Celebrity Engagements Remind Couples of the Importance of the Prenup

Over the past year, numerous celebrity couples have stepped forward with plans to marry.  In early November 2010, Nick Lachey announced he was engaged to his longtime girlfriend, Vanessa Minnillo.  The couple had been dating for approximately four years prior to the engagement.  Shortly after Nick announced his soon-to-be marriage, news of Jessica Simpson’s (Lachey’s ex-wife) engagement surfaced.  Unlike the long courtship of her ex-husband, Simpson had only been dating her now-fiancé, NFL player Eric Johnson, for five and a half months prior to the engagement.  Additionally, Kelsey Grammer, who is not yet divorced from his third wife, announced plans to wed his fourth, Kayte Walsh.  With all of the buzz around celebrity engagements and divorces, one can only hope that these pop culture icons will enter into prenuptial agreements to protect their sizable assets.

Jessica Simpson has allegedly learned a valuable lesson involving the dangers of marrying without a prenuptial agreement.  Simpson’s decision not to sign a prenuptial agreement with Lachey reportedly cost her around $10 million.  Rumors in early December 2010 show that Jessica has learned her lesson and will “definitely” have a prenuptial agreement prior to marrying Johnson.

Unlike Simpson, Grammer does not appear to have learned the importance of the prenup.  Grammer’s soon-to-be ex-wife, Camille Donatacci, has just recently rejected Grammer’s offer to settle their case for around $30 million.  Because Donatacci and Grammer did not enter into a prenuptial agreement prior to marriage, Donataci appears to be holding out for at least $50 million in addition to child and spousal support.  According to Perez Hilton’s blog, an insider close to the couple shares that Grammer is “deeply in love” with Kayte Walsh would not “insult her by asking her to sign a prenup.”

As divorce rates rise, family law attorneys recommend that engaged couples consider entering into prenuptial agreements prior to marriage.  Prenuptial agreements are especially recommended if either party has significant assets or owns real estate.  For more information on California prenuptial agreements, please visit our website.  Please remember that each individual situation is unique and results discussed in this post are not a guarantee of future results.  While this post may include legal issues, it is not legal advice.  Use of this site does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Sources: 

http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/how_camille_got_more_M6sGhLN4M07esaEQP6AKaJ

http://perezhilton.com/2010-12-30-kelsey-grammer-not-getting-prenup-for-third-marriage

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/dailydish/detail?entry_id=76889

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/19/inside-jessica-simpsons-e_n_786165.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/15/joe-simpson-reacts-to-jes_n_783508.html

http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2010/12/09/2010-12-09_jessica_simpson_will_have_a_prenup_with_eric_johnson_report.html