Celebrity Marriages

Marriage is a difficult journey but it has proven even more difficult for high profile celebrities such as Kim Kardashian West and Christina Anstead- formerly known as Christina El Moussa. No one wants to become a statistic but the truth is that more than 750,000 people get divorced in the United States every year, and that includes celebrities too (CDC 2017). At Brandy Austin Law firm, our team of lawyers is dedicated to educating our clients and providing them the best legal service so that they are confident that they are making the best decision.

In 2016, the Marriage Foundation conducted a study and found that out of 488 A-list couples married between 2001 and 2010, 50 percent of them ended in divorce within the first fourteen years. Although divorce rates have been steadily declining since the early 1990s, this legal practice has become a part of family law that is still extremely prevalent. As of 2009, the average length of a first-time marriage is 8 years and the average length of a second-time marriage is 10 years. No matter how long the marriage lasted, legal counsel is still necessary.

Divorce is a long process and although not a complex one, legal counsel provides both parties with the ease to navigate through the legal system. Marriage is a right reserved to the states so laws vary from state to state. For example, in Texas, the state offers the spouse 21 days to respond to a petition for divorce after they have been served. In California, the state offers the spouse 30 days to respond to a petition for divorce. A petition for divorce is simply the legal document filed in court from the individual seeking the divorce. This document initiates the process.

Christina Anstead and ex-husband Tarek El Moussa spent $1.5 million dollars renovating the home they lived together. While this is probably not something the average American do, this relates to any couple that invests in a property while married. Purchases made within marriage are considered community property and therefore both people have rights to them. If one person wants to sell the house, and the other does not, that can cause major tensions between the parties.

 A meaningful component of this process is the relationship between the parties. While some marriages do make it a lifetime, some divorces last longer than the actual marriage. In Texas, it normally takes about six months to a year to finalize a divorce. In the celebrity world, eighteen of those 488 marriages will have ended in divorce by then. However, divorce is unique and every couple has their own experiences. Individuals who have already come up with an agreement that satisfies both parties will more likely have a faster process than parties with major disagreements. The longer it takes for parties to establish a reasonable settlement, the longer the individuals will be in the process.

The average percentage of first-time marriages that end in divorce in America is 40 to 50 percent and that is equal to that of the celebrity world. There is no magic ball to tell people what their life will be like but if there is any truth in those statistics, it means that there is probably one person in your life that has been through a divorce. If you happen to be in that position or find yourself looking for some legal counsel that will fight for your best interests, a divorce attorney in Arlington, TX is the person to call. 

Thanks to Brandy Austin Law Firm, PLLC for their insight into family law and divorce.