“Maria Shriver is certainly entitled to a generous amount in the settlement, one that is consistent with her lifestyle. If Arnold’s net worth is $300,000 million she should get half of that plus child support,” Susan Filan, famed legal expert, says.
Celebrity divorce lawyer Raoul Felder — who has represented some of Hollywood’s most high-profile couples including Elizabeth Taylor and David Guest, and Robin Givens and Mike Tyson — agrees and points out a technicality that may result in Maria, 55, making slightly less than $150 million.
“If Arnold is worth $300 million, than Maria is likely to get $100 million. One third of that was probably money Arnold earned before he got married. So she would get half of $200 million because in the state of California it’s 50/50,” he explains.
That said, Filan says the court will have to take into account more than just Arnold’s net worth. There are outside factors, like Maria’s support, her giving up her career and the sheer length of time they were married (25 years!).
“The fact that Maria gave up her career as a journalist to fully support Arnold’s career cannot be overlooked. They will look at how she contributed to his career,” she says.
“He could not have gotten to where he is without her support. The reason Arnold is worth so much is because he was married to Maria. Yes, a portion of his net worth comes from his body building days and acting career, but Maria took him to a whole other level, and the opportunity for income that he has today is in large part because of his marriage to her.”
She adds, “The court will also look at earning capacity. Who in the future will have the greater capacity to earn money? And it’s quite apparent that he does and because of this, Maria should be entitled to a portion of these future earnings.”
And it’s not just Maria to whom Arnold owes money. He also has to take care of their kids.
“Arnold is loaded so I am sure he will continue to take good care of his four children,” Felder says. “A reasonable amount for child support would be $10,000 per child per month. You have to take into account education and child care.”
Hopefully, Arnold is ready to surrender a bounty to Maria, as she’s hired one of the most impressive and influential celebrity divorce lawyers in the business, Laura Wasser.
“Maria wants to ensure that she gets a fair settlement and that her children’s future is secure — that is all she cares about, period,” a source close to Maria told RadarOnline.
We feel horribly Maria had to go through this in the first place and wish her the best of luck staying strong through the separation!