How Britney Spears Settled Her Divorce - Less Than 9 Months After Filing

TMZ is reporting that Britney Spears has settled her divorce from Sam Asghari. The Petition for Dissolution of Marriage was filed by Sam on August 16, 2023.

Settling a divorce, especially a high net worth divorce, in less than nine months is impressive. So, how did they do it?

1. An iron clad prenup that complied with all legal requirements.

When the parties have a strong prenup that complies with all legal requirements, there is less room for parties to make arguments for the purpose of leverage. When the terms of the prenup are crystal clear and when all legal requirements are met, there are less loopholes for parties to try to wiggle through.

2. Chose to work with settlement-focused attorneys.

The divorce attorney you hire matters. The divorce attorney that the other party hires matters. Who the parties hire for divorce counsel is one of the biggest x-factors in any divorce. The attorneys are the parties’ spokespeople, confidants, and advisors. Working with settlement-focused attorneys keeps the divorce on the rails, rather than making a bad problem worse. It helps keep the focus on the case on the things that matter, rather than fighting over petty, inconsequential issues. Fighting over petty, inconsequential issues makes divorces longer and more expensive.

3. Negotiated financial arrangements when parties were in a more loving headspace.

Both parties participate in creating the terms of a prenuptial agreement. Ultimately, both parties have to sign it for it to be enforceable. When parties have a prenup, it means that they negotiated financial arrangements when they were in a more loving headspace, rather than in a more adversarial headspace. Divorce hurts and emotions can get the best of us. It’s best to negotiate financial arrangements in advance, without the cloud of negative emotions negatively impacting the divorce process. Divorce is hard enough as it is.

4. Neither party contested the prenup.

Just because you have a prenup doesn’t mean the other party might not try to contest it. For example, if the prenup does not meet certain legal requirements, one party might try to have it thrown out or invalidated. If that party wins, the prenup isn’t worth the paper it’s written on. Sometimes, one spouse will threaten contesting the prenup unless the party does what he or she wants. There is language that can be included to disincentivize this type of gamesmanship. When a party contests a prenup, it can lead to a drawn-out divorce including an expensive trial. In the Spears divorce, neither party contested the prenup.

Emily Rubenstein Law, PC is a full-service divorce and family law firm. We proudly serve Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, West Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Culver City, the South Bay, Glendale, Pasadena, Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Encino and all of Los Angeles County.