Colorado residents who are old enough to remember the 1970s probably also remember The Captain and Tennille. The married music duo had several hit records in that decade, including “Muskrat Love” and “Love Will Keep Us Together.” But apparently love wasn’t enough to keep the couple’s marriage together; recently they announced they are getting a divorce after being married for 39 years.
Toni Tennille, now 73, filed divorce papers in Arizona seeking to dissolve her marriage to Darryl Dragon, 71, whose stage name was the Captain. The couple are apparently still living together in the same house; how long that will last no one knows.
The hit records of the 1970s have presumably left this high-profile couple comparatively well off. In a high asset divorce, asset division issues can be daunting. For this couple, after a 39-year marriage, it is likely that most of their property was acquired during the marriage. In Colorado, it would be considered marital property and subject to equitable division by the court.
Equitable does not mean equal, it means fair. Lawyers for both sides in this divorce will have to prepare lists of all the couple’s assets, including real estate, business assets and probably even the gold records. Those assets will have to be valued and the court will then make a determination as to who gets what. Alternatively, the couple through their attorneys could negotiate their own property settlement and submit it to the court for approval. A negotiated settlement is always preferable, if the parties are able to reach an agreement, because it saves significant time and legal expenses.
Source: Washington Post, “Captain and Tennille, musical duo of the ’70s, divorcing after 39 years of marriage,” Diana Reese, Jan. 23, 2014
