Will You Marry Me? The Legal Implications Of Saying Yes.

Whilst us family lawyers do not wish to pour scorn on the month of February, when cupids arrows are flying about on Valentines’ Day, we think we should offer some insight before those 4 magical words are uttered and before those 4 magical words cause no-end of legal wrangles should there never be a wedding.

Can you ask for the engagement ring back if you break up? And what about the toaster?

The engagment ring

If, as tradition has it, you have saved 3 months of your salary for that dazzling beauty be prepared to lose it should the engagement be broken off and there is no wedding. Yes, it is a gift and your intended can keep it. That is unless you gave it on the clear condition that if the engagement was broken you would get it back, which could put a damper on the whole proposal but the law likes to know what everyone’s intentions were.

What about returning engagement gifts?

The presumption is that the gifts have been given to the couple jointly, so if the engagement is called off and there is no marriage and you are approached by your now not so generous friends and family seeking the return of their gifts, they should be returned. If a cash gift is made to invest in a property you could find that the third party may take you to court for compensation if the money is not returned.

What about the wedding costs?

Caterers paid, wedding planner paid, photographer paid, venue booked and paid. The party that has paid may have difficulty in recovering the money spent from the other unless again there was a clear intention that they would be reimbursed; or the other party was going to pay for other things which meant the cost spent by both of them would be equal.  

And, your house . . .

Where only one of the couple owns the house with the other living in it, once engaged the engaged couple are given a status similar to a married couple.  The law when deciding on financial interest in the property will treat you as a married couple which may mean the non-owning party gaining a financial interest in the property.   

. . . and in the unthinkable event of death

If a party to the engagement dies before the other (pre-deceases the other), the law treats the surviving party as a dependant of the deceased and they will be able to make a claim from the deceased’s estate in circumstances where they have lived together for a minimum period of 2 years before the death. Such claims can include maintenance payments.

So . . . before you utter those, probably now, not so 4 magical words think about what you need in place with the aim of preserving assets that you don’t necessarily want to give away when you go down on one bended knee.

3 key points before you bend your knee

1. Get a cohabitation agreement in place
2. Set up a declaration of trust
3. Prepre your pre-nuptial agreement

At Winston Solicitors, we are specialists in Family and Divorce law, including cohabitation agreements, declaration of trusts and pre-nuptial agreements all of which will help you make your intentions clear before you start living together or before you marry. Speak to us today.