High Profile and Celebrity Divorce

Perhaps you are going through a high profile or celebrity divorce, which can vastly complicate the “normal” issues associated with divorce. When one or more parties to a divorce are particularly high profile or have celebrity status, a high level of assets is also generally part of the divorce. Putting all these factors together, it is crucial you have a divorce attorney who is highly trained in high profile, executive, high net worth or celebrity divorces in matters such as complex tax issues, distribution of assets, including stocks and bonds, and support obligations for a spouse and/or children.

Further, for a high profile or celebrity divorce, discretion, professionalism and results are key. The Family Law Place attorneys have the necessary resources to handle a high profile, celebrity and/or high net worth divorce. Unlike many other law firms, we have members on our team who can valuate rare, complex or valuable property, as well as experts who can calculate accurate values for all the assets involved in the divorce. The stakes in a high profile, celebrity and high net worth divorce are usually extremely high, which means having a highly experienced Florida divorce attorney by your side is particularly important.

Tips to Help Your Celebrity or High Profile Divorce Proceed More Smoothly

Celebrities, including high profile athletes, generally want to avoid the media circus their divorce can quickly turn into. When the media gets involved in a high profile or celebrity divorce, the husband and wife can find their privacy destroyed and their reputation devastated. Discreetly working on the divorce, keeping sensitive information under wraps is extremely important to those who are going through a high profile divorce. If you are in the middle of a high profile or celebrity divorce, here are some tips which could help your divorce proceed much more smoothly:

• Before you leap into a divorce, do a bit of planning. This planning can include obtaining solid legal advice from a legal professional who is well-versed in high profile divorces. Anticipate the issues which will be contentious in your divorce, and be prepared for them. If you know your spouse will attempt to hide assets, take immediate action to obtain as much evidence of marital assets as possible. This evidence could come in the form of bank account information, information on stocks and bonds, copies of real estate deeds and automobile registrations and information related to retirement funds. It can be difficult to prove you are entitled to half of the marital assets if those assets can’t be found, and you can’t prove they exist. Your attorney may counsel you to bring a forensic accountant on board to ensure all assets are accounted for.
• Consider the logistics of your divorce filing. If you and your spouse own property in other states, or spend considerable amounts of time in other states, you may have options for filing in a state other than Florida. Make sure you know which state will offer you the best outcome for your divorce.
• Have a solid plan which lists your personal goals prior to filing for divorce. In order to optimize your chances of an equitable Florida divorce settlement, talk privately with your attorney before you actually file for divorce. If controlling the public relations end of your divorce is important to you, make sure everything is in place to do so.
• Make sure you hire the highest quality legal representation in Florida. The Family Law Place understands divorces with extremely high stakes, and can make a significant difference in the outcome of your case. Consider the fact that Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes reached a divorce settlement just eleven days after she filed, with the majority of the legal work already in place prior to filing.
• If you want to avoid a media nightmare, make sure you have closed out the current chapter of your marriage before you move on to another person. Having an affair while married can really turn a high profile divorce into a tangled, complicated mess. The court of public opinion is unlikely to be kind to whichever spouse is found to be cheating, and it could even affect your eventual marital asset split.

How High Profile Divorces are Similar to “Normal” Divorces

Celebrity divorces which dominate the media can provide many interesting legal questions. While many people assume a high profile divorce has little in common with a “normal” divorce, in fact there are certain similarities. One issue which can be particularly important in a celebrity divorce is a prenuptial agreement. Prenuptial agreements, however, are not limited only to high net worth, high profile or celebrity divorces. Any couple could potentially benefit from a prenuptial agreement, particularly those who are marrying for the second or third time who have children from a prior marriage they want to provide for. A well-written prenuptial agreement can clearly and unambiguously lay out the intentions of both parties should a divorce become inevitable. Animosity regarding financial issues in a divorce can be alleviated among couples from all income levels when a prenuptial agreement is in place.

Avoid Bickering in Public for a Quiet Divorce

All too often, one spouse in a celebrity divorce will make disparaging remarks about the other in public, leading to further acrimony and expense. Bickering publicly is not conducive to a positive outcome for any divorce. Regardless of your feelings toward your spouse, refrain from speaking about those feelings publicly, to your children, or on social media. If privacy is your key concern, and you and your spouse are anticipating a fairly amicable split, Florida allows a couple to divorce quietly in any of the state’s twenty judicial circuits, so long as neither party objects to the venue.

In the end, despite the differences in wealth and notoriety, celebrities experienced many of the same issues as the average person involved in a divorce. If you are facing a high profile, celebrity or high net worth divorce in the state of Florida, contact an attorney from The Family Law Place. We will treat your divorce with the utmost discretion and care, allowing and your family to move forward with the least amount of “fallout.”