Wisconsin residents have likely heard about the high-profile divorce of 42-year-old actor Ben Affleck and 43-year-old actress Jennifer Garner. After exactly 10 years and one day of marriage, the couple decided to call it quits. Many believe that the date that was ultimately chosen was not a coincidence.
Although Garner and Affleck have been separated for months, they waited until after their 10-year anniversary to file for divorce. That decision may have been influenced by a law in California that states that any marriage lasting longer than 10 years is a long-term marriage. A lesser-earning spouse who is divorcing after 10 years of marriage may petition for a greater amount of spousal support than a spouse who was in a marriage of a shorter duration.
If Garner and Affleck had a prenuptial agreement in place, California’s divorce law may not have played a role in the date of their divorce filing. However, prenuptial agreements sometimes contain clauses that relate to the reaching of certain milestones. For example, a prenuptial agreement could say that the lower-earning spouse will receive a monetary benefit from the higher-earning spouse if they divorce after 10 years of marriage. Some of these types of agreements specify that the higher-earning spouse will provide the lower-earning spouse with a certain amount of money for each year of marriage.
When a divorce is imminent, a spouse might want to speak with an attorney about the best time to file divorce paperwork. If state laws or prenuptial agreement clauses come into play, a family law attorney may advise a spouse as to the most appropriate time to file.
