Divorce continues to land Kate Winslet shares of marital property

We’ve all heard the saying, “good things come to those who wait.” Well, actress Kate Winslet may have recently given that phrase a whole new meaning. Her ex-husband, director Sam Mendes, signed over a lavish New York City penthouse to the starlet recently, two years after the high-profile couple’s divorce.

The couple announced their high asset divorce in 2010. They had been married since 2003, and Winslet stared in Mendes’ 2008 directorial effort “Revolutionary Road.” According to the reports, Winslet had stayed in the penthouse following their split, along with their 8-year-old child and Winslet’s child from a previous marriage. Reports indicate that the penthouse is now available to rent, at the meager sum of $30,000 per month.

Most Maryland residents know that almost every divorce has the potential to get complicated, but when complex asset division comes into the picture, the dispute can get downright nasty. In most cases, all of the property acquired during a marriage is considered to be marital property – subject to an equitable division by the court. The martial property can include offshore accounts, business assets, retirement plans, pensions, and, as in Winslet and Mendes’ case, real estate. For Winslet and Mendes, since they jointly purchased the New York City penthouse in 2004, after their marriage, the interest in the location was originally divided between them.

Arriving at an equitable division of property in a high asset divorce can be one of the hardest legal outcomes to achieve. Disclosure can become a significant issue, as can asset valuation. In most cases, the best way to ensure that all individual rights are protected is to enter the dispute with the best and most accurate information.

Source: The Huffington Post, “Kate Winslet, Sam Mendes Divorce: Director Transfers Multi-Million Dollar Chelsea Penthouse To Actress,” Aug. 16, 2012