SAN FRANCISCO FAMILY LAW BLOG

Celebrities are just like the rest of us -they fall in love, they have children, and they get divorced. By learning from the public lives of celebrities, we can easily learn lessons about our own private lives. Take for example the recent divorces of Hugh Hefner and John Cleese.

Hugh had the foresight to see the need for a prenuptial and now that he is getting a divorce, he is certainly seeing the benefit. Hugh has been married to Kimberly Conrad since 1989, when the couple signed a prenuptial agreement. When Conrad filed for divorce in 1998, she withdrew the petition after Hefner said he did not wish to get divorced. As a result, the pair modified the prenuptial agreement. Now that they are officially going through separation procedures, Kimberly will be seeking close to $10.2 million. While this sounds like a lot, keep in mind that Hugh is worth as much as $80 million. In the end, even if she gets everything she wants, the mother of two Hefner children will only be taking around an eighth of Hugh’s money and assets.

Now lets take a look at John Cleese and his divorce agreement. Cleese and his wife, Alyce Faye, were married for 16 years, but they had no children. The pair did not sign any prenuptial agreement and now John is feeling the sting of this mistake. John Cleese has been estimated to be worth around $27 million and his wife will be taking $12 million in the divorce -that’s almost half of his worth! In fact, the settlement will leave Faye with more money than the Monty Python alumni. Faye originally demanded even more money, claiming that Cleese’s celebrity status had allowed her to become accustomed to “being entertained by royalty and dignitaries in castles.”

As you can see, the difference in these divorce agreements is staggering. While these celebrities may be on a different financial level than you, they can still help you realize the importance of a prenuptial agreement. If you are engaged, getting a prenuptial agreement written by a San Francisco divorce attorney can be one of the smartest decisions you can ever make.

For more information on Hef’s separation, read the full article in Courthouse News Service. To learn more about Cleese and his divorce, please enjoy the article in the SFGate. Photo Via Lord Biro [Flickr]