Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “When do you get alimony?”
Things appear to be heating up in the Rupert and Wendi Murdoch divorce case. Mr. Murdoch surprised his wife of 14 years with divorce papers only a month ago and already Mrs. Murdoch appears to be changing her tactics in the split.
Murdoch initially hired a New York attorney, Pamela Sloan, to represent her in the divorce. Ms. Sloan had worked with Mrs. Murdoch several times in the past; including the first time Mrs. Murdoch signed a prenuptial agreement and again when a second and third postnuptial document was created after the births of their children. Friends close to Mrs. Murdoch say they believe Sloan was too close to Rupert and that Wendi wanted a fresh set of eyes on the case.
Mrs. Murdoch has now hired William Zabel, a well-known lawyer to the stars in Manhattan who represented Jack Welch’s wife in her divorce and handles the estate planning affairs of billionaire George Soros. Experts believe choosing Zabel is a clear sign on Mrs. Murdoch’s part that she does not intend to slip away quietly and will instead fight to receive as large of a piece of Mr. Murdoch’s wealth as possible.
Though it’s true that Mrs. Murdoch signed several agreements with Rupert (one prenuptial agreement and two postnuptial agreements), experts say there are several areas that remain up for negotiation that Wendi intends to take full advantage of. One clear example of such an unsettled issue involves the children, two girls, 11 and 9 years old. In many cases, issues involving child custody arrangements and child support are left out of prenuptial agreements because courts do not view them as binding. As a result, issues involving children are often used in such high profile cases by the less-moneyed spouse as a tool for extracting money that they may have already signed away in previous agreements.