Sonja Morgan, star of “The Real Housewives of New York City,” told the New York Post this week that her “bitter” divorce case with her ex has added to her financial troubles. She said, “I’m sure the world thinks, ‘Sonja doesn’t have to worry, she’s got that husband there for her.’ But I’m on my own.” Morgan filed Chapter 11 Bankruptcy last fall.

Her ex-husband is John Adams Morgan, an 80-year-old descendant of J.P. Morgan and former President John Adams. In court papers, Sonja Morgan explains that he is refusing to pay her a $3 million lump-sum divorce judgment with $300,000 in alimony. He has also not allowed her to sell or visit the properties they co-own in Colorado and France. He claims that the judge has made him pay more than the amount he agreed upon in the prenuptual agreement. Morgan claims that because of his refusal she may have to sell her Upper East Side town house, valued at $6 million.

Read the full article here: NY Post

It has become a recent trend with famous divorcees. Despite being granted large windfall many women are up to their eyes in debt after a few years. From Patricia Kluge (granted a reported total of $1 billion) to Diandra Douglas (former wife of Eddie Murphy) time and time again women have succumbed to the lavish lifestyle following separation from their partners.

What happened? How can you squander that much money? What were they thinking? The common perception is that that many ex-spouses fall into the trap of thinking that their lifestyle will not permanently change–should not change–after a divorce.

Read the full article: The Huffington Post

The New York Times recently published the article below, written by Julia Werdigier, regarding how British law is starting to take America’s lead by giving prenups more weight in divorce cases.

NY divorce law gives well drafted prenups that are fair, where both parties were represented by attorneys and full financial disclosure was made by each party a great deal of weight when it comes to divorce.

Although, if any of these elements are missing, the court will seriously consider overturning the prenup if challenged.  NY divorce law is extremely fickle when it comes to properly drafted prenups.

If the prenup is unfairly biased in favor of one party, one party was not represented by an attorney or full financial disclosure was not made, then the prenup will likely be overturned if challenged.

Its extremely important to go about a prenup in the right way.  If you don’t, then its not worth the paper its written on.

The Law Office of David Centeno offers free prenup consultations.  To schedule your free prenup consultation call (866) 830-2064 now.

LONDON — A ruling by the Supreme Court here on Wednesday gave prenuptial agreements more weight in divorce cases, bringing British law closer in line with that in the United States.

The Supreme Court dismissed an appeal by Nicolas Granatino, a former JPMorgan Chase banker, asking the court to give less weight to an agreement he signed with Katrin Radmacher, a wealthy German heiress, before they married in 1998 that said that neither should profit from the wealth of the other.

British lawyers followed the case closely, awaiting more clarity on how much importance courts in Britain should give to prenuptial agreements, which had been more popular in the United States and in the rest of Europe.

Simon Bruce, a lawyer representing Ms. Radmacher, said in a statement that the ruling “means prenups are binding as long as they are fair.” He added: “Everybody hopes their marriage will last a lifetime. From today we are allowed to prepare for the possibility that it might not be the case.”

British courts have the discretion to decide on a case-by-case basis whether prenuptial agreements are binding. This has contributed to a reputation for awarding huge payouts in divorce cases, including recently to the ex-wives of Paul McCartney and the Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.

“I’m delighted that Britain has upheld fairness,” Ms. Radmacher said in a statement. “For Nicolas and I, in our homelands — France and Germany — these agreements are entirely normal and routine.”

Ms. Radmacher and Mr. Granatino divorced in 2006. At that point Mr. Granatino had quit his career as a banker to become a researcher at the University of Oxford. He applied to the court for financial help, arguing that he did not receive appropriate legal advice when signing the prenuptial agreement.

Mr. Granatino was initially granted more than £5.5 million, or $8.6 million, which would have given him an annual income of about $158,000 for life and allowed him to buy a London home where the couple’s two daughters could visit, according to court documents. Ms. Radmacher appealed that ruling.

“The husband should only be granted provision for his role as the father of the two children and not for his own long-term needs,” the court said in a statement.

Ms. Radmacher will now pay Mr. Granatino about $55,500 per child per year, and will pay for a London house so he can be closer to their daughters and for a property near her house in France, Ms. Radmacher’s lawyer said.

On August 23, 2010, Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren appeared at the Bay County Circuit Court in Panama City, Florida to sign their divorce settlement agreement.

The media has been quoting that the Woods divorce settlement was for between $100 and $500 million.  This is a vast spread and I am sure the exact numbers will eventually be reported by the media.

I recently read an article of Forbes claiming that there is no way that the divorce settlement was for $500 million because Tiger Woods is not worth that much after taking taxes into consideration.

Regardless of whether the divorce settlement was for $100 million or $500 million we know it was for a lot of money.

I would enjoy reading a copy of the Tiger Woods prenup and settlement agreement and see where this situation went wrong.

If you are interested in a prenup, call us at (866) 830-2064 to schedule a free consultation with a NYC prenup lawyer.

The New York Times recently released an op-ed articles discussing Sandra Bullock’s divorce from Jesse James.  The author used Sandra Bullock’s divorce from her adulterous husband and her recent Academy Award for Best Actress to pose a philosophical question about happiness.  I personally thought the article was in bad taste.

Sandra Bullock is obviously going through a very challenging personal time and she is very emotionally vulnerable.  Catching your husband cheating on you is an extremely painful shock.

