# What to do with gifts after divorce



## SadSparrow84 (Aug 4, 2020)

What do you do with all the stuff with memories...... pictures of us without the kids, Souvenirs from trips, bday home decor, personalized Xmas ornaments....etc. 
Keep/toss out? Definitely keeping family pics so kids have them as they get older.

And of course the random jewely & wedding ring. Keep for daughter? Try to get max amount for it (suggestions on where to sell) and use it towards vacation with the kids?


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## Rowan (Apr 3, 2012)

Chances are pretty good that, unless your ring is an exceptional specimen with a long and exceptional history as a fine jewelry piece, you aren't going to get as much money for it as you think you probably should. Just be aware that it's highly unlikely you'll get anywhere near what was paid for it. 

That said, I did sell my ring. I also sold several other pieces of "guilt" jewelry my now-ex-husband had purchased for me over the years. All of it brought far less than it originally cost to purchase. Which was fine with me, because I didn't want it anyway. I got the best price from a local jeweler who deals in vintage and estate items. I suggest taking the jewelry to a few places and getting quotes on it before you decide where to sell it, as prices can vary a good bit.

As to pictures, I sorted through all of them and kept the ones I wanted. They were almost entirely pictures that included our son, which I have kept in a box for him. Everything else that was about "us" as a married couple, I either left for him to deal with (he kept the house) or threw away. But, then, when I divorced I was just ready to be done. Getting rid of all that stuff didn't bother me a bit. The entire marriage had been a sham, so I had no desire to keep any mementos of it.


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## Diana7 (Apr 19, 2016)

SadSparrow84 said:


> What do you do with all the stuff with memories...... pictures of us without the kids, Souvenirs from trips, bday home decor, personalized Xmas ornaments....etc.
> Keep/toss out? Definitely keeping family pics so kids have them as they get older.
> 
> And of course the random jewely & wedding ring. Keep for daughter? Try to get max amount for it (suggestions on where to sell) and use it towards vacation with the kids?


Wedding rings, well my husband and I buried our rings from our former marriages together. Neither were worth that much anyway. If they had been worth a lot we could have sold them and used the money for something like a holiday?. As for the rest, keep the things you like and get rid of the ones you dont like.


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## Trident (May 23, 2018)

I scanned into my computer all the pictures I wanted, left all of the hard copies for the exwife and cashed in my wedding ring.


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## DownByTheRiver (Jul 2, 2020)

SadSparrow84 said:


> What do you do with all the stuff with memories...... pictures of us without the kids, Souvenirs from trips, bday home decor, personalized Xmas ornaments....etc.
> Keep/toss out? Definitely keeping family pics so kids have them as they get older.
> 
> And of course the random jewely & wedding ring. Keep for daughter? Try to get max amount for it (suggestions on where to sell) and use it towards vacation with the kids?


My mom had her first wedding diamond set in onyx for me and I never take it off. It didn't mean anything to her until she gave it to me, and that gave it meaning. 

I'd keep a momento or two tucked away in a box, but I'd get rid of the rest. It's like when someone dies. You can't keep everything. You keep anything that maybe gives you a good memory and get rid of the rest.


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## joannacroc (Dec 17, 2014)

Would keep photos you both are in in a box in the garage/attic/somewhere in case kids want to see them when they are older. If there are photos of you without the kids, I chucked them but that's just me. Anything that has sentimental value that we got as a couple I either sold, threw out. Kept souvenirs from trips because those are nice  At least the ones from joint trips, we had together with kid. Kept all the jewellery because it doesn't feel sentimental to me at all and I don't buy my own jewellery as a rule, so I like to keep that because they are still nice items. If you feel pangs when you look at them, pack them away or donate.


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## Evinrude58 (Jun 16, 2014)

I still have some wedding albums of me and my kids mom. I have yet to ever look through them. I feel as those memories are all worthless since she was from my perspective, a fake person. I also feel that nearly 20 years of my memories were ruined by her—so I have zero desire to look at them. I’ll probably burn then one day, as I don’t feel my kids care one bit about seeing them either.

I suppose my wedding ring is still on tooo of my gun safe. Certainly not in it because it has zero value.

what to do with all that stuff? I guess I’ll just dispose of it and maybe give the gold ring to my kids although I really wouldn’t want it being part of something they wore even if it were melted down.
It’s like a freaking albatross as far as I’m concerned. Now that I think about it, I’ll probably go nail it to a tree or something and get it out of my house, just to get the bad luck away.


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## joannacroc (Dec 17, 2014)

Evinrude58 said:


> I suppose my wedding ring is still on tooo of my gun safe. Certainly not in it because it has zero value.
> 
> what to do with all that stuff? I guess I’ll just dispose of it and maybe give the gold ring to my kids although I really wouldn’t want it being part of something they wore even if it were melted down.
> It’s like a freaking albatross as far as I’m concerned. Now that I think about it, I’ll probably go nail it to a tree or something and get it out of my house, just to get the bad luck away.


I know what you mean - not a very superstitious person but it just feels like bad vibes to me having it around.


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## DownByTheRiver (Jul 2, 2020)

Evinrude58 said:


> I still have some wedding albums of me and my kids mom. I have yet to ever look through them. I feel as those memories are all worthless since she was from my perspective, a fake person. I also feel that nearly 20 years of my memories were ruined by her—so I have zero desire to look at them. I’ll probably burn then one day, as I don’t feel my kids care one bit about seeing them either.
> 
> I suppose my wedding ring is still on tooo of my gun safe. Certainly not in it because it has zero value.
> 
> ...


Your kids should be given those, then. One day when they have families of their own, they will want to see those.


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## SadSparrow84 (Aug 4, 2020)

Thanks everyone for the advice. I still had some random pics of past ex's in a small box with random crap from highschool/college. But wasnt sure on keep large canvas family photo or those personalized 4 snowman ornaments & **** like that. Cant see my 6 & 4yo wanting those.

I'll have to shop jewelry around local. A few auction website said $1000-$1500 for the wedding ring. Not sure how legit that is 🤷‍♀️ but definitely a fraction of what he paid.


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