After years of rumors suggesting divorce, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are finally ending their marriage. Katie filed in New York last week, reportedly catching Tom by surprise. The divorce, which follows a 5-year marriage, is expected to be quite contentious.
But Katie is apparently preparing for it since she has hired two New York divorce lawyers to represent her. She may need the help, since she is seeking sole legal and physical custody of the couple’s daughter, 6-year-old Suri. Tom has custody of the adopted children he raised with previous wife Nicole Kidman. When he and Nicole got divorced, the two children apparently chose to live with Tom. It remains to be seen if Suri will make the same decision, or if Tom will go after custody of her.
Those who know Katie claim that the reason for the divorce was her concern about raising her daughter in the Scientology religion. Though she has tolerated lie with this religion so far, she and Tom are said to have some disagreements regarding Suri taking part in Scientology activities. Other people who are close to the couple claim that Scientology was not the problem, but Tom’s dedication to his career was. Either way, he was apparently blindsided by the divorce since he was in Iceland working on a movie when she filed.
However, some of the couple’s friends claim the marriage was over months ago, and that the two were basically just friends who lived together. In fact, Katie recently rented out an apartment in Manhattan and is staying there with her daughter for now. When it comes to the couple’s assets, it is uncertain how they will be split. Like many celebrity couples, Tom and Katie have a prenuptial agreement, but it is not clear exactly who will get what. Currently, though, it looks like Katie is not entitled to much, which seems fine by her, but she will supposedly request child support. One thing that is certain so far is that Tom appears to have more money than Katie, since he makes about $75 million per year.
The couple wishes to keep the divorce as private as possible, but this is unlikely since it is a celebrity divorce, after all. The only details that may be kept private for now are the files associated with the couple’s divorce, and this is only because Katie filed in New York instead of California, where the records would have been public.
The lawyers Katie has hired have worked on various high net worth cases, with former clients that include Christie Brinkley. Hopefully the couple can work out the issues involving child custody and distribution of their assets without having to go to court. However, it seems unlikely that this case will stay out of the public eye or be private in any way. It will likely take some time for it all to unfold. Meanwhile, if you have questions about your own divorce case, please call Brian D. Perskin & Associates P.C. for help.