There are many aspects of divorce that California residents may need to address when going through the official separation process. Certainly child custody and property division are among the big issues a separating couple have to surmount. For those individuals who own a large amount of property, a high asset divorce may makes things even more difficult.
One particular couple, Kobe and Vanessa Bryant, recently skirted such complicated issues of high asset property division when they told the world they officially reconciled. The couple, who likely own millions in property and other assets, would go through a pile of paperwork to determine who gets what after the divorce. If the two have a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement, then how the division goes is predetermined. If they didn’t, any property acquired during the marriage is communally owned – California is a community property state. That means that in divorce, it is divided equally among the two.
Further, even if Mr. Bryant had a high amount of assets pre marriage, he would keep those assets and get half of the communally owned property as well. This is in comparison to states that have equal division of property laws where the court adds up all the owned assets and divides in a way that leaves the couple with a relatively equal amount of items post-divorce.
Experts are also speculating the Mr. Bryant would have paid a substantial sum in child custody had Ms. Bryant obtained full custody of the children. Child custody is determined by the best interests of the child as well as the income of the parents in California. Thus, Mr. Bryant, who is successful financially, would likely be asked to contribute substantially to the children’s welfare.
Source: The Examiner, “Kobe and Vanessa Bryant confirm: the divorce is off,” Michael Santo, Jan. 12, 2013.
