Plenty of people look at Jeff Bezos multi billion dollar divorce settlement and assume that just based on the amount, it must have been unfair. However, domestic relations laws have evolved over time to become more fair. Just like in New York, the domestic relations law used to adjudicate Mr Bezos divorce took into account the economic partnership Mr Bezos had with his wife. She got a piece of the update she deserved no matter what people have to say.
Bezos started his business out of a garage and his wife put her career on hold just to be supportive of his business endeavors and raise their family. She allegedly used her connections to investors in private equity to bring him the seed funds needed to launch what is now a multi billion dollar business. She created the home life that Mr Bezos needed so that he could thrive in his business. She relocated with him to a different state and become a stay at home mother, leaving behind a career that may have made her a billionaire in her own right.
In the past wives were cheated from their fair share of the economic partnership. The modern New York Domestic Relations Law is based on the idea that a marriage is economic partnership. Each person theatrically gives up or contributes something to help the family unit thrive and survive. The Court takes this into account in awarding spousal maintenance and equitable distribution (a piece of the upside in the assets and business created during the marriage or their growth if they were pre-existing). Child support on the other hand is not property of either party but is a pot belonging to the child that each party must contribute to so ensure that the children are provided for and do not become wards of the state. The non-payer spouse contributes because their income has been taken into account when calculating the child support and the higher their income, the lower the child support payment.
It is important to have proper representation to ensure that you are not overpaying child support, maintenance/spousal support and equitable distribution as well as to ensure that you are receiving your proper distribution from the martial economic partnership. If you are seeking support or defending against such action, contact Diana Mohyi Attorney at Law to obtain appropriate counsel on this matter.