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The issue of who owns the jewelry and money worn at the wedding creates great problems between the spouses in case of divorce as well as during the marriage. For this reason, especially with the opening of the divorce case, the belonging of these jewelry is of greater importance. Due to the absence of a clear provision in the law and the fact that customs and traditions vary from region to region, the debates that are frequently experienced in practice have been tried to be resolved with the decisions of the Supreme Court. In this article, in line with the Supreme Court decisions, it will be examined who will own the jewelry worn at the wedding.

1-) Jewelry Worn on the Woman at the Wedding

All of the jewelry worn by the woman at the wedding belongs to the woman. In practice, it is seen that these jewelry are divided into two as those worn by the girls and those worn by the boys, and it is claimed that the jewelry worn by the men belongs to the man. However, the Supreme Court decisions on this issue are clear and it is stated that all jewelry worn by women will belong to the woman.

For example, the decision of the 8th Civil Chamber of the Supreme Court dated 26.01.2016, numbered 2015/21024 Main, Decision 2016/1292;

“As a rule, no matter who wears the jewelery and cash worn by the woman during marriage, they are deemed to have been donated to the woman, unless there is an agreement to the contrary, and they now become her personal property….” is in the form.

Therefore, it has been accepted that the jewelry worn by the woman at the wedding will be deemed to have been donated to the woman, that these jewelry are now the personal property of the woman and that the woman has no obligation to return them in case of divorce.

However, in practice, we see that these jewelry are exchanged for various reasons (receiving common needs, paying wedding expenses, giving to families, paying the debt of the man) during the continuation of the marriage union, and that these jewelry are disposed of during the divorce. In this way, even if the jewelry is exchanged and spent, the woman has the right to demand the wedding jewelry from the man when the divorce comes to the fore. However, if the man proves that these jewelries were given to him without being returned, in other words, that they were donated to him, the woman can no longer demand these jewelries. With the decision of the 3rd Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation dated 22.02.2018, numbered 2016/8760 and Decision 2018/1566;

“In the concrete case, the witnesses of the defendant heard, stated that the plaintiff gave 6 bracelets to the defendant with his consent when he left the house, and that he wanted the wedding debts to be paid with these gold coins. As such, since it was proved by the court that 6 bracelets were given to the defendant for the purpose of donation, 6 bracelets were given to the defendant. While it should be decided to reject the case in terms of bracelets, it was not considered correct to accept the request in written form with a erroneous evaluation, and this matter required reversal.” It is stated that if it is proven that the jewelry worn at the wedding was donated to the man, the man is not obliged to return them, and the lawsuit filed by the woman should be rejected.

2-) Jewelry for Men at the Wedding

The issue of who should own the jewelry worn by the man at the wedding has been discussed for a long time both in practice and in the doctrine, and no consensus has been reached on this issue. In this direction, for a long time, we see that by looking at the customs and traditions in that region, it has been determined who the jewelry worn by the man at the wedding belongs to. However, the Supreme Court has adopted the view that jewelry worn by men also belongs to women with its recent decisions. The decision of the 3rd Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation, dated 05.11.2015, numbered 2014/21125 and Decision no 2015/17417;

“As a rule, jewelry worn during the wedding is considered donated to the woman, no matter who or by whom it is worn, and is now considered the woman’s personal property. However, one bracelet worn by the groom at the wedding of the parties, 4 half gold pieces and 47 quarter gold pieces belonged to the groom. “The decision of acceptance was made only in terms of the gold worn by the woman. In that case, the action to be taken by the court should be to decide on the acceptance of the case in terms of all jewelry found to be worn on the bride and groom during the wedding, in the expert report based on the decision.” This point has been clarified.

However, at this point, it should be noted that jewelry that is personal property belongs to the woman. Therefore, it is accepted that a wristwatch worn by the man at the wedding and having the quality of personal property belongs to the man.

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