More recent news reports recount Jesse James fleeing a sex addiction rehab center, Sierra Tuscon, after Bullock refused his phone call.  Allegedly he wants to save the marriage, but Bullock has decided to call it quits.

Luckily Sandra Bullock had a pre-nuptial agreement that protected her assets in case of divorce.

If you have recently caught your spouse committing adultery and are considering a New York divorce, please contact The Law Office of David Centeno, PLLC for a free initial consultation. (866) 830-2064.

Our law firm also offers pre-nuptial agreements, which can help protect your assets in the case of a divorce.  For a free initial pre-nuptial agreement consultation call (866) 830-2064.

The New York Times just wrote an editorial citing a study that was recently released that shows that couples who live together before getting married are more likely to get divorce.  Your chances improve if you’re engaged before moving in together.

That being said, many couples today live together before getting engaged or married.

If you are going to get married and are worried about protecting your assets in the case of a divorce, a New York pre-nuptial agreement (prenup) is an excellent was to safeguard against what seems like the ever-increasing rate of divorce.

People seem to have different reactions to the concept of a prenuptial agreement.  You may want to protect yourself from the harsh New York divorce laws but are worried that your fiance would be insulted by the idea of a prenuptial agreement.  I’ve heard people call prenups “romance killers.”

Although they may take some negotiation, a well drafted prenuptial agreement is the only way to protect your assets in the case of divorce.

If you are interested in learning more about how a prenuptial agreement could protect you and your assets in the future in case things don’t turn out like you hope they will, call our New York divorce and family law firm to schedule your free prenupconsultation . (866) 830-2064…

Mel Gibson did not have a pre-nuptial agreement.  Costly mistake Mel.

Mel Gibson and his soon-to-be-ex Australian wife, Robyn Moore, are selling their Malibu family mansion for $16 million dollars as their divorce enters its final phases.  Gibson has been forced to carve up his estate and assets throughout his long-standing divorce proceedings.

Gibson’s divorce could have been a lot faster, cheaper and less painful for his family had he and Robyn had the foresight to enter into a pre-nuptial agreement before taking the plunge to get married.

While $16 million dollars may seem like a lot to some, Mel Gibson has earned at least $1 billion, yes that was a “b,” in his career as an Hollywood actor, director and producer.

Still, if it were me, I would rather not have to sell my mansion because I lacked the good sense to enter into a prenup to split the proceeds with my soon-to-be-ex-wife.  We all know that Mel could have afforded to hire the most prestigious divorce and family law firm to represent him in entering a prenuptial agreement.

Mel Gibson has already has had a daughter with his Russian girlfriend, pianist Oksana Grigorieva.  Sounds like it’s time to reach a settlement Mel…

There placing the mansion on the market hints that Mel and his Australian wife, Robyn Moore, have reached a divorce settlement agreement.

If you are interested in protecting your assets from being split “equitably” by the New York courts, our law firm offers free pre-nuptial agreement consultations.  Call our toll-free hotline to schedule your consultation today (866) 830-2064…

If you are considering getting a pre-nuptial agreement, a.k.a. a “prenup,” there are some things you should know…

I get phone calls almost daily (usually from the person who stands to lose money if they get divorced) who say that they want a prenuptial agreement where their fiance or spouse is entitled to nothing in the case of divorce.

The problem is that these types of pre-nuptial agreements often will not withstand a challenge in the future because they are not equitable (meaning fair) in the eyes of the law.  It’s not smart to enter into a prenup that is one-sided.  This just makes it vulnerable to failure in the future.

When drafting a prenuptial agreement, our law firm ensures that the we advise our clients how they are most likely going to create a legally binding prenup that will withstand any potential challenges by their soon-to-be-spouses in case of divorce.

Another important aspect of prenups arises regarding whether your fiance needs to be represented by an attorney during the prenuptial agreement negotiations.  I tell clients that its always better if their fiance is represented by opposing counsel.  We obviously cannot represent both parties.  This is just another added layer of protection in the case of a future challenge.

Lastly, if your fiance does not speak English or doesn’t speak English well, I would advise that you have your prenuptial agreement translated into his or her native language to ensure that they fully understand the terms of the prenuptial agreement they are signing.  If they later challenge the prenup, claiming they didn’t understand what they were signing, your prenuptial agreement is more vulnerable to being ignored.

Our law office offers free consultations regarding pre-nuptial agreements. Call (866) 830-2064 to schedule your free prenuptial agreement consultation today…

As anyone who reads the news tabloids knows: Tiger Woods recently was caught cheating on his wife Elin Woods and she is filing for divorce.  The media has really ran with this one…

Tiger Woods had entered into a prenuptial agreement with Elin in which the couple allegedly originally agreed that in the event of divorce Tiger would pay Elin $20 million dollars after 10 years of marriage.

Obviously, Tiger would have lost far more green if he had never entered into a prenup. Elin is allegedly renegotiating the prenuptial agreement so that she will receive $5 million up front and as much as $55 million to stay with him for two more years.  Ouch.

Aside from the media spin, which always seems intrusive (and quite frankly, obnoxious), there are a few kernels of wisdom that can be extracted from this painful situation:

• A prenup is a way to control the distribution of your assets in the likely chance of divorce (U.S. divorce rate still over 50%).
• If you don’t want a court dividing your assets according to NY law, a prenup is a very wise idea.
• Prenuptial agreements are not only for multi-millionaires and celebrities.  Anyone can enter into one and benefit from its legal protections.

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