After three and a half years of marriage, television host Star Jones has filed for divorce from husband Al Reynolds. Jones actually filed almost a month ago in New York Superior Court in Manhattan, but the filing was sealed and not discovered by the media until this week. The case is apparently “uncontested”, suggesting that Reynolds does not dispute the need for divorce. Reynolds has hired high-profile New York divorce attorney Stanford Lotwin, who previously represented Donald Trump, Geraldo Rivera and Howard Stern. The name of Jones’ attorney has not yet been reported.

Jones and Reynolds were married in a highly criticized, lavish wedding in New York City in November 2004. At the time, Jones was a co-host on the television talk show The View and courted corporate sponsors and freebies for the nuptials. Almost immediately, gossip columnists and bloggers began speculating about Reynolds’ sexuality and reporting an imminent split. In July, 2006, it was reported that Reynolds was spotted at Lotwin’s offices in Manhattan - a charge which both denied at the time. (Quite a coincidence that Reynolds would hire Lotwin now but claimed the meeting reports were false back in 2006!) The couple has no children.

It is unknown whether the couple signed a prenuptial agreement before their marriage. New York is not a community property state. Instead, property is handled by equitable distribution. In the absence of a prenuptial agreement or a settlement agreement, a judge will divide the marital property in a fair and just manner. Because the court records have been sealed, we don’t yet know if the divorce has been sought on no-fault grounds or on at-fault grounds. New York allows no-fault divorces only where the parties have lived separately for at least one year. At-fault grounds include adultery, cruelty, abandonment for more than a year or imprisonment of one of the parties for more than three years. Reynolds is possibly living in Florida which may indicate that no-fault divorce is a possibility here.

Although Jones couldn’t stop talking about her wedding and relationship four years ago, she now predictably requests the media give her privacy during the divorce process. Reynolds’ spokesperson claimed that his client would “take the high road” in the divorce. Time will tell.

Sources: etonline, People.com

University of Arizona men’s basketball coach Lute Olson’s five month divorce battle is getting uglier. It was reported today that Olson has been ordered to appear in the Pima County, Arizona court on May 7th to explain why he transferred money from a joint account into his individual account one day after he filed for divorce from wife Christine Olson in December. Both husband and wife were apparently prohibited from withdrawing or transferring funds pending resolution of the divorce case. The transfer was reportedly made because athletic shoe and apparel maker Nike deposited Olson’s endorsement money directly into the joint account. Olson earns a reported $500,000 a year from Nike in addition to his university salary. Arizona is a community property state, which means that all marital assets are divided equally between both spouses. Non-marital or separate assets are generally awarded to the original owner of the property (and not split between the spouses).

The Olson divorce has been fairly public and high-profile, especially in Arizona. The couple’s attorneys are regularly quoted in the newspapers. They have argued over the scheduling of depositions and the subpoenaing of financial records. Olson is also challenging the validity of a postnuptial agreement (the media keeps mistakenly referring to it as a “prenuptial agreement“) the couple signed on an airplane on their way to Mexico for a honeymoon, two days after they were married. Christine Olson’s lawyer claims that the agreement merely reserves each spouse’s separate assets as their own. Lute Olson’s attorney argues that certain pages of the agreement were not signed or initialed, that Christine refused to provide Lute with a copy of the agreement and that Christine did not fully disclose her financial resources to Lute before they signed the agreement. Christine is CEO of an oil and gas contract drilling company in Pennsylvania - an enterprise which has been in her family for several generations. She is also a member of the Republican National Committee.

Lute and Christine Olson were married in 2003, two years after Olson’s first wife Bobbi passed away. Olson and Bobbi were married for 47 years. Olson took a leave of absence from coaching in late 2007 and, very shortly thereafter, filed for divorce. Christine Olson initially objected to the divorce and asked the court to order the couple into counseling through a legal process called conciliation. Almost immediately, both parties agreed that counseling was futile and moved forward with the divorce. The case is expected to be tried later this year.

Sources: SI.com, The Tucson Citizen

After almost two and a half years, the divorce of actors David Hasselhoff and Pamela Bach is final. The pair married in 1989 and separated at the end of 2005. They were granted a divorce in August 2006 but the court bifurcated or divided the case and reserved custody, property and support issues for a later date. Hasselhoff and Bach battled publicly over custody of their two teenage daughters, tossing allegations of alcohol and drug abuse at each other. Custody of the kids was resolved last August and now, apparently, the support and property distribution matters have been settled as well.

The judgment entered by the Los Angeles Superior Court this week indicates that the couple signed a prenuptial agreement before their 1989 wedding but that, rather than fight in court over the validity of the agreement, Hasselhoff and Bach reached an agreement to resolve their financial issues. California is a community property state which would result in a 50/50 split of all marital assets. It is unclear if this is what happened in the Hasselhoff divorce or not - but it probably comes pretty close. It does appear that they were each awarded 50% of the interest in their marital home, which will be listed for sale. They divided their household items and likely split their marital bank accounts. Bach was awarded 50% of Hasselhoff’s retirement accounts and pensions, which will be divided by a Qualified Domestic Relations Order or QDRO. Bach was also awarded half of the future earnings from Hasselhoff’s memoirs and a few other projects.

