Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Out of Control Divorce Settlements

There is no celebrity divorce that has garnered more attention than the divorce of Heather Mills McCartney and Paul McCartney. The first issue regarding the lack of a Prenuptial Agreement is what first caught people's attention. The numerous other allegations that have arisen since then has given the tabloids endless amounts of story ideas. Lately, there has been some buzz that there will be a settlement and its in the neighborhood of $48 Million Dollars. While I know that Mr. McCartney's net worth is at least ten times that amount, I find it totally irrational to think that someone he was married to for a very short period of time would be entitled to such a large settlement. In Florida, when determining what a spouse is entitled to as far as equitable distribution, one is only entitled to their equitable portion of marital assets, and are not privy to any of the assets that were amassed prior to the marriage. If a couple has one party who works, and that spouse accumulates a large amount of income during the course of a short term marriage, there should be some special equity considerations when determining who gets what in the divorce. While a settlement offer is different than what someone would be awarded by a Judge, and I'm sure that the settlement negotiations in Mr. McCartney's case has something to do with wanting to keep his divorce quiet and out of the courts and the newspapers, it still seems that the amount being offered is above and beyond what Ms. Mills is truly entitled to. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out for Mr. McCartney and whether the case ultimately ends up in the Courts. Whatever happens, I'm sure that Sir Paul will consider getting his next wife to sign a Prenuptial Agreement.

If you would like to read about the latest developments in Mr. McCartney's divorce case, see: http://www.actressarchives.com/news.php?id=4010

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