Rutherford and Giersch Settle Custody Case

August 4th, 2009 by Hadley | Posted in Custody | No Comments »

Kelly Rutherford, of Gossip Girl fame, and her soon to be ex-husband, Daniel Giersch, have made a temporary agreement regarding custody of their two young children. According to TMZ, the couple has agreed to share joint legal and physical custody of the children. Both parties will relocate from California to New York City while Rutherford films “Gossip Girl” from July 30, 2009 to April 10, 2010. The parties will also attend co-parenting counseling sessions. Neither party can travel outside of New York or California unless the other party agrees. Usually if the parties agree to a temporary custody arrangement, unless something goes terribly wrong, that agreement becomes a part of the final divorce.

Hogan’s and Knoxville’s Divorces Final

July 29th, 2009 by Hadley | Posted in Child Support, Star Divorces | No Comments »

Well, it’s a sad day in the divorce blogging world. Hulk Hogan and his wife, Linda Bollea, have settled their highly publicized and very rancorous divorce. The Hogan’s had a hearing in June at which Hulk Hogan challenged Bollea’s spending habits (she was receiving $40,000 a month in alimony). The judge discontinued the hearing after about two hours, and the couple has apparently decided that a better use of their time and money is to settle the case. Details about the settlement have not been made public.
In other news, Johnny Knoxville’s divorce from wife Melanie is final. The couple was married twelve years. According to CNN, the couple split most of their assets evenly, with Melanie even receiving half of the residuals from the Jackass franchise and Dukes of Hazzard movie. Knoxville is paying $6,000 a month in child support for their thirteen year old daughter. The nice thing about child support, as long as you’re receiving it, not paying it, is that unlike alimony, it is tax free.

Nas Gets Hit Hard In Court

July 23rd, 2009 by Hadley | Posted in Child Support, Divorce Trends | No Comments »

According to TMZ, Kelis made off like a bandit in her latest go round with soon to be ex Nas. The court has ordered Nas to pay Kelis $55,000 per month in child support and alimony, as well as the mortgage on their L.A. residence. Nas also has to pay for the baby’s nurse, prenatal expenses, and medical insurance. And then to top it all off, he was ordered to pay Kelis’ attorney fees in the amount of $35,000. That is a very, very bad day, even if Nas does earn $147,000 a month. Something to keep in mind though is that alimony is taxed to the recipient, and a tax deduction to the payor. So hopefully Kelis will remember to keep some of her money aside to pay her taxes.

Former 007 Wants Alimony

July 21st, 2009 by Hadley | Posted in Custody, Family Law, Prenuptial Agreements | No Comments »

George Lazenby, a former James Bond, and his wife, former tennis pro and current sports broadcaster Pam Shriver, are divorcing. According to TMZ, Lazenby is challenging the couple’s prenuptial agreement and requesting alimony in the amount of $16,133 per month so that he doesn’t have to explain to the couple’s three kids why he has no money. Lazenby reportedly has over a million dollars in his estate, but alleges Shriver is worth over $30 million. Apparently the discrepancy in net worth is too much for him to disregard. However, when you enter into a prenuptial agreement both parties list their assets and debts as part of the agreement, so that it’s clear each party is aware of the other’s financial situation when they enter into the agreement. Lazenby and Shriver married in 2002, so it’s unlikely either party’s financial situation has radically changed since they signed the prenuptial agreement, making it even more unlikely the court will set aside the agreement.

Nas Responds to Kelis Claims of Poverty

July 13th, 2009 by Hadley | Posted in Child Support, Divorce Trends | No Comments »

Nas has responded to Kelis claims that she needs money. According to TMZ, Nas claims he only earns $147,165.00 a month and he’s already agreed to pay for some of the baby’s expenses, including $350 for a stroller, $450 for a baby sling and $1,598 for two cribs. Kelis has claimed her expenses exceeds $80,000 per month and she needs spousal support, child support, money for pregnancy related expenses, $3,500 for a nurse after the child’s birth, and $20,000 for baby supplies such as strollers and cribs. Nas claims that $5,000.00 a month is a reasonable amount of child support, as the child will be a newborn. Considering the child has yet to be born, this is turning into one expensive kid.

