Food Network celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis must give up half her assets earned while married to ex-husband Todd Thompson as the divorced couple did not sign a prenuptial agreement when they married in 2003.
The couple’s divorce was finalized on September 3, 2015 after 11 years of marriage. The net worth of De Laurentiis is estimated at around $20 million, while her fashion designer ex-husband is reportedly worth $15 million. When De Laurentiis, 44, first married Thompson, her career was still in its early stages. During their marriage, De Laurentiis opened a restaurant and hosted several television shows on Food Network. She also wrote a number of cookbooks and launched a kitchenware line.
Many couples fail to anticipate their financial growth and success when they get married. A prenuptial agreement can help protect significant assets, along with giving each spouse control over how their money matters are handled in the event their relationship ends. A prenuptial agreement allows the couple to determine before the wedding how their assets and money will be divided in case they divorce. Per California family law if divorcing spouses do not have a prenuptial agreement, their community property is distributed equally between them. Community property is defined as the assets and income each partner acquires during a marriage.
As the higher-earning spouse, De Laurentiis will share with Thompson 50 percent of the profits from every cookbook she published during their marriage and half of the unpaid advances to upcoming cookbooks. They will also equally divide their various bank accounts worth more than $2 million. Had they signed a prenuptial agreement, De Laurentiis would have been able to protect much of her estate.
De Laurentiis and Thompson have chosen to share joint custody of their 7-year-old daughter. As both parties have the means to continue their current lifestyles, spousal support will not be awarded in this case.
Rather than indicating lack of trust, a prenuptial agreement can help to reduce unnecessary conflict between spouses regarding asset distribution in case of a split, which can adversely affect the children that are part of the marriage. A prenup is not just applicable to millionaires. It is a useful financial planning tool for anyone looking to protect their assets.
To learn more, see the following:
Learn more at http://www.maggiolawfirm.com/
- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/giada-de-laurentiis-divorce-is-finalized-and-shell-pay-child-support_55e9ce21e4b093be51bb5b4c
- http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2015/09/04/giada-de-laurentiis-is-officially-divorced-and-owes-ex-husband-money/
- http://divorce.usattorneys.com/prenup-giada-de-laurentiis-divorce-heating/
- http://www.wrattorney.net/blog/2015/01/giada-de-laurentiis-may-lose-assets-without-prenuptial-agreement.shtml
Gerald A. Maggio is an experienced Orange County divorce and family law lawyer and family law attorney located in Irvine, California, serving the Orange County and Riverside areas. Mr. Maggio assists clients with legal issues including divorce, legal separation, divorce mediation, child custody, prenuptial agreements, stepparent adoptions, and other family law issues. Mr. Maggio has practiced law in California since 1999, and founded The Maggio Law Firm in 2005, focusing exclusively on divorce and family law matters.
Once you have gone through a divorce, the pain, torment and emotional distress of divorce would be there for you to experience. Divorce can be a sapping experience emotionally as well as financially. This is especially true for spouses that have had to part with a significant chunk of their estate to an idle spouse. Once they have gone through a divorce, they will feel betrayed by the concept of marriage as one that can rid you of your hard-earned assets.
For such spouses the thought of remarrying can bring up the same ghosts of the past. To make sure you avoid them, a prenuptial agreement is the best way out. A prenuptial agreement simply is an agreement that deals with the financial consequences of an Orange County divorce even before the marriage or remarriage has taken place.
A prenuptial agreement is recognized by courts and can be particularly important for those spouses looking to remarry. Here are a few reasons that make it an important addition for them.
Protect your wealth and salary from being distributed further
When you are remarrying you have already ceased a part of your estate to your ex spouse and are likely to be a paying a certain amount off your income to your ex spouse in alimony and child support. When you marry again the resources will be smaller and you may not be able to afford their distribution any further. For that arrangement to be in place you’ll need a pre nuptial agreement that clearly lays down the law as to what the other spouses will get if the marriage ends in an orange County divorce.
When your partner has a high debt load
When you marry a person without checking for their debt load, you need to understand that the rule is all things are to be shared between the spouses in the event of a divorce and liabilities such as debt are included. Before you remarry make sure you have a pre nuptial agreement with the spouse to be that ensure that the debt liabilities aren’t transferred on your shoulder once you have gone through an Orange County divorce.
To keep your business from being affected by your private life
There are cases when you may own a business with another business partner. In the case when you haven’t had a prenuptial agreement drawn up, some portion of your share in the company could be transferred to your former spouses. This would not only cause issues in ownership of the company but can also affect the decision making powers etc. The best way to avoid it is to use prenuptial agreements before you remarry to ensure your business stays out of your private life.
Gerald A. Maggio is an experienced Orange County divorce and family law lawyer and family law attorney located in Irvine, California, serving the Orange County and Riverside areas. Mr. Maggio assists clients with legal issues including divorce, legal separation, divorce mediation, child custody, prenuptial agreements, stepparent adoptions, and other family law issues. Mr. Maggio has practiced law in California since 1999, and founded The Maggio Law Firm in 2005, focusing exclusively on divorce and family law matters.
