Celebrities Divorce before Decade

Most commonly, the length of support is at issue when the marriage is longer or shorter than 10 years, he said. Beyond that, other factors that might come into play would revolve around the structure of the family unit, Cohen said. For example, if the couple has children, support for the custodial parent will be a big factor in the financial divisions. Or is one parent has been staying home to manage the family, and has not been able to keep current in his or her career, he said, the other spouse might provide more support for educational opportunities to help get back in the work force. “We may find some creative ways that one party whose career is further ahead could help the other spouse,” Cohen said.            

With marriages that last longer than 10 years, Cohen said, the issues are less about the length of support, and more about the facts and circumstances surrounding the amount of support being offered. If there are medical issues for one spouse, or some other instability in his or her life, then the support will probably reflect that.            

“More of our focus, is looking at, from a  financial planning perspective, what’s best for both parties, for the families?” Cohen said. “How can we best manage this so that people get the best financial settlement that we can?”  


PRENUPTIAL AGREEMENTS MAKE THEIR OWN RULES              

However, if the support guidelines were pre-determined by a prenuptial agreement, then all bets are off said Jared Laskin, http://www.jlaskin.com/, a California attorney who specializes in prenuptial agreements, cohabitation agreements and palimony agreements.  He said he rarely includes time differentiations for support agreements. “I don’t think the 10-year thing has a lot of relevancy because with a prenup you are negotiating your own rules,”  Laskin said.            

The prenuptial agreement usually stipulate whether there will be spousal support at all, he said, so the time element does not become a factor. The couple could waive spousal support all together. Or the couple may include requirements that the way property will be divided will change depending on the kinds of increases in value it has as the marriage goes on.            

Because just about anything can go into a prenup, Laskin said, it all depends on the deal the couple negotiates. “Many people agree to many things,” Laskin said. “You are limited only by your imagination.”    


TO READ MORE

Click here to read more about the public fascination with celebrity divorces.

Click here to read more about celebrity divorces in 2007.


Michele Bush Kimball has a Ph.D. in mass communication with a specialization in media law. She has spent almost 15 years in the field of journalism, and she teaches at American University in Washington, D.C. She recently won a national research award for her work.