Orange County Divorce Lawyer Blog

Several celebrity news websites are reporting that a settlement has been reached in the California divorce of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, which is expected to become final next month.

The relationship between Hefner, 83, and his wife Kimberly has, according to media reports, been an unusual one. The couple married in 1989 and separated in 1998, but only filed for a California divorce last year. In the interim Kimberly has been living with the couple's children in a house adjacent to the Playboy Mansion and Hefner has been paying her a monthly allowance.

Divorce settlements involving high-asset couples - especially couples in which one partner brings most of the assets into the marriage - can be especially complex. California prenuptial agreements were created, in part, to address situations like this. The Hefner settlement may also have been complicated by the unusual living arrangements the couple have had for more than a decade. Further complicating matters is a lawsuit Kimberly filed last year against the ageing publisher, demanding
$5 million as her share of the profits from Hefner's sale of the home where Kimberly and the couple's sons have been living. Hefner claimed in response that "he's paid her nearly $12 million since they separated," according to TMZ.

Though unusual in many respects, the Hefner divorce is also a reminder of the importance of securing the help of a skilled Orange County divorce lawyer who can help you chart a course through your California separation and divorce whatever their circumstances may be. Divorces that do not involve multi-million dollar homes or other significant California community property assets can be just as complex and contentious as those of movie stars or magazine publishers. The first important step to take involves finding a Los Angeles, Orange County or San Bernardino County divorce attorney who will give your case the careful attention it deserves, and fight for everything to which you are entitled.

Contactmusic.com: Hefner's Divorce Finalised in March

TMZ.com: Hugh Hefner Divorce: A Done Deal

One tedious aspect of going through a divorce is dividing up various community property furniture and furnishings. From an Orange County divorce attorney perspective, when completing a Schedule of Assets & Debts (which is required prior to getting a divorce), each party must itemize their respective assets and debts, whether they are separate property or community property. I often advise clients to not bother listing every single fork, knife, table, lamp etc. as the list of furniture, furnishings, artwork, jewelry can get pretty long. Instead, I advise my clients to simply list the items that are have value and leave the remaining items as "to be divided between the parties." However, sometimes couples cannot agree to divide anything amongst themselves. Afterall, these people are going through a divorce and the word "agree" has seemed to have disappeared from their vocabulary. At any rate, in such instances, there are alternate procedures to make such divisions equitable.

Continue reading "Kate Walsh Divorce: Dividing Furniture & Furnishings through Alternate Pick Method" »

For 12 seasons, from 1985 to 1996, Lenny Dykstra was a star major league baseball player. He later became a celebrity investment guru, writing a syndicated column and dispensing investment advice on national television. Today, reduced to bankruptcy and near-homelessness, he blames his troubles on his creditors (several of whom are presently suing him). Recent articles in the Wall Street Journal and the Ventura County Star detailing Dykstra's troubles do not paint a particularly sympathetic portrait of the three-time All Star, but they do highlight a connection between personal financial crisis and marital trouble ending, for Dykstra, in a California divorce filing.

Dykstra's financial woes (19 lawsuits, $37 million in debts, defaulting on not one but two estates) would take too long to detail here. From an Orange County family law perspective, however, the telling remark is one his wife Teri made to the Star (the couple are separated but not yet formally divorced). As Lenny's business ventures began to go sour the "very, very charming, funny, witty" man she met two decades ago slowly changed "into someone she no longer wants to be around." Today, Teri lives with the couple's children at a rented property in Thousand Oaks. A judge awarded her sole possession of Lenny's $5700 a month MLB pension.

For his part, the ex-baseball star blames his troubles on the bankers who loaned him tens of millions of dollars, telling the Star: "They're the ones responsible for me losing $38 million. They're the ones responsible for a 25 year marriage being dismantled piece-by-piece."

While the Dykstra family's case is, perhaps, a bit extreme it highlights a much simpler truth: financial troubles can often set an otherwise sound relationship on the road to a California divorce. It is especially important in such situations to have a compassionate and experienced Southern California divorce attorney on your side to assure a fair division of both assets and liabilities. Blaming the banks may make one or both of you feel better, but it does not solve the immediate legal issues arising from a California separation and divorce filing. To keep these from spiraling out of control an early consultation with a Los Angeles or Orange County family law lawyer is a wise precaution.

