Law: Lord Of The Ring

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By Newsweek Editors

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Who cares if Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck ever get married? All this on-again, off-again (on-again?) nonsense is giving us one very big headache. No, we here at Tip Sheet are much more concerned about the fate of J. Lo's engagement ring--that $1.2 million, 6.1-carat trinket from Harry Winston. If Bennifer never make it down the aisle, what happens to the rock? According to prevailing property laws in most states, the ring goes back to the purchaser--even if he's the one who calls the whole thing off. (Or if, say, he's the one caught in a Vancouver nightclub carousing with strippers.) The ring is generally considered a "conditional gift"--the condition being you get married. The biggest exception, of course, is California, where marriage is a sport. Judy Bogen, a Beverly Hills divorce attorney for 25 years, has never heard of a jilted bride being forced to surrender her sparkler. "No groom has ever had the nerve to ask," she says. So be warned, men: the law may be on your side, but the court of public opinion is much less forgiving.

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