Madonna's Divorce Lawyers Face Big Challenges

Steve Lake Breaks Down Material Girl's Divorce

By STEVE LAKE

Updated 12:14 PM CDT, Sat, Nov 22, 2008

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Don't get me wrong. If Madonna wants me to represent her, I'm on the next plane.

But her divorce lawyer has an uphill battle for the following reasons:

No Prenup. Are you kidding me? The material girl married this "Guy" without a pre-nup? I've seen it many times. Great artists can make bad business decisions. So maybe she's not as materialistic as we thought.
Jurisdictional Problems. The couple has homes in California, New York, and England. Wherever this case winds up can make a vast difference on the property laws. Pre marital assets in the U.S. courts are generally immune from the marital estate, while in England (where the case is likely to be filed because the kids primarily live there), all assets are taken into consideration, thus, the huge settlement for Heather Mills from Paul McCartney.
Custody Issues. Madonna and Guy Ritchie have 2 kids, Rocco, their 8-year-old biological son, and 3-year-old David, who they adopted in 2006. Rocco was apparently recently spotted in New York sporting a Yankees T-shirt, which can't make Guy too happy, considering Madonna has been romantically linked to Yankees star Alex Rodriguez. Also, the biological father of David is reportedly upset with Madonna as well, since she promised him that she would provide a stable home life for the boy.
Madonna Wants Out. In my experience, the spouse who is in the biggest rush to end the divorce is usually at an emotional and financial strategic disadvantage. Rumor is that Madonna wants to seal the deal prior to the start of her new "Sticky and Sweet" music tour to cut Ritchie out from the proceeds. Ritchie reportedly was seeking a hefty 20 million pound settlement, and the price of "poker" may be going up!