An “ironclad” prenuptial agreement could block Hugh Hefner’s wife, Crystal Harris, from inheriting anything from his estimated $43 million fortune. Are prenups only necessary for Playboys, or are they something everyone marrying should consider?
The Playboy Prenup
Playboy founder, Hugh Hefner passed away peacefully in his home, surrounded by loved ones, on Sept. 27. He was 91 years old.
The model and the late media tycoon tied the knot on New Year’s Eve in 2012, and soon after. According to Us Weekly, Harris purportedly signed a prenuptial agreement, and was not added to Hefner’s will.
At the time of the report, Hefner’s fortune was promised to “his children, the University of Southern California film school and a variety of charities,” according to a source, who added that Harris would be “taken care of.”
Florida Prenups
Many think prenuptial agreements are for Playboys like Hugh Hefner. But, you don’t always enter a marriage with the Playboy Mansion, or guarantees that the bliss will last. It might not be a bad idea to have a plan in place.
Prenuptial agreements, or “prenups,” are contracts entered into before marriage that outline the division of assets in case of divorce or death.
They resolve things like alimony, ownership of businesses, title of properties, and even each spouse’s financial responsibilities during the marriage.
There are many other concerns that can be addressed in the prenup:
- Caring for a parent
- Going back to school;
- Shopping habits
- Credit card debt;
- Tax liabilities;
- Alimony and child support from previous relationships; and
- Death or disability.
I’ve written about the need for prenups before. There are times when a prenup is a “must-have”:
- When one person enters the marriage with significantly more money or assets than the other;
- When one or both future spouses have family money or inheritances;
- When you want to keep parts of your finances separate: such as separate bank accounts, and a joint account for paying household bills.
One of the points of a prenup, is that if money in the bank becomes mixed, accounting for any increase or loss becomes very difficult to trace and unwind if you end up in divorce court.
Back at the Playboy Mansion
According to reports, Crystal broke off the marriage five days before their planned June 2011 wedding, and ahead of their 2012 wedding, she explained why she got cold feet before the first planned nuptials:
Last time it turned into a a big ordeal, and then it all fell apart, she said at the time. This time around is amazing … I’m very happy, and Hef’s very happy and we’re excited.
There is a good reason for the Playboy founder wanting a prenup. Harris is Hefner’s third wife. He was previously married to Mildred Williams in 1949 before divorcing 10 years later; in 1989, he married Playmate Kimberly Conrad, but the two separated in 1998 and divorced in 2010.
The article is available here.