Sean Penn and Robin Penn

Sean and Robin Penn’s marriage is headed for divorce again, and this time it’s Robin who filed the court papers.

Robin filed for divorce last week in northern California where the family resides citing irreconcilable differences.  The papers, which were obtained by People magazine, said that the two of them have agreed to share custody of their 16 year-old son Hopper Jack and divide their property.

Robin says she does not plan to reconcile again. “I hit that crossroad a while ago. For Robin (she gestured toward herself), the ‘I know what I don’t want’ was flashing neon lights.” She added, “I have no regrets. I, we, have two amazing children we raised together.” The couple’s oldest child, Dylan Frances, is 18.

The couple, who married in 1996, first started divorce proceedings in December 2007 but got back together again a few months later and withdrew the petition.

Earlier this year, Sean Penn filed for a legal separation but withdrew the request in May after a few weeks, calling his action “an arrogant mistake.”

Sean Penn, 49, won his second best actor Oscar in February for his role as slain gay activist Harvey Milk in the movie “Milk”. He won his first in the Clint Eastwood-directed drama “Mystic River” and has been nominated three other times.

Robin Penn is appearing in three upcoming movies “New York , I Love You”, an animated version of “The Christmas Carol” and “The Private Lives of Pippa Lee.”

What SHOULD Celebrities Pay For Child Support?

In light of the Nas and Kellis drama, I thought I would shed some light on the determination of Child Support cases in general and also cases pertaining to celebrities who earn A LOT more than either their spouses or “significant” others.

Generally speaking there are several factors used for the determination of child support.
1.    Probably the biggest one is income and in most celebrity cases, the celebrity earns many of hundreds of thousands a month, whereas the significant other may not earn anything.
2.    The next important factor is how much time each parent spends with the child, better known as “Timeshare”. So naturally, if one parent has the child a large part of the time, the other parent will pay more. Typically speaking the average timeshare is around 20%, however there seems to be a trend toward equal time share if such an arrangement is appropriate for the child.
3.    Another factor in determining support is how much one pays in interest payment for their home.  Because most celebrities own their home (or are at least paying massive mortgage payments with lots of interest), this often*increases* what they for child support.
4.    Payments also split any child care expenses related to work.

Although there are other factors to consider, these are the biggies.

So for example and according to the California support payment formula: If a Celebrity involved in a divorce makes $100,000 a month, Celebrity’s ex earns $5,000 a month, Celebrity pays $7000 a month in interest on Celebrity’s home and spends 20% of the time with the baby Celebrity, then Celebrity will be asked to pay approximately $7600 for Child Support. If Celebrity’s ex seeks Spousal Support, that’s $31,000!

‘Is this fair?’ many ask. Well, I’ll let you be the judge. But I say, shouldn’t Baby Celebrity share in the lifestyle even if Celebrity is only around 20% of the time? Also, shouldn’t Celebrity be held to the same formula that everyone else in California is asked to meet?

Also keep in mind that Celebrity income is wildly unpredictable. It may be $100,000 a month now, but next year it could be zero! The moment the Celebrity’s income changes they will be back in court to adjust the support amount down.  The Celebrity Ex had better plan ahead, live frugally and put a lot of that big support check in the bank. Because it rarely lasts long.

Barry Bonds and Liz Watson – Separation

Just recently, Barry Bonds current wife, Liz Watson, filed for a legal separation from the baseball “great (depending on who you ask)” Barry Bonds.

She is currently requesting spousal support and joint custody of their daughter Aisha Lynn, who is ten.  Many people have asked why a legal separation and not a dissolution of marriage.

Well, a legal separation keeps the marital union intact in the eyes of the law, but it is essentially a “break up” of the family that will require legal agreements on custody and visitation, child support and spousal support.  If both parties agree to a legal separation and not dissolution, they can continue to think about whether they really wish to completely terminate the marriage and more easily go either way once they have decided.

They can also continue to receive medical insurance from their spouse’s employer (which is extremely important these days) during the legal separation.  People also seek legal separations for religious purposes. Why Ms. Watson requested a legal separation is still unclear. However, although she filed for legal separation, Mr. Bonds can still request dissolution to completely terminate the marriage.  He is not bound by the terms of Ms. Watson’s filings.

This case is extremely interesting, considering Mr. Bonds went through a very public dispute with his first wife regarding the validity of the prenuptial agreement they had!  The first wife claimed that she did not understand the terms of the prenup, although she was advised to seek counsel when it was signed.  The they also waited until a day before their wedding to sign it!

Hopefully this time it will be a more amicable split….

Super Model Stephanie Seymour Files for Divorce

According to the New York Post, Stephanie Seymour, a former Victoria’s Secret Angel model has reportedly filed for divorce from her billionaire husband, Peter Brant after 16 years of marriage and three children.

It is also reported that Ms. Seymour and Mr. Brant are still residing in the same residence and supposedly the proceedings have turned highly very messy!  When children are involved this is never good!

According to the Post, Seymour told a friend that “It’s OK. I’m sleeping in the maid’s quarters. I’m doing the best I can to keep things amicable. I want to be the bigger person. But it’s tough.

Both parties are reportedly due in court with their divorce lawyers on very soon and it is expected Brant will be challenging Seymour for custody of their three children.

Sean & Robin Penn

After a second try to save the marriage Sean Penn, 48, filed for legal separation from his wife of 13 years, Robin Wright Penn.

The couple began dating in the early ’90s, following his divorce from Madonna in 1989 and they were married in 1996. They starred together in several films, including 1998’s Hurlyburly and 1997’s She’s So Lovely.

In December of 2007 both Sean and Robin had started the divorce process but ended up getting back together 4 months later.

The current petition was filed April 23 in Marin County Superior Court in San Rafael, Calif.  Sean Penn has requested joint legal and physical custody of their daughter, 18, and son, 15, and is requesting that their be no spousal support. Sean’s reason for filing was on grounds of irreconcilable differences.

In February Sean won his second Oscar for best actor as slain gay activist Harvey Milk in “Milk”. He neglected to thank his wife during his acceptance speach and when asked about it after he said, “She knows”.

Robin, who starred in the 1999 movie “Message in a Bottle”, is currently starring in the “State of Play”, an investigative reporting thriller.