Friday, July 06, 2012

Katie Holmes cruises to a big financial settlement?

Almost a week on from the shock announcement of Tom-Kat’s split the media furore surrounding the couple shows no signs of dying down. Speculation as to the likely financial settlement has only increased after Tom Cruise was named Hollywood’s highest paid actor in the Forbes Magazine rundown.

It’s estimated that Cruise earned a cool $75 million in the last year - more than twice as much as nearest rivals Leonardo Dicaprio and Adam Sandler. So does this mean that Katie Holmes is on track for a big divorce settlement? The answer is going to hinge on whether or not Tom-Kat entered into a pre-nup before their marriage and the terms of any agreement. Some reports suggest Katie may leave with what she brought to the marriage. Others say Katie is to receive $3 million for every year the couple were married. In addition Tom will have to pay child maintenance for their daughter Suri.

Pre-nuptial agreements have been big news over the last couple of years but in England they are not legally binding. Following a landmark Supreme Court decision in 2010 the English courts will take into account any pre-nup but the weight that will be given to the agreement will depend on a number of factors. The courts can choose to uphold all, some or none of the terms of a pre-nup. It’s a complicated area of the law and if you find yourself facing a split, or are thinking of entering into a pre-nup before your marriage, you should take divorce advice at an early stage from an expert family lawyer.

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