Wall Street Journal: Dykstra mansion on the market for $14.9 million

Ventura County Star: Ex-baseball player Lenny Dykstra tries to cope with personal, professional losses

As a noted in a previous post, there have been several high-profile instances reported in the media in recent months of long-divorced spouses returning to court and seeking to renegotiate settlements because their financial circumstances have changed. Now, from New York, comes another version of this: According to a recent Associated Press report, a Family Court judge in Manhattan has ruled that a prominent New York lawyer can't recover money he paid his ex-wife that was lost as part of the Bernard Madoff Scandal.

The division of assets in Steven Simkin's 2006 divorce included a $2.7 million payment the attorney gave his ex-wife as half of the value of their investment account with Madoff. We now know, of course, that Madoff has essentially pocketed the money. As a result, three and a half years later, Simkin's ex has cash but he is left holding a worthless investment account. Last week a judge ruled that Simkin's ex-wife, Laura Blank, does not have to return the money her husband paid her.

As is so often the case, this high-profile dispute can serve as a cautionary tale for the rest of us. An experienced Orange County divorce attorney can advise clients on the best ways to protect their assets during the process of dividing up California community property. Before the division becomes final it is important that due diligence is conducted to make sure all assets are properly valued. A Southern California divorce lawyer can help you make your way through this complicated process regardless of the size of the size of the estate involved.

AP at The Huffington Post: Steven Simkin Can't Recover Madoff millions from ex-wife Laura Blank: Judge

The link below will take you to a fascinating story published last week in Fortune magazine that is also a cautionary tale about the mixing of personal and corporate assets and how they can get tied up as part of a divorce. The article focuses on John Randolph "Bunky" Hearst Jr., a grandson of the legendary California newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst. Though the article focuses on New York (where Bunky lives) the issues it raises can be even more complex in a state like California where divorce is governed by community property laws.

As the article details most of Bunky Hearst's came from the payments he received as a beneficiary of a family trust that controls the privately-held Hearst media empire (Hearst's assets include 200 magazines, 16 newspapers, the A&E cable channel and a 20% stake in ESPN). Even by the standards of privately-held companies Hearst is remarkably secretive. Yet, as the article notes, legal maneuvering around Bunky Hearst's divorce came close to spilling the company's most closely-held business secrets into the open.

The tale is a fascinating reminder not only of how intrusive and emotionally wrenching a divorce can be, but also of how it can create work-related disruptions with far-reaching consequences.

Stories like this remind us how important a skilled Southern California divorce lawyer is when a marriage is facing dissolution. Protecting your assets is a key part of any Orange County divorce proceeding, but keeping a business' affairs out of the court spotlight can be equally important - and even more complex. A full-service California family law firm can examine assets at any stage of a marriage, helping ensure that private affairs remain private.

Fortune: Citizen Bunky: A Hearst Family Scandal

In many California divorces possession of the family home is one of the most contentious issues. This should hardly be surprising: a house is the most expensive thing most people will ever own. As a recent article on Examiner.com notes, however, the national financial crisis has changed the way some people think about homes when they are splitting up. The article notes that it is no longer uncommon for both divorcing spouses to want the other one to take the house.

An analysis by Bloomberg News last summer indicated that 26% of properties nationwide are now 'underwater' (i.e. the property is worth less than the outstanding mortgage on it), and cited alarming statistics from Deutsche Bank predicting that the underwater rate might rise to 48% - yes, nearly half of all homes - by 2011. Looked at that way the trend cited by Examiner.com might not be so surprising. A house with a severely underwater mortgage can be seen as a liability rather than an asset.

Situations like these highlight the need for consultation with a skilled Orange County family law attorney if you are considering a Southern California divorce or legal separation. Attorneys from an experienced Southern California family law firm can assist with the division of assets in today's treacherous economic environment.

An underwater mortgage was once almost unimaginable - particularly in areas like Southern California that have long been known for their ever-rising property prices. Coping with this, and the other Los Angeles family law challenges emerging from the current recession, requires the services of a skilled professional.

Examiner.com: And you can have the house!

Bloomberg: 'Underwater' mortgages to hit 48%, Deutsche Bank says