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Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin headed for a high asset divorce

On Behalf of | Apr 2, 2014 | Uncategorized |

Colorado readers of this blog may have heard that Coldplay singer Chris Martin and actress Gwyneth Paltrow recently announced that they plan to divorce. The couple have been married for 10 years and have two children.

When a high-profile couple with significant earnings gets a divorce, asset division is likely to be complex. Reports differ on Paltrow’s and Martin’s combined net worth. One source estimates they have a combined net worth of $280 million; another says they were worth just under $120 million as of 2012. The couple owns five homes, in Los Angeles, Malibu, New York, the Hamptons and London.

According to one news report, Martin is the higher earning spouse. He reportedly gets twice the share of the band’s earnings as each of the other three band members, due to his role as lead singer and songwriter. Most of his income comes from concert tours; the band does not own all of its publishing rights.

Paltrow is not doing too badly, however. She has several sources of income, the largest of which is her movie earnings, especially those from the hit “Iron Man.” She also gets income from her website, cookbooks and television appearances. She also has several high-paying endorsement contracts with cosmetics and perfume companies.

In a high asset divorce, asset valuation is a critical task for the lawyer representing a spouse. In Colorado, marital property-property acquired during the marriage-is divided equitably between the parties. Separate property is retained by the spouse who brought it to the marriage, but any appreciation in the value of separate property that takes place during the marriage is considered marital property. It takes a sophisticated understanding of valuation issues to fight for a fair deal in a complex asset division case.

Source: Business Insider, “Here’s What’s At Stake In Gwyneth Paltrow And Chris Martin’s Multimillion-Dollar Divorce,” Aly Weisman, March 27, 2014