and ’s divorce is front page news, but questions remain about the terms of their split — and whether they have a prenup in place.
Lopez, 55, raised eyebrows on Tuesday, August 20, when she filed for divorce in Los Angeles and didn’t use a lawyer to submit the paperwork. According to the docs obtained by Us Weekly, Lopez also didn’t mention anything about a prenup, but celebrity divorce attorney revealed that doesn’t mean one isn’t in place.
“There’s no requirement to mention if you have a prenup or not,” Melcher, who is not involved in Affleck and Lopez’s case, exclusively told Us on Wednesday, August 21. “I wouldn’t take an inference that she has none just because it’s not mentioned.”
He explained that when it comes to filing for divorce in California, there is “no place” on the documents to “check the box” that asks whether someone has a prenup.
“There [are] many times when a prenup exists, that someone will add to the form that they want to enforce their agreement or have property divided pursuant to their prenup,” the attorney continued, reiterating, “But there’s no requirement to do that.”
Melcher, who is a partner at California film Walzer Melcher & Yoda, noted that he thinks it’s “highly improbable” that Affleck and Lopez wed without a prenup. (Us previously reported that Affleck and Lopez did have a prenup, with a source claiming in August that they were “in agreement” that they wanted their divorce to be “seamless.”)
He pointed out that since both Affleck, 52, and Lopez have been married before and “they have lots of assets to protect,” Melcher said it would be “highly unusual” for them to tie the knot without legal protection. (Affleck divorced in 2015 after 10 years of marriage, and Lopez was previously wed to, and .)
Melcher told Us that in the event the singer doesn’t have a prenup with Affleck, their earnings or property earned during the marriage would become community property. That means the assets during their two-year union would not be divided equally.
“There would be probably more risk to Jennifer, because she seems to have been more successful in these past two years than Ben,” Melcher surmised. “But also, they were married for such a short period of time, and [they] would have very good records to sort things out that [ultimately] she wouldn’t get hurt too badly.”
Melcher added that if in fact there is no prenup, then Lopez’s wedding ring and engagement ring would remain her property. “The jewelry that either party objected to each other would belong to that person and not be subject to division,” he said, noting that it is considered a gift in that scenario.
Lopez married the Argo director in July 2022 in Las Vegas after they rekindled their romance one year prior. The pair, who were previously engaged in the early 2000s, had a second wedding in Georgia with family and friends in August 2022.
As Lopez and Affleck neared their two-year anniversary, split speculation surfaced when fans noticed that they hadn’t been seen together in 47 days. Us confirmed in May that Affleck had moved out of their joint Beverly Hills mansion, which was later put up for sale.
The Wedding Planner actress fueled breakup rumors when she celebrated her birthday in the Hamptons last month without Affleck. Neither party publicly celebrated their anniversary in July. Although Lopez was seen leaving Affleck’s house — which he purchased himself earlier this summer — on his birthday in August, she spent the evening at a concert without him.
Us has since confirmed that Lopez listed their date of separation as April 26. She then waited until their Georgia wedding anniversary on August 20 to file with the courts, which a source exclusively told Us was a “big f–k you to Ben.”
A separate insider exclusively told Us in early August that Affleck’s choice to move into a new house “was the closure of the relationship.” The source added that although Affleck will “always care for Jen,” he knew “the marriage is done.”
With reporting by Sarah Jones
