Most of our readers have opened up tabloids or other publications to find out about the latest celebrity divorces. Many times we read statements about how the couple plans to divorce amicably and “remain friends.” Take this at face value. Whenever large amounts of assets or child custody are involved, divorces can get contentious.
And New Jersey readers going through a divorce should expect the same thing. Don’t automatically trust a spouse when he or she expresses a wish to remain friends. While an amicable divorce is preferred, make sure that you and your children’s interests are protected. This may be the case for the divorce of former “Real Housewife” Bethenny Frankel.
Frankel and her estranged husband released a statement weeks ago expressing that their main interest was taking care of their 2-year-old daughter and doing the divorce amicably. Just three weeks after Frankel filed divorce papers, however, her husband filed his own papers making the same requests as she did, except with himself as the beneficiary.
Both parents are asking for primary custody of the child, and each is also asking the other to pay child support. They are each asking for the other to pay for medical and dental expenses and hold onto life insurance policies that name the other and the daughter as beneficiaries. Also at stake is who gets to keep the $5 million luxury apartment.
The couple had a prenuptial agreement, so Frankel’s millions from her reality television and business careers will not change hands. But a prenuptial agreement does not cover every single aspect of the marriage. As it appears here, there is still a lot left to be decided.
Source: Associated Press, “Bethenny Frankel’s Estranged Husband Jason Hoppy Files Divorce Papers (Report),” Jan. 24, 2013