Hasselhoff retained the rights to all of his various professional acting and singing endeavors - including rights to the phrases “The Hoff”, “Malibu Dave” and “Don’t Hassle the Hoff.” He will pay his ex-wife $1,000,000 to equalize the division of their marital assets. Hasselhoff also agreed to pay Bach $21,000 per month in spousal support until either of them dies or she remarries. Hasselhoff will pay $4,000 per month in child support (this amount will be reduced to $2,500 when the older daughter turns 18 and presumably graduates from high school next month) and will pay for the private high school tuition of each child. The couple shares joint physical custody of the girls as well as joint legal custody.

Hasselhoff was represented by attorneys Melvin Goldsman and Marci Levine of the Freid and Goldsman firm. Bach went through about five different attorneys or law firms over the course of the litigation.

After Pamela Anderson’s latest split from Paris Hilton-sex-tape-star Rick Salomon, I started seeing her name pop up again in all of the celebrity gossip blogs, linked to several different new men. All I could think was “stop the madness!” This, of course, is the woman who has been married three times (longest marriage - three years) and engaged several other times. The whole thing got me wondering about the shortest celebrity marriages on record. I think we’ve come up with a pretty comprehensive list of the quickest unions and separations in Hollywood history. Here ya go:

• Robert Evans and Catherine Oxenberg - he was old (68) and she was not (36); they split after 12 days of marriage
• Ali Landry and Mario Lopez - this acting couple dated for six years and separated after two weeks of marriage
• Eddie Murphy and Tracey Edmonds -they dated after Murphy broke up with Scary Spice, then married on an island in the Pacific on New Year’s Day; they acknowledged that the marriage wasn’t legal and planned to have a legal ceremony in L.A.; it never happened, they split two weeks later
• R. Kelly and the late Aaliyah - the singers were married for less than three months before the union was annulled due to Aaliyah’s age (15)
• Janet Jackson and James DeBarge - the young Miss Jackson was secretly married to DeBarge for four months
  
• Nicky Hilton and Todd Meister - married in Vegas, this marriage was annulled after four months
• Charlie Sheen and Donna Peele - this lasted four months; Sheen has married and divorced since and is now engaged again
• Colin Farrell and Amelia Warner - these two co-starred in a movie and were married for four months
• Renee Zellweger and Kenny Chesney - an odd couple, this marriage was annulled after four months

Oh yeah, there’s more… Continue reading "The Shortest Celebrity Marriages Ever"

New York Giants defensive end - and recent Super Bowl champion - Michael Strahan’s attorneys were back in court this week, battling Strahan’s ex-wife Jean and her lawyers. Last year, a New Jersey judge awarded Jean Strahan over $15 million in their divorce plus an additional $18,000 per month in child support. The judgment was stayed or suspended pending an appeal. This week, the New Jersey appeals court heard arguments from both sides as to why the lower court’s decision was or wasn’t appropriate. The Strahans filed for divorce in March 2005. It quickly became ugly when Jean made public accusations of adultery and physical abuse by her husband. The couple married in 1999 and have young twin daughters. They signed a premarital agreement (also called a prenuptial agreement) which gave Jean 50% of all marital assets (estimated at $22 million) and 20% of Strahan’s income each year they were married in the event of a divorce. Strahan was apparently allowed under the agreement to designate what was and wasn’t a joint marital asset - as long as he set aside 20% of his annual income for his wife. Strahan turned pro in 1992 and presumably also had substantial separate or premarital assets.

During the divorce, Strahan argued that he was not obligated to pay Jean the 20% of his income because she did not ask for it each year of their marriage. His lawyers also argued that he earned so much money which he allowed to be designated as joint assets that her share matched or exceeded the 20% set aside provision. The lower court judge did not agree with Strahan’s interpretation of the agreement and ordered him to pay $14 million plus interest (almost 70% of the marital property) as well as child support.

Strahan’s attorneys argued to the appeals court that the lower court’s decision penalized Strahan for not setting aside that 20% during the marriage and ended up awarding Jean far more than she ever would have received otherwise. At least one appellate judge reportedly asked Jean’s attorney why it was appropriate to punish Strahan rather than make an equitable distribution of assets.

The Strahan prenuptial agreement is unusual (and has been resoundingly criticized) because it seems to give the non-earning spouse substantially more than she would otherwise receive pursuant to divorce law and because it allowed one spouse to designate what property was “joint”. New Jersey, where the Strahans lived, is an equitable distribution state - marital assets are supposed to be divided in a fair and just manner, which could be a 50/50 split but doesn’t have to be. It is possible that the 20% clause in the contract was supposed to take the place of spousal support or alimony. Even in that light, it is a very strange provision. And one that is now causing Strahan a lot of grief.

The appeals court is not expected to make a quick decision in the case due to the sheer volume of the official record of the case, which must be reviewed.

