Clarksville, Tennessee, residents may agree that one of the most contested issues during divorce is property division. Separating spouses can intensify the competition when the property at stake runs into billions of dollars. High asset divorces in Tennessee and the rest of the country often witness some of the most intense and nasty battles over property division.
One such high asset divorce has grabbed recent headlines across the country but might not have fireworks because according to reports, the big-city hedge-fund billionaire who recently filed for divorce from his wife of 11 years because they could no longer live together peacefully has a prenuptial agreement. The couple has been living separately for more than a year and the 45-year-old husband’s filing also sought joint custody of the three children from the marriage, which was his second.
Attorneys said that the couple had signed a premarital agreement 11 years ago and that all issues pertaining to monetary support and division of marital and non-marital property would be governed by that prenuptial agreement. Its scope, however, is not limited to only these issues, the lawyer said.
At present, his net worth is estimated to be more than $5 billion. The couple also owns two recently bought residential properties worth nearly a combined $95 million. The former couple was also prominent among art and philanthropy circles and according to reports, the couple made two multi-million dollar donations to an art institute and children’s hospital located in their home town.
It is unlikely that the divorce will affect the $20 billion investment firm run by the husband because it was reported that the wife has no stake in the company. Some experts are presuming that since the husband’s first marriage ended in divorce, he must have taken the necessary legal steps to protect his business assets from division in the event of another divorce.
Source: Bloomberg Businessweek, “Citadel’s Griffin Seeks Divorce After 11-Year Marriage,” Andrew Harris, Saijel Kishan and Katherine Burton, July 24, 2014
