On behalf of The Law Offices of Mary Ann Beaty, PC posted in Prenuptial Agreements on Wednesday, February 25, 2015.
Before moving on from the subject of property division, we should take into account another recent story involving a high-profile couple with whom Dallas residents will almost certainly be familiar. The story highlights the fact that property division isn’t necessarily a discussion that only happens in a divorce — having the discussion when first entering a marriage can actually help prospective couples protect assetsthat they are concerned about and provide peace of mind.
We’re speaking about a former star of the hit show Friends, Jennifer Aniston, and her fellow actor fiancé Justin Theroux. The couple has reportedly been finalizing their prenuptial agreement. This is no small matter when one spouse (Aniston) is worth approximately $110 million, and the other (Theroux) is earning $75,000 per episode of his current show, The Leftovers. But one issue has reportedly caused somewhat of a snag.
That issue is the online streaming royalties from Friends, which has been showing on Netflix since early this year. Aniston isn’t slated to receive her share of that arrangement until after she and Theroux are married. However, she wants their prenuptial agreement to stipulate that those streaming royalties are income she earned before their marriage — that they are not marital property. That would mean Theroux would give up any claim to that income if the couple were to divorce.
Prenuptial agreements can be put to a number of creative uses. A family law professional can help a couple look at their finances and their assets and discuss what options they may have. There are, however, some things that a prenuptial agreement cannot govern — we’ll take a look at these in a follow-up post.
Source: Boston Herald, “Hot Stuff: Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux haggling over prenup,” Gayle Fee, Feb. 9, 2015
