Just two months after getting engaged, Justin Bieber and Hailey Baldwin reportedly got married at a New York City courthouse on Sept. 13. But in their rush to get hitch they “didn’t tell anyone on their teams what was going on,” and never signed a prenuptial agreement, The Sun reported. HollywoodLife spoke EXCLUSIVELY with Pasadena-based family lawyer Kelly Chang Rickert to learn just what kind of complications may arise if the pair ever decide to divorce.
The Sun‘s sources claimed that Justin’s people “have been frantically trying to get his business affairs and finances in order,” following his legal marriage, but Chang Rickert says that it’s now too late for a prenup. “It’s not possible to get a prenup after the wedding,” the lawyer explains. “The entire definition of a prenup means ‘before marriage.’ The purpose of a prenup is to set your own laws regarding what happens if the marriage doesn’t work out. If you have no prenup, you are subject to the laws of the place where you end up divorcing.”
Postnuptial agreements do exist, but as the attorney points out, they’re far trickier to enforce. “After you are married, you have a higher standard of care. You not have a fiduciary duty to your spouse. Thus, postnups are more burdensome than prenups to get right, and postnups are often challenged as unenforceable,” she tells HL. “You are already seen under law as being liable to your spouse, which is why couples should draw up prenups before signing on the dotted line if they wish to protect their property and assets.”
However, Chang Rickert doesn’t suggest looking at not having a prenup as a “danger” since “the prenup only comes into play when a marriage does end.” If Hailey and Justin last, this is a nonissue. But as we know, half of all marriages do end in divorce. If that’s the fate for this couple then Justin “risks being subject to the laws of whichever state he ends up getting divorced in,” the lawyer says.
For instance, California is one of nine states that has community property, so if that’s the state they divorce in, “he would need to part with half of the assets he acquired during the marriage and before the date of separation. He also would need to pay support based on California guideline,” Chang Rickert says. The divorce would also likely hurt the “No Brainer” singer far more than his wife, since Justin has a reported net worth of $265 million and Hailey has a reported net worth of $3 million, according to InStyle.
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