Prior to turning directly to today’s blog post subject matter, let’s address for just a moment that “average” reference in the above entry headline.
We readily acknowledge at the Law Office of Katherine Kraus in Peoria that no divorce in Arizona or elsewhere can really be termed that way. Family law pundits and commentators routinely underscore the singular nature of every marital dissolution, nothing that each divorce is flatly unique.
Candidly, though, some are a bit more “out there” than others. Additional words can also be substituted here, including newsworthy and splashy.
The unquestionably high-profile split of uber celebrities Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt is one such decoupling, which we think the descriptor of “instructive” well applies.
And this is why: Although divorces such as the often-termed Brangelina split obviously command high tabloid value, they also frequently serve to highlight matters in family law that can be centrally important to legions of divorcing parties.
Child support is one such matter. Privacy interests/expectations are another. Both of those things are under a searing spotlight in the Jolie/Pitt divorce proceeding.
We note on our website that “the calculations can become quite complex” when a judge turns toward evaluation of child support. What constitutes a fair outlay for an ex-spouse covering the reasonable needs of a couple’s children?
A recent article on the Brangelina dissolution (still simmering, seemingly far from conclusion) stresses how comparatively complex that can be when both parents are “extraordinary earners” and their kids have highly unusual lifestyles.
Then, too, there is the issue of privacy, which many divorcing couples are understandably concerned with. The above-cited piece notes that a recent Jolie court filing demanding a higher level of “meaningful” support from Pitt opens the actress and mom up to greater public scrutiny. She will now have to publicly disclose her own income.
Frankly, the Jolie/Pitt divorce matter is a front-burner media concern because the parties are named Jolie and Pitt. Notwithstanding that, the concerns cited in their dissolution are commonly shared by high numbers of divorcing parties.
That makes their divorce and its emerging details truly instructive for the general public.
