the Princess of Wales (both Diana and Catherine). But you don’t need to be royalty to have a family heirloom ring. It could be your granny’s or great-granny’s just as easily.

Whilst not very romantic, putting your plans for the engagement ring in the event of a break up into writing might just save a lot of stress, heartache and expense. Pre-nuptial or pre-marital agreements are becoming more and more popular and the courts in England and Wales are taking them into consideration when making decisions. If you think about it, it isn’t really that much different to taking out car insurance: you don’t plan to crash your car or have it stolen, but if the worst happens, you have got something in place to deal with it.

A written agreement could deal with the engagement ring whether or not the wedding goes ahead – giving everyone certainty and input into what happens. Feeling out of control when a relationship breaks down is a large part of the stress and distress involved, so getting it in writing can be really helpful and can end up taking away a lot of the expense too.

So, whilst we absolutely love to hear people have put a ring on it, we would also advise you think about putting it in writing too. Just in case.

If you’d like any further information regarding an engagement ring dispute, prenuptial agreement or need any other family advice, please don’t hesitate to contact a member of our Family Team.