Real Estate Market Spreads the Pain

July 9th, 2009 by Hadley | Posted in Divorce Trends, Family Law | 1 Comment »

You are not alone if you are getting divorced and having trouble unloading the marital home. According to TMZ, Jay Faires, who is in the middle of a divorce from Debbie Matenopoulos from talkshow “The View”, has asked the court for permission to put their $4.3 million house on the market. Faires claims he can not afford the mortgage, property taxes and related payments, and Matenopoulos will not agree to put the home on the market. Usually, the court will not order that a home be put on the market until a final hearing because the sale will effect the final distribution of property. However, if the parties can not afford the home, and the person living in the home wants to put it on the market, the court may go ahead and order it.

Who Will Get Custody of Michael Jackson’s Kids?

June 29th, 2009 by Hadley | Posted in Custody | No Comments »

Rumors are circulating that Katherine Jackson, Michael Jackson’s mother, currently has custody of his three children, and plans to fight for custody of them. Debbie Rowe is the biological mother of Michael’s two older children, Michael Joseph Jr. and Paris Michael Katherine. The Rowe and Jackson were married in November 1996 when Rowe was already pregnant with Michael Jr. Michael Jr. was born in February of 1997 and Rowe gave birth to Paris on April of 1998. The couple divorced shortly thereafter, reportedly because Rowe was unable to have more children after the difficult birth of Paris. Rowe was paid a multimillion dollar settlement in exchange for giving Jackson custody of her two children. Jackson’s third child, Blanket, was born via an unknown surrogate.
According to TMZ, Jackson family lawyers have indicated that Katherine wants custody of all three children. If Rowe were to fight for custody, Jackson would have a difficult fight on her hands. Katherine would have to prove that Rowe was unfit to have custody, and that is a pretty high bar. It is not a “best interest of the child” standard, as it would be in a divorce case, because this involves a biological mother and a third party relative. However, it would appear from media reports that Rowe is unlikely to pursue custody of her children as she has not previously maintained contact with them.

Jon & Kate Update

June 25th, 2009 by Hadley | Posted in Divorce Trends | No Comments »

Kate Gosselin filed for divorce in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, on June 22, 2009. The interesting thing is, the Gosselin’s do not live in Montgomery County, they live in Berks County Pennsylvania. Standard procedure in a divorce case is you file in the county where the Defendant resides, so how are they escaping that rule of law? And how ironic is that the Gosselin’s want the divorce papers kept confidential when they make their living on a reality television show?
Kate also checked two boxes, one indicating the marriage is irretrievably broken, and one stating that she and Jon have lived separate and apart for two years, apparently in an effort to hedge her bets in case Jon decides to argue about whether or not the marriage is irretrievably broken. In most cases, it’s enough for one party to state that the marriage is irretrievably broken, since it takes two people to make a marriage work. It will be interesting to see how Jon responds.

Laila Ali Takes On Husband’s Ex

June 24th, 2009 by Hadley | Posted in Child Support | 1 Comment »

Laila Ali’s husband, Curtis Conway, is in the midst of a bitter fight over child support with his ex-wife Leoria Sanamu Conway. Leoria is seeking more child support and is trying to prove Conway’s financial situation has improved because of his marriage to Laila Ali. According to TMZ, Leoria is trying to subpoena Laila’s financial information, including information regarding any potential inheritance from her dad, Muhammad Ali. Laila and Conway have asked the judge to deny the request, arguing it’s an invasion of privacy and made for the purpose of harassing Laila. Most judges will not consider the income of a parties’ spouse when calculating child support. Financially supporting the child is considered the obligation of the parent, not the spouse. Information regarding an inheritance is usually considered purely speculative, and it is very unlikely the judge will allow that information to come into evidence.

Jon and Kate Split

June 23rd, 2009 by Hadley | Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Jon and Kate Gosselin, stars of the TLC reality show Jon & Kate Plus Eight, have announced that they will separate. Kate has filed for divorce in a Pennsylvania court. Is this a ratings ploy or the demise of a family that crumbled under the glare of reality television? Both parties are claiming their eight children will remain their priority, but won’t the kids have to remain their priority since they are the couple’s source of income? The couple has built their lives around the filming of their family life, but their marital woes make a person wonder at what cost. What happens to the television show now that the couple has decided to split? What kind of deal will they make with TLC, since it seems clear the Gosselins want to keep the show going at all costs? Or is this all just a ratings ploy to generate publicity for a show that prior to the parties’ well publicized marital problems was not generating that much interest? What type of custody arrangement will they come to and how will that effect the filming of the show? Guess we will have to stay tuned to see.

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