If you have a high income or particularly valuable assets, spousal support and asset division and the dissolution can be a particularly complicated process unless you have a prenuptial/postnuptial agreement. Below, we will look at five expensive and noteworthy celebrity divorces to see if there is room for a lower settlement, mediation, and/or negotiation.
If you have a high income or particularly valuable assets, spousal support and asset division and the dissolution can be a particularly complicated process unless you have a prenuptial/postnuptial agreement. Below, we will look at five expensive and noteworthy celebrity divorces to see if there is room for a lower settlement, mediation, and/or negotiation.
Jeff Bezos & MacKenzie Scott
In 2019, the divorce between Bezos (Amazon Founder) and his wife, Scott, was valued at approximately 170 billion dollars. Scott left the divorce with 38 billion in the settlement, her interests in Blue Origin and Washington Post, and 3/4 of the parties’ shared Amazon stock.
Johnny Depp & Amber Heard
The original settlement between Depp & Heard was valued at approximately 7 million dollars, which Heard pledged in its entirety to charity. However, after never being donated to charity and surrounding defamation claims by Depp. The Parties then appeared before a Civil Court to litigate a defamation claim raised by Depp, where he was awarded $50 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages. In total, this divorce and the following civil case were valued at approximately 62 million dollars.
Kim Kardashian & Kanye West
Combined at the time of the divorce, these parties had a combined 2.1 billion dollars in assets. Entering the marriage, West was estimated to be worth 1.3 billion, whereas Kardashian was at 780 million. Throughout their seven years of marriage, they shared 70 million in joint assets and four children. Despite signing a prenuptial agreement before marriage and announcing their split in 2021, the parties went through a lengthy divorce, disputing both the joint assets and custody of their children.
Michael Jordon & Juanita Vanoy
After a 17-year marriage, the parties split in 2006. What makes this case top the list of most expensive celebrity divorces is the 168-million-dollar settlement accompanied by the 2.1 million dollars in legal fees, making the total of this divorce approximately 170 million dollars.
Steven Spielberg & Amy Irving
The party’s marriage spanned from 1985 to 1989, only 4 years. However, right before tying the knot, the two signed a prenuptial agreement on a napkin. Once the divorce hit the Courts, Irving argued that this prenuptial agreement was not valid because she was not represented by an attorney. The Courts agreed, and Irving was awarded 100 million dollars after the divorce.
Kelly Clarkson & Brandon Blackstock
Their divorce was finalized in 2022 when Clarkson was ordered to pay approximately $1.3 million in a divorce settlement and more than $45,000 per month for their two children in child support. These two were married for approximately 7 years.
Arnold Schwarzenegger & Maria Shriver
This divorce payout was estimated between $250 and 350 million dollars. Although California is a no-fault state, the divorce was ultimately inevitable after a 25-year marriage when Shriver discovered that Schwarzenegger had a child with their housekeeper, Baena. These two parties, unfortunately, did not have a prenuptial/postnuptial agreement, which unfortunately led to millions of dollars being paid out.
A divorce, particularly when there is a high asset, high earner party, can and will affect your future financially – with asset division, spousal support, child support, and potentially debt division. A solid, well-drafted Prenuptial Agreement is a MUST before entering into a partnership that you intend to last a lifetime. Because, well, sometimes, it doesn’t last a lifetime, and the life you have worked so hard to create can be split in half.
The attorneys at Butler Law are here to assist, whether that be with a prenuptial/postnuptial agreement OR helping you navigate a divorce to aim for the goal of settlement/negotiation. Some of the above divorces lasted years, and while understandable due to the intricacies of having to divide assets in a sometimes 20+ year marriage, it is important to enter the settlement or negotiation process with a clear head. You ultimately must give a little to get a little, so everyone ends up happy in the end.