Legal Breakdowns Of The Hottest Entertainment & Celebrity Drama
MICHAEL JORDAN’S PRENUPTIAL AGREEMENT:
Basketball legend Michael Jordan married Yvette Prieto in a star-studded wedding with approximately 2000 guests. It has been reported by several news outlets that Yvette has signed an “airtight” prenuptial agreement, entitling her to $1 million dollars for every year that they are married and $50 Million if their marriage lasts longer than 10 years.
What Does This Mean?
Michael Jordan is worth more than $650 million dollars. In most jurisdictions, upon divorce, a spouse can petition the court in the divorce proceedings for half of the marital property accrued from the time they were married until the date of separation. Michael Jordan has gained most of his wealth prior to marrying Ms. Prieto, so she more than likely would not be entitled to collecting on his pre-marital assets, but could stand to gain a portion of the assets “they” accrue while married. It is safe to assume that as we see lines for days of young people at shoe apparel stores, Michael is still making a pretty penny from his Jordan brand.
A prenuptial agreement is a contract. Point blank period. The terms of this marital contract are negotiable and spell out what a spouse, most times the wife, stands to receive upon divorce. Factors include:
(a) Assets brought into the marriage (i.e. – Jordan will probably not have his lovely home listed as a marital property but as “separate property”)
(b) Children Born of the Marriage
(c) Years Married
(d) Infidelity
How Does This Affect You?
Most of us commoners are only yelling “We Want Pre-Nup” while singing along to Kanye West’s “Gold Digger,” however, if you are coming into a marriage with significant assets and/or asset accruing potential, it may be in your best interest to protect your interests in what you have now and what you stand to gain in the future. Keep in mind that certain assets are automatically considered separate property and won’t be an issue when divvying up after divorce (i.e. – cash and assets gained from an inheritance of only one spouse, assets acquired before marriage and after separation).
