The Cost of Dissolution

As Angelina Jolie filed for divorce from Brad Pitt requesting sole custody of their six children a mostly covert operation was set in motion. Laura Wasser, Angelina’s divorce lawyer deployed her army of private eyes; accountants; finance experts and prosecutors to nail down as many assets as possible while unearthing evidence of wrongdoing on the part of Pitt while married to Jolie.

Divorce is a big business and in the United States it could even top the wedding business which stands at $51b per year.  Divorce is more expensive and earnings booster because it entails the deployment of a host of professionals to secure asset protection and reinsertion of each couple into a new life ‘en solitaire’.

The divorce industry today represents anywhere between $70b and $100b per year. Average divorce costs in the US stands at $10,00 because a no contested divorce with little assets and no custody fights could cost as little as $500. But most divorces are contested and custody fights tend to be vicious whether they entail children or pets. Average cost for celebrities stands at $ 200,000. Baby boomers have added a twist to divorce industry.

So called gray divorces because they happen when your hair is at the very least «salt and pepperish» are the most expensive. Indeed, these are almost impossible to settle and involve many years and investigations. Divorces among people 50 years old and more exhibit a rise of 20% over the last decade. Prominent divorce lawyers whose net worth is North of $3M include Laura Wasser; Marc Vincent Kaplan; Sorrel Trope and Fiona Shackleton who is famous for describing divorce proceedings as «A courtroom is a barbaric venue in which to pick over the carcass of a failed marriage.»

Curiously enough this are not the best paid lawyers in America. Criminal and Corporate lawyers represent the highest net worth of the trade. These include Ana Quincoces; Vernon Jordan; Willie Gary; Joel Jamil Jr and Richard Scruggs.

And while in the late 1990s and early 200s when the rise of hedge funds and celebrity discord brought divorce to be equated with a battleground more recently the millennial culture represented by Gwyneth Paltrow have brought to the forefront the merits of what she calls «conscious uncoupling».

This entails addressing the emotional aspects of every split first and foremost and then settling on the material aspects. The concept is gaining traction but its price tag is even larger given that it involves therapy; coaching; transcendental meditation and joint vacations to put the demons to rest. This guarantees a long life to the divorce business.