In this day and age, it seems insane that a major celebrity like Justin Bieber, 24, would get married to anyone without a prenup. Yet, he supposedly wed Hailey Baldwin, 21, without such an agreement in place. Does that mean his estimated $250 million fortune is up for grabs if this marriage goes sour? “Hailey is not legally entitled to any of Justin’s premarital assets,” Leon Mindin, Esq., a New York family law attorney of the Law Offices of Mindin & Mindin, P.C., tells HollywoodLife.com EXCLUSIVELY.
“All of Justin’s premarital property remains his,” Leon tells HollywoodLife.com, “but his royalties from his music that get paid after the marriage are likely to be considered income and would be marital property. These royalties may very well count into his post-marital assets, which would have to be split in the event of a divorce. Every penny he makes after their date of marriage is considered marital and what is left after the bills are paid is their joint marital property.”
So, every penny Justin makes after Sept. 13, 2018 – the date he and Hailey reportedly tied the knot in a NYC courthouse – would be split in the event of a divorce. Leon does stress that the terms of the divorce would also be determined by which state they get divorced in. So, is there a way for Justin to protect his royalties? “It is likely that his money is wrapped up in trusts and other investments that are difficult to touch,” Leon says. ”Celebrities and high net worth individuals don’t get divorced like regular people. Everything financial is worked out in a settlement, the court battles are usually left when it comes to issues with kids.”
“This isn’t your average guy,” Leon adds. “He’s had very smart and experienced people set up his assets in a way to minimize his exposure to risk from lawsuits, divorce, etc.”
Would Hailey be entitled to any spousal support if they were to split? Plus, what happens if they have a kid? “If they have a child and Hailey was to seek child support in New York, Justin would have to support the child based on a formula, this is the case for almost all the states,” Leon tells HollywoodLife.com. “New York applies a formula based on the Child Support Standards Act. Child support would require Justin to provide a basic level of support depending on the needs and lifestyle of the child along with additional funds for add-on expenses such as necessary childcare, educational, healthcare and extracurricular expenses.”
Justin, according to Leon, would likely just settle with Hailey to provide child support. “This is definitely not a case you will see in family court.” As for spousal support?
“If Hailey is the less-monied spouse she can seek spousal support. In New York, it is known as ‘maintenance’,” he adds. “If her earnings are in the six figures, she might not be eligible for maintenance. Much like child support, maintenance is determined by a formula. The purpose of maintenance is to help divorcing people get back on their feet financially, I don’t know what her finances look like but I also don’t see this issue being litigated in open court.”