A prenuptial agreement is an agreement that is meant to work out financial terms and post marital expectations as well as to preserve both party’s assets as separate property. The role of prenuptial agreements has increased in the past few years with more and more people trying to protect their assets legally.
Prenuptial agreements, also known as premarital agreements, basically outline the post divorce assets and finances that each of the spouse will be entitled to. These are drawn up usually by wealthier spouses to keep hold of more than a portion of the wealth they have built up, but also upper middle class individuals.
There are a few things that prenuptial agreements can do and some that they can’t. Here is a list of some of a few of the limitations on what prenuptial agreements can do.
Spouses Cannot Be Punished For Using A Prenuptial Agreement
No spouse can be punished using a prenuptial agreement. This is because the State of California continues to be a no-fault divorce state. This means that generally even though a spouse may have been unfaithful, the other generally cannot use the prenuptial agreement to punish them.
Yet, there can be some exceptions such as in the case of a spouse who physically or verbally abuses the other spouse. A spouse that is proven to be abusive can be punished using the prenuptial agreement and be refrained from receiving the finances and the support that he or she is entitled to.
Prenuptial Agreements Are Not Entitled To Change Child Support And Child Custody
When couples go through an Orange County divorce, the family courts decide on the cases of using the California Family Code. Keeping this in mind, while prenuptial agreements can define the division of assets etc., when it comes to the issues of children in divorce, the scope of prenuptial agreements is limited.
Family law courts don’t allow the agreements to overall or make determinations concerning child custody, child support, and child visitation. Prenuptial agreements can have a say with regard to the property and spousal support only. Yet, in matters related to the children, the final authority lies with the courts. This action is meant to protect the best interest of the child at all times.
Prenuptial Agreements Are Not Allowed To Reign Over Day To Day Affairs
Prenuptial agreements have been primarily made to protect the division of assets between the two spouses and hence it is restricted in its ability to dictate day to day affairs between the spouses. Any issue that interferes with the choice and free will of the spouses is not allowed to be in a prenuptial agreement. An example can be the number of children to be born out of the wedlock.
Gerald A. Maggio is an experienced Orange County divorce and family law lawyer and family law attorney located in Irvine, California, serving the Orange County and Riverside areas. Mr. Maggio assists clients with legal issues including divorce, legal separation, divorce mediation, child custody, prenuptial agreements, stepparent adoptions, and other family law issues. Mr. Maggio has practiced law in California since 1999, and founded The Maggio Law Firm in 2005, focusing exclusively on divorce and family law matters.
Once of the leading reasons people get into divorce is because of the monetary windfall the less privileged spouse can get from his/her wealthy counterpart. However, there have been legal methods developed to make sure financial benefits are not a motivator for divorce. One such act is the introduction of a prenuptial, also known as a pre-marital agreement, between the spouses at a sufficient time well before the wedding date.
What is a Prenuptial (Premarital) Agreement?
A pre-nuptial agreement is an agreement that the spouses have prepared weeks or months before the wedding. Simply put, this agreement outlines the number of assets or the percentage that either of the spouses will be entitled to in case of divorce. Such agreements tend to allow the wealthier spouses to keep hold of much of their estate, instead of having to share considerable chunks of it with their spouses.
Advantages of Prenuptial Agreements
Over the years, with the number of wealthy people increasing, the use of prenuptial agreements has become more of a norm rather than an exception. Here is a list of a few advantages of getting into a prenuptial agreement.
· A Prenuptial Agreement Can Protect Financial Stability
This is the primary reason most people want a pre nuptial agreement in the first place. In cases of divorce that are run and tried for in the Orange County family law courts, the law wants the assets owned by either of the spouse to be shared among both the spouses. This would be a disadvantage to you if you’re the party with the larger number of assets. Once you get into a pre-nuptial agreement though, you are better able to protect your assets.
· Reduces Unnecessary Conflict
When it comes to divorce cases, there are large number of conflicts that can develop between the spouses owing to monetary disagreements and problems with asset distribution. This not only will stretch the divorce case further, but is also likely to have an adverse affect on the children that are part of the marriage.
When spouses get into a pre nuptial agreement, they are already deciding on the percentage of asset distribution and what each spouses will be entitled to after divorce. Once a prenuptial agreement has been signed, both the spouses will be aware of their worth and the assets that they will have a control over if the relationship ends. Knowing this would not only deter the divorces done to gain ample money for them but also help in little asset distribution conflicts among spouses in family law courts.
Gerald A. Maggio is a trained Orange County divorce mediator who has amicably resolved cases many cases out of court, as well as an experienced divorce and family law attorney. Mr. Maggio founded California Divorce Mediators in 2012 with the belief that although “not every marriage can be saved, every family can” and a mission to save families from the financial and emotional distress associated with traditional divorce litigation. California Divorce Mediators is located in Irvine, California, and serves the Orange County area and other counties in California offering divorce mediation, child custody mediation and mediation of other family law matters.