Is it cheaper to keep her?
AS you probably already heard, NBA star Kobe Bryant and his wife Vanessa decided to stay together and not get a divorce (click here if you missed it).
However, if you’re wondering how much Kobe would have had to pay if Vanessa had gone through with the divorce, check out the breakdown of these astonishing figures below.
According to California attorney Andrew L. Botros via LarryBrownSports.com, if Vanessa had proceeded with their divorce, per California law, Kobe would have had to pay approximately $1.36 million a month.
A 10-year marriage is considered a long-term marriage and a California judge can award spousal support indefinitely. Vanessa and Kobe crossed that 10-year threshold a few months before Vanessa initiated divorce proceedings, meaning Kobe might have had to pay spousal support for the rest of Vanessa’s life (ouch).
So what are we looking at in terms of child and spousal support?
According to Forbes, Kobe’s annual income is somewhere in the neighborhood of $53.2 million dollars. Assuming that he has 50/50 custody of his two daughters, Kobe would have to pay somewhere near $365,000 in child support under the California Guideline. He also would probably have to pay somewhere around $1,000,000 in spousal support.
These are not annual figures. These are monthly estimates.
I didn’t mention property division. Kobe and Vanessa were married on April 18, 2001. Under California law, every penny Kobe earned from basketball or endorsements from the date of marriage to the date of separation is considered community property. It’s half Kobe’s and half Vanessa’s. That also applies to every mansion, car, yacht, or private jet that the either party purchased with community money.
Wow! With having to pay out that amount of money per month, we guess it is cheaper to keep her.
But make no mistake, love, marriage and family should always be top priority when deciding to stay together, not a dollar figure.
