Jessica Alba and Cash Warren have a lot to figure out in their divorce!
This week, the actress confirmed the shocking reports she and her film producer husband are no longer together after two decades together — and 17 years of marriage. She insisted they “are moving forward with love, kindness and respect for each other.” But will that attitude carry over once they file for divorce? Or are things about to get nasty between them?
Related: The Main Point Of Contention In Hugh Jackman & Deborra-Lee Furness’ Divorce!
With a multi-million dollar company and other assets on the line, things could get messy very quickly! However, attorney Marilyn Chinitz predicts these two won’t be at each other’s throats over everything during the divorce process! Yes really! The attorney — who is not involved in the case — told People on Friday:
“Hopefully [Alba and Warren] maintain a harmony, a sense of balance and continuity that will take place during a divorce as well, especially because they’re in business together.”
The business is a BIG deal. Jessica is the founder of The Honest Company, and though she starred in several big movies, the pay from those is nothing by comparison. The Honest Company reportedly has a value of over $600 million! Wow! She stepped down from her position as the chief creative officer in April 2024 but is still a member of the board of directors. The thing is, Cash is also involved with the corporation. So not only are their three children tying them together after the divorce, but so is the business — unless one of them buys the other out! Chinitz explained:
“Because they’re not in war with one another — and they’ve made that clear — they may not be in love with one another, but they seem to be able to interact with respect. That’s what they’re going to do most likely in their business until one may want to be bought out by the other.”
Chinitz doesn’t see that happening, though! Not when it’s helpful to their kids! She added:
“As long as the business is successful and the sales continue to do well, then why not continue to have ownership? Because who does it benefit? It benefits the three children.”
Then there’s the issue of a prenuptial agreement. At this time, we don’t even know if Cash and Jessica signed one! It would have been the smart thing to do before they got married in 2008, given how famous she was at the time — presumably far richer than he was!
But you never know! Look at Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez! Two megastars with loads of money, and yet they didn’t have a prenup! Fortunately for them, they handled the situation maturely, each coming away with the cash and assets they individually acquired during their marriage! However, it’s not always going to be like that! We just hope the exes got one, just in case. Granted, the doc may not help out Jessica much…
When it comes to the business, Chinitz noted even if they have a prenup, it may not “make that big of a difference” for them since the business is “a community asset.” But if someone wants to buy the other out of their share of The Honest Company, the attorney said the company would need to be evaluated:
“If you’re going to continue to own the company, run the company, it doesn’t really matter what it’s valued at because you’re not buying out the other party. Valuation gets triggered when one says, ‘You know what? I don’t really want to be a part of this company. I want to cash out.’ You have to do that in a very thoughtful way. But from all reports at the moment, that company could be, I don’t know, anywhere from a half a billion to a billion.”
Damn!
And, of course, it’s not only the big dollar amount stuff to figure out in the divorce. There’s also the matter of their mansion in Beverly Hills, which they bought back in 2017. For that issue, it all comes down to whether Jessica or Cash wants to live there after the divorce, or do they want to get rid of the place all together. Chinitz said:
“If she decides that she wants to live there, there’s different ways that they could broker resolution. Number one, she could buy him out. If she doesn’t want to buy him out and he doesn’t want to be bought, that house will go on the market, it will be sold and the proceeds will be shared.”
If the home is owned by an irrevocable trust, it’s a whole different story. According to Chinitz, that means neither Jessica nor Cash owns the place. What happens then is that if that the residence belongs to their trust – which presumably benefits the kids – they can decide to stay in the home based on whatever arrangement they think works as long as their kids live there. Third scenario? Chinitz shared:
“If the house is in a trust and the house gets sold, the proceeds go back into the trust and they can use the proceeds to buy another house. They can use the proceeds to buy two homes as long as it’s owned by the trust.”
Sounds so complicated…
But at the end of the day, Chinitz pointed out that Jessica and Cash’s divorce will be about the well-being of the kids. End of story. They aren’t “at war” and most likely won’t ever go to “war,” the lawyer stated. She continued:
“They may not want to be married … and it seems like they both have come to the conclusion that the love has either disappeared or dissipated, but their three children sustain their relationship, as do their joint ownership of a company. By all vision and optics, it looks like they’re going to go down a path of negotiating a resolution. This is not going to be, in my view, a case like some of the more high-profile litigations that we saw, like Kevin Costner’s case or Brad Pitt’s case. This is not going to be, in my view, from all accounts, a case that’s going be litigated. And that’s a good thing.”
PHEW!!!!!
We did not want another celebrity divorce that is either 8 years long or a petty fight over things like pots and pans again! No Brad or Kevin legal drama repeats, please!
Obviously, we don’t know exactly what will happen here. Jess and Cash haven’t even filed for divorce yet! So, who knows if Chinitz will be right that they aren’t going into a tumultuous legal battle! But we’re keeping our fingers crossed that she is…
Thoughts, Perezcious readers?
