How Much Would Tiger's Divorce Cost?

Amid reports that his wife Elin Nordegren is consulting with a high-powered divorce attorney, Tiger Woods and his estimated net worth of $600 million - considered one of the biggest in professional sports, thanks in large part to sponsorship endorsements worth some $1 billion - is coming under scrutiny, should a divorce necessitate a need to divide his estate.

In addition to issues of custody involving the couple's two children, Sam, 2, and Charlie, 10 months, other issues would include the location of the divorce filing and what terms were specified in any prenuptial agreement.

Reports indicate that a prenuptial agreement was executed before Woods, 33, and Nordegren, 29, were married in Barbados in 2004.

However, prenuptial agreements are not always black and white. Specifically, a prenuptial agreement can be challenged on various issues including whether or not both parties fully disclosed all assets owned at the time of the execution of the agreement.

Tiger's admission of infidelity would likely not affect the agreement, unless the prenuptial agreement states otherwise. Thus, unless infidelity was addressed on the face of the agreement, Tiger's actions would not make the document unenforceable.

As residents of Florida, Woods and Nordegren would not be subject to California's 50-50 community property laws, though they did, in fact, live in the Western state earlier in their marriage. However, they have lived in Florida long enough to file there.

Much like Pennsylvania, Florida is an equitable distributions state, meaning that the property must be divided equitably based on various factors. Remember, equitably does not necessarily mean equally. Even though Tiger has made most of the money that makes up the estate, the law could distribute more to his wife if the court determines that she became accustomed to that life-style over the course of their marriage.

If you have any detailed questions regarding divorces in Pennsylvania, please contact, L. Anthony Bompiani, Esquire at (724) 925-9600.