Who Gets the Family Jewels in a Divorce?

Distributing Family Jewelry as Part of a Divorce Settlement

During a divorce, the division of valuable assets is often contentious.

Jewelry Is Often a Sore Spot in Asset Division

Jewelry, including family heirlooms, is often a hot spot in the divorce settlement process. Our Jenkintown family lawyer offers representation for people who are in the process of a divorce and for whom the division of jewelry could be a matter of disagreement. In some cases, each piece of jewelry that entered the marriage could be a sore spot for arguments.

Symbols of the Marriage

Wedding bands and engagement rings are seen as symbols of marriage. In many cases, these items also have a considerable monetary value. In New Jersey, gifts received before marriage aren’t considered to be marital assets. Since an engagement ring is given as a gift before marriage, it wouldn’t be subject to asset division in a divorce. In states with community property laws, jewelry exchanged during marriage is subject to a 50/50 split of the value.

Valuable Family Heirlooms

In many families, pieces of jewelry are received as gifts or as part of an estate. For example, a woman may be given a pair of valuable pearl earrings in her husband’s grandmother’s estate. This is a marital asset, and a judge could order the property split between the two parties in the divorce. Splitting a pair of earrings is impractical, so a judge might award one party the earrings and another party a different item of an equal monetary value.

Special Situations

Special situations may arise when it comes to the division of jewelry in a divorce. For example, an engagement ring given before marriage is exempt. If the stone was replaced with a larger stone after marriage, then the setting would still be exempt, but the stone would be a community property asset and eligible for equitable distribution.

Sentimental Family Heirlooms

Even when an item has little monetary value, it could be a matter of contention in a divorce. A piece of costume jewelry may only have a worth of $50, but its sentimental value could be priceless. In a feisty divorce, parties might even argue over costume jewelry pieces. These would still be held subject to community property laws if they were acquired during the marriage.

Appraisal of Jewelry

When assets are split, a judge may order an appraisal of valuable items such as cars, antique furniture, houses, and jewelry. The court may appoint an appraiser or ask each party in the divorce to nominate an appraiser. If one party challenges the appraisal of a piece of jewelry, then a second appraisal at the cost of the challenging party may be permitted. Once the court knows how much the piece or pieces of jewelry are worth, the division of shared assets can proceed. If the couple already has an appraisal for insurance purposes, then the court may accept the existing appraisal if both parties agree.

Appraisals When Calculating Spousal Support

In some divorce cases, one party requests spousal support. When this type of support is requested, the court will order a calculation of each party’s assets. In this case, each person’s separate property will be considered. This means that the engagement ring and wedding bands would be counted in the value of the assets. In this way, the law sees jewelry as an asset that’s no different from any other asset acquired before or during the marriage.

Our Jenkintown family lawyer offers consultations for divorce cases in which the distribution of jewelry could be an issue. Contact the Law Office of Joanne Kleiner by calling (215) 886-1266 or visiting our office in Jenkintown to make an appointment.