Sources: The Star-Ledger, New York Post

Tennis star Chris Evert was on the Oprah show today, showing off her engagement ring from fiance/golf great Greg Norman. The two were engaged last year. The talk show appearance sparked a little curiosity about the status of Norman’s divorce from Laura Andrassy Norman, his wife of 25 years. I checked it out and, boy, Mrs. Norman is not going quietly.

Very shortly after Norman announced that he and Laura were divorcing, back in May 2006, he was seen out with Evert. Evert was still married to her husband of 18 years, Andy Mill, at the time. Evert and Mill divorced in December 2006, with Evert reportedly paying Mill $7 million in the settlement. The couple has three teenage sons. The Normans have two grown children. The Normans and the Evert-Mills were reportedly very close friends for many years, even taking trips together.

The Norman divorce, filed in Florida where the couple lived the majority of the time, was filed in June 2006 on the grounds of irreconcilable differences. Things got nasty when Laura’s lawyers threatened to force Evert to testify. Norman’s attorneys then requested that Norman be awarded the majority of the estimated $300 to $500 million marital estate because he was the only party responsible for his enormous golf winnings and related endorsement deals. In the summer of 2007, the Normans reportedly settled the divorce, with Laura receiving somewhere between $100 million and $150 million in assets. That settlement was never fully finalized due to a disagreement on who would pay a tax liability on the couple’s jets. (Laura argues that taxes due on the potential money made from the sale of the jets should be paid by Norman because he was awarded the jets in the settlement. Norman’s position seems to be that the tax debt should be divided as a marital liability because of some tax filing details.)

Florida is considered an “equitable distribution” state when it comes to property distribution in a divorce. The court is supposed to divide the marital property in a fair and just manner, taking into account all of the circumstances of the marriage and the divorce. Adultery can be considered in making an equitable distribution in most “no-fault divorce” states. It is somewhat unusual though for adultery to cause a major imbalance in the distribution unless it can be shown that the cheating spouse wasted marital assets on the affair.

A judge signed the Normans’ divorce decree in September 2007, but allowed a few issues to remain unresolved - including the tax question. (This procedure is called bifurcation. See our March 24th post on Johnny Knoxville’s divorce for more information on bifurcation.) Laura’s lawyers then sought to depose Evert regarding private trips she took in the Norman jets. The judge denied that request. Norman has now filed suit against Laura for breaching a confidentiality agreement that was part of their divorce settlement by talking in interviews about their marriage and about Evert. That suit as well as the remaining divorce issues are still pending.

Sources: New York Post, New Zealand Herald, Vero Beach Press-Journal

Rapper 50 Cent is being sued by the mother of his 10 year old son for allegedly trying to evict her from a $2 million home he owns in New York. Shaniqua Tomkins, 50 Cent’s ex-girlfriend and mother of their son Marquise, claims that 50 Cent (real name: Curtis Jackson) promised to provide her with the house but ultimately put the house in his own name. She claims that he is now trying to evict her from the home. She was apparently allowed to stay in the home following a child support modification case on the condition that she begin looking for a different place to live, presumably paid for by her. Tompkins is suing for breach of contract and unjust enrichment.

Tompkins does receive child support payments for Marquise from the rapper. 50 Cent recently won a child support battle in a Long Island, New York court. Tomkins originally asked the court to award her $50,000 a month in child support. The court had awarded $25,000 on a temporary basis, while reviewing Tompkins’ monthly expenses.

After months of battling, the court ultimately reduced the child support award to $6,700 a month. The award was based upon the reasonable monthly needs and expenses of Tompkins and young Marquise.

Forbes magazine has estimated that 50 Cent made $33 million in 2006. The rap star’s stake in the VitaminWater company was part of a Coca Cola buyout in 2007, netting him an estimated $100 million - and that was in addition to his music sales, record label income and endorsement deals.

As never-married parents, 50 Cent and Tompkins originally had child support established through the filing of a paternity suit. After the rapper was legally determined to the father of Marquise (either by DNA test or admission), a judge would have had authority to establish custody, visitation and child support. New York, like most states, uses a government-created mathematical calculation to determine the amount of child support awards. The calculation is largely based on the combined incomes of both parents. New York State Child Support Standards generally award 17% of the non-custodial parent’s adjusted gross income as child support for one child. For parents whose combined income exceeds $80,000, however, the courts are not required to abide by the 17% guideline. The courts will take into account the reasonable needs of the child and other considerations such as the lifestyle the child would have enjoyed if the parents lived together. In New York, however, courts have traditionally kept child support for one child below $12,000 per month - even for millionaires and billionaires.

Tompkins was represented in the child support case by renowned New York attorney Raoul Felder. Felder has previously represented many high-profile divorce clients including Rudy Giuliani, David Gest (Liza Minnelli’s ex-husband) and Joumana Kidd, ex-wife of NBA star Jason Kidd. She has hired a different attorney for the house and eviction-related lawsuit. 50 Cent was represented in the support modification hearing by attorney Brett Kimmel, a former associate in Felder’s law firm. Kimmel has previously represented Mysa Hylton-Brim in child support actions against Sean “P. Diddy” Combs.

sources: Radar, AP, Forbes