Asset division could be a major factor in Murdoch divorce

From time to time the divorce of a high-profile couple will consume the news media, for a variety of reasons. When Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes divorced, much of the news coverage was focused on what would happen with the custody situation for their young daughter, Suri. When Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries divorced the media was obsessed with determining whether the whole marriage was a sham to begin with. Now, there is another couple in the headlines because they have filed for divorce, but this time the news is focused on much different topics: one of the parties himself is a member of the news media elite, and it is likely to be a high asset divorce – perhaps as high asset as it gets.

Rupert Murdoch, the Chairman and Chief Executive of News Corp., will be getting a divorce from his wife of 14 years. Murdoch is extremely wealthy and although it is likely that the couple signed a prenuptial agreement before their marriage there could still be a transfer of an enormous amount of assets in this case.

Millions of people go through the same complex asset division process that Murdoch and his soon-to-be ex-spouse will likely go through. When a wealthy couple has to address splitting marital property like real estate, business assets or pensions, the process can get very complicated indeed. If these types of couples can avoid disputes and come to terms on a mutually acceptable agreement on asset division it is likely that there will be more left to split since they won’t need to spend excessive amounts of money fighting courtroom battles for months – or years – on end.

Source: The Wall Street Journal, “News Corp. Chief Files for Divorce,” Martin Peers and Merissa Marr, June 14, 2013