Celebrity divorce and the 10-year itch

By Liz Pulliam Weston

Britney and Kevin. Chris and Malaak. Renee and Kenny.

These star couples, and plenty of others, make it clear: If you're going to dish on celebrity divorce, you need to know a thing or four about California divorce law.

Because, as in so many other things, California does divorce differently than just about anywhere else. So here's your primer:

Fact No. 1: Why what's yours is mine

California is one of just nine "community property" states in the United States. (The others are Arizona, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin. In Alaska, couples can opt for community property status, or not.)

In most states, assets and earnings accumulated during marriage are split "equitably," which doesn't necessarily mean 50/50. The higher earner can often wind up with a bigger piece of the pie. In community property states, however, the presumption is that any earnings, assets or debts acquired during the marriage are shared equally. (There are a few exceptions; inheritances and gifts to one spouse are typically considered separate property, for example.)

You can see how this situation is perceived as a problem in California, home of a million trophy spouses who bring great looks but not necessarily great earning potential to their marriages.

The presumption that "what's yours is mine" is the reason that most celebrity marriages involve prenuptials, which are pre-marriage agreements, hammered out among staffs of lawyers, in which both parties essentially reject the notion of community property and instead work out their own division of property, earnings and debts in case of divorce.

Many prenups have annual escalation clauses, so that the longer the marriage, the more the less-affluent partner receives in cash (income) and prizes (property). Hence the rumor, reported by Gawker, that superstar Britney Spears filed for divorce two years and one month after her marriage to Kevin Federline in order to limit his take. (Many escalation clauses also have 30-day grace periods, so theoretically Fed-Ex's share would be cut off at the two-year mark.)

Fact No. 2: Why they call it 'fraud'

California allows only two reasons for divorce: irreconcilable differences (which you don't have to prove) and incurable insanity (which you do).

If your marriage was brief and didn't involve children, or if you want to forget it ever happened, you might opt for annulment instead of divorce. Annulments are generally faster and less expensive than divorces, besides being a general "do over." Instead of dissolving the marriage, an annulment treats the union as if it had never occurred.

In California, however, you have to choose among eight reasons for wanting the annulment, and none of them are easy outs. The reasons include:

• Bigamy. At least one of you was already married.
• Force. Threats or harmful acts made you get married.
• Fraud. One of you deceived the other on a significant matter that led to marriage.
• Incapacity. One of you is physically unable to, um, you know.
• Incest. You're close blood relatives.
• Prior existing marriage or partnership. One of you thought your prior spouse/partner was dead, but he or she just turned up. (Seriously. This doesn't just happen in soap operas, apparently.)
• Underage. At least one of you was under 18 and didn't get Mommy and Daddy's permission.
• Unsound mind. One of you couldn't form the "intent" to marry because of a mental condition.

This list may give you some insight into why actress Renee Zellweger chose "fraud" as the best of bad options when filing for her annulment from singer Kenny Chesney after a four-month marriage.

Fact No. 3: Why they go for the kids

If you want a life of ease, generally speaking you shouldn't get divorced in California. Unlike many other states, where alimony can stretch for decades, spousal support in the Golden State is supposed to be "rehabilitative" -- a short-term solution to get the ex on his or her feet.

So what's the underearning half of a celeb couple to do? Go for primary custody and child support, which typically lasts until the youngest child is 18. Child support in California is based on a formula that takes into account where the kids spend their time and the parents' relative incomes; the presumption is that the kids should live as well as they would with the higher-earning parent, even if they're not with him or her full time. Getting the kids, in short, means getting the bucks (and the round-the-clock nannies).

Not that Mr. Federline doesn't love his kids. But primary custody would be a lucrative way to make up for that prenup.

Fact No. 4: What to serve on the 10th anniversary

Tom Cruise filed for divorce from Nicole Kidman just short of their 10^th anniversary. Chris Rock, married for nearly 10 years to Malaak Compton-Rock, was rumored to be doing the same.

What gives?

Some media reports have said, incorrectly, that the 10-year mark determines when California couples have to split assets equally. As I explained above, that's not the case. Assets acquired from the first day of marriage are considered community property in California, unless there's a prenup.

However, there is a presumption, divorce attorneys say, that a union that's lasted at least 10 years is a "lengthy marriage," which in California can affect spousal support. A judge may approve a longer period of alimony for a lengthy marriage and may reserve the right to change the amount of alimony for several years after the divorce. Again, that's probably not an issue when the couple has a strong prenup.

But it may be those prenups themselves that precipitate the rush to the courthouse just shy of the 10-year mark. Many prenuptial agreements include clauses that substantially increase the property settlement for unions that last at least 10 years.

"If you're the spouse that's going to pay," said Irvine, Calif., divorce attorney Jeffrey Lalloway, "there may be a reason you want to cut it short."

Liz Pulliam Weston's column appears every Monday and Thursday, exclusively on MSN Money. She also answers reader questions in the Your Money message board.