What happens if your engagement is broken off? Who gets to keep the ring? One might expect with reasonable human beings that the ring would be returned to the giver – - perhaps as an emotional gesture as much as for practical reasons. But, bearing in mind the circumstances, reasonableness could well go out of the window.

So what is the law? John Bolch at Family Lore took a look following news of an American case where the giver of an $17,500 (£11,700) engagement ring attempted to sue his former fiance for its return after she broke off the engagement and refused to give it back [it's not yet concluded but apparently he stands a good chance]:

Under section 3(2) [of The Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1970] we are told that: “The gift of an engagement ring shall be presumed to be an absolute gift; this presumption may be rebutted by proving that the ring was given on the condition, express or implied, that it should be returned if the marriage did not take place for any reason.”

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So chaps, remember to insert the relevant proviso when you are down on one knee.

A little further on from the engagement stage; what happens if you have been married, had children, divorced, settled — and then discovered the little darling you lost your house for is not in fact yours? Well, we could be about to find out:

The Times: The DNA test was carried out last November, just over a year after James finalised his divorce from Ella’s mother, Helen. As part of the divorce settlement, he agreed to give up his share in the family home in Surrey. “I did it because I didn’t want my daughter’s life to be disrupted, I didn’t want her to have to move home because I wanted a divorce,” he says.

Now, not surprisingly, he feels angry, bitter and betrayed and intends to return to court to ask that the agreement be overturned.

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There’s not a lot of precedent for that case but one thing is for sure; he needs to keep to conventional legal channels to claw back some of the money he feels owed…

YNN: A 24-year-old Brockport man was arrested Thursday, accused of trying to sell his children on craigslist [a classifieds site]. Josh Stagnitto says it’s being blown way out of proportion and that he would never do anything to put his children in harms way.

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A joke apparently. But not a very funny one.