When they married to great fanfare and with much opulence in an Italian castle in November 2006, talk not only centered on bride Katie Holmes' wedding dress but also on her prenuptial agreement with the groom. The details? For each year the couple stay married, the Dawson's Creek actress collects $3million - to a maximum of $33 million after 11 years - as well as their palatial home in California. If their marriage had lasted more than 11 years, Holmes would have received half of Cruises’s reportedly $250 million fortune. After filing for divorce less than six years later, according to the agreement, Katie should only be entitled to $15 million as well as the couple's $35 million Beverly Hills Mansion.But with an estate worth upwards of $275 million, Katie is expected to seek much more and there is already intense speculation as to how much she will collect when the papers are signed.
CALIFORNIA DIVORCE LAW
Because the couple lived in Beverly Hills, California law will be applied to the separation of assets. California is a community property state, so normally a couple's assets must be split evenly in divorce. Any money earned would be split 50/50 as would any debt either Tom or Katie incurred during their marriage. But the prenuptial agreement signed before they tied the knot in 2006 will change all that.
Sources reveal the 33-year-old is asking for a 'suitable amount' of child support, as well as a division of property, though no mention was made of the prenuptial agreement in divorce papers.