In Massachusetts, the asset division statute (M.G.L. c. 208 s 34), grants the court significant discretion and authority to assign assets owned by one spouse to the other in a divorce case in order to reach an "equitable" division.  The trial court has broad discretion as to the treatment of all types of assets owned by either spouse, but before the court can determine an equitable division, the assets themselves must first be defined and valued.  With many assets the value is straightforward, and there are accepted ways of valuing real estate, personal property and business interests.  But some assets, such as stock options, are very difficult to value reliably. What happens when the value of a marital asset is uncertain? The Appeals Court, in Canisius v. Morgenstern , addressed this question in regards to potential royalties and movie rights for the author of The Night Circus .  The trial court Judge had excluded future income from the sale of the wife's book f...

There is very little that the average person can say they have in common with celebrities. We don't get chased by the paparazzi, we don't have personal chefs or personal trainers, and we can't get lost in our homes. But when it comes to celebrity marriages, they are just as likely (if not more likely) to end up in divorce court. Of course, when a celebrity, CEO or media mogul gets divorced the financial scale of their marital estates is very different than the average divorce case. Below is a graph of the top 15 most expensive divorce payouts, ranging from 80 million to 1.7 billion dollars: Sources: Wikipedia List of Most Expensive Divorces The Telegraph Article: Tiger Woods: the world's top ten highest divorce settlements Burns & Associates: Top 15 Most Expensive Divorces Of All Time

The short answer is YES! Whether or not they are divided will depend on a number of factors. For divorce purposes, Massachusetts gives very broad definition to "marital assets". Absent a pre-nuptial agreement every asset and liability owed by either party is considered by the Court in a division. The Court can consider the source of the asset but that is just one of the factors in whether or not to divide it. Under M.G.L. ch. 208 § 34 , the Court can assign the division of property based on the following section: "In addition to or in lieu of a judgment to pay alimony, the court may assign to either husband or wife all or any part of the estate of the other, including but not limited to, all vested and nonvested benefits, rights and funds accrued during the marriage and which shall include, but not be limited to, retirement benefits, military retirement benefits if qualified under and to the extent provided by federal law, pension, profit-sharing, annuity, deferred co...

In addition to beginning the litigation process, immediately upon the filing of a Complaint for Divorce, the Plaintiff (person who filed the Complaint) is restrained from taking specific actions with respect to their assets and liabilities. Along with the Summons the Court will provide to the Plaintiff, a Notice describing the Rule 411 Automatic Restraining Order. A sample Notice describing the Rule 411 Automatic Restraining Order is available here. Upon the service of the Complaint and Summons on the other party (the Defendant), they too become restrained by Rule 411. Generally Rule 411 prohibits either party from a. selling, hiding, encumbering or disposing of any personal property or real property in which either of you have an interest (except for in the case of specific exceptions), b. incurring any further debt that would burden the credit of the other spouse (such as making charges on joint credit cards), c. changing the beneficiary designation on any life insurance policy, pens...