Are you obligated to return gifts given during a relationship after you break up?

If you are given a gift by your partner and then you break up, are you legally required to return the item if he requests it back? Can you be prosecuted if you dont? I live in QLD, Australia.

Are you obligated to return gifts given during a relationship after you break up?
No. A gift is exactly that. A gift. That is why people are encouraged not to give engagement rings as "gifts". If it is given solely as a symbol of pending marriage, if the engagement ends, the ring should be ( and often must be) given back to the buyer. If you gave it at Christmas, they can argue it was a gift and keep it.


Thats here in the USA though. You may have different laws down under, although I doubt you would be arrested for not giving a "gift" back. Most theft laws deal with taking something that is not yours. Something given as a gift is clearly yours, so it couldn't be theft.
Reply:You are not legally obligated. There is a moral obligaiton, however.





In your situation, sell the diamonds and pay off the debts.
Reply:I think the only thing you are required to return is an engagement ring unless he gave it to you on a holiday like Christmas or a birthday because then it is considered a gift.





Tell him to buzz off...then make a list of everything you gave him and all of the bills you paid while you were together and have it ready in case he takes you to court.





What a creep.
Reply:It can depend on the laws where you live . There is a conditional gift, such as to a fiance , where the gift is given in expectation of marriage. If the marriage does not occur then the gifts should be returned.





That is why wedding gifts should be returned if the wedding does not occur , and engagement presents returned if the engagement is called off.





There may be no "conditional gift" provision in the law where you live. I believe an engagement ring should be returned in any case.
Reply:No you are not legally required to return any items given as gifts. Once given they are yours to do with what you wish. However, if it would only be a reminder to you of something sad, you might want to return it to the other person. No you cannot be prosecuted.
Reply:Asking for the return of thing that was given as a gift is just tacky.





Only my opinion.





Guy should be surfing Burleigh Heads anyway.
Reply:The item is a gift. You are not obligated legally or ethically to return a gift.





I can't imagine even asking an old girl friend to return a gift. Besides the leather outfit I gave her wouldn't fit the new girl friend anyway. . .
Reply:As far as Judge Judy is concerned, if it was a gift, no repayment is expected if you break up. If at any time you said, "I'll pay you back" and he can prove that, then you owe him the gift or the money for the gift.
Reply:No, you are not legally obliged to return them, and you can't be prosecuted. He may try to sue you in a civil suit, if he's petty enough, but I doubt he would have much chance of winning. After all, a gift is a gift.


If you really feel uncomfotable about it, you could return it and get him out of your life forever.
Reply:No your not. Legally it was given to you and so the ownership of that item now has been transferred from him to you. You can do anything about it, it is just we really tend to take care of the things that was given from someone we care. If he requested that it will be given back to him, its really up to you. If you think that he needs it more than you do and that he really needs it then it will probably be okay to give it back to him but you are NOT obliged to. And dont worry you will not be persecuted, you did not steal it, it was given to you.