Prenuptial agreements aren’t just about marital assets although the monetary aspects are certainly where most spouses either win big or lose even bigger.
Remember when Roseanne Barr fired her attorney because he wanted her assets protected by a prenup when she married Tom Arnold? The payout for Arnold for four years of marriage was $50 million, a costly lesson in true love gone bad for Barr.
Celebrity brides don’t learn from history, apparently believing that their love is too special to need prenup protection. Case in point, Britney Spears who refused to sign a prenup when she and Kevin Federline tied the knot, putting her consider assets in potential jeopardy. Or Paul McCartney whose extremely messy divorce from Heather Mills McCartney may be one of the most expensive to date. Or Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey whose marriage ended in a bitter battle.
In California, a community property state, anything bought or earned after the couple marries is community property to be split equally at divorce. In the case of Nick and Jessica, he was earning more before they married, she rose to prominence during their marriage when their reality television show put the spotlight on her. As Nick’s earning power started to slide, her bankability soared.
By the time she hit the big screen as a Daisy Duke reincarnation, the singer-turned-actress had become a money magnet, earning $30 million in 2005. Now that their split is complete and finances have been divided, both careers are on the rise. If neither does a prenup when they find their next “true love,” they have only themselves to blame.
Aside from finances, prenups may have clauses regarding infidelity, pets, weight gains or losses, sex, drugs, and various other issues that a spouse may consider worth putting into a prenup. Prenup infidelity clauses worth millions may be the key to keeping a couple of Hollywood’s leading men from straying.