What Can You Learn From Celebrity Divorce?

Many celebrity marriages are over in the blink of an eye. What can average citizens learn from the divorce mistakes of the rich and famous? Plenty.

1. Get a prenup

When Mel Gibson divorced, he was reported to have cut his $900 million fortune in half. Madonna’s ex, Guy Ritchie, is said to have walked away with an extra $90 million for his time spent with the singer. Kelsey Grammer, of Frasier fame, had to shell out $50 million to a former Playboy Playmate. Why did they all pay so much? Not because of their generosity, that’s for sure. All these people foolishly lacked prenuptial agreements. Even if you don’t have the amount of money they have, a prenup can help secure the assets you will need if your marriage fails.

2. Don’t trash your ex in public

Kim Kardashian and the rest of her family have wasted no time trash talking her ex, Kris Humphries since their 72-day marriage ended months ago. All the talking causes the process to drag on longer than necessary and leads to emotions running high along the way. Rather than hurting feelings more than has already happened, keep quiet and tell your friends and family to do the same, at least until the papers are signed.

3. Follow your child custody agreement
Follow whatever agreements you reached in court. When Alex Baldwin and Kim Basinger split, Basinger tried to keep their daughter away from him. This move resulted in a very prolonged and nasty dispute between the two and led to hurt feelings all around. If you don’t hold up your end of the bargain your ex can drag you right back to court, costing you time and money, as well as damaging your relationship with your child along the way.

4. Don’t film a reality show about your marriage

Have any doubts about the dangers of letting cameras document your every move? Just ask Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey or the Gosselins how it turned out. Though most of us aren’t interesting enough to have television crews knocking down our doors the larger lesson still applies: avoid involving others in your private marital issues.

If you have questions about a divorce proceeding and would like a divorce attorney to assist you in the matter call us today at (904) 685-1200.

Source: “Celebrity Divorce: What It Can Teach Us,” by Silvana Raso, published at HuffingtonPost.com.