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Elon Musk: Correcting the Record About My Divorce

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Re: Elon Musk: Correcting the Record About My Divorce

#111

Post by yardie »

elai wrote: post #68
MikeCapone wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It can be a risk. But a good partner can also be an asset. In the book The Millionaire Next Door, many of the interviewees credit their spouses (usually a wife) for helping them succeed and keeping expenses low. You still have to pick the right partner, but if you can do that, it could be a big plus. But hey, I'm getting married next month, so take what I say with a grain of salt ;)

Get romantically married, but don't sign a contract with the government! By not singing some paperwork you can both avoid of alot of problems (but not all). Frame it like this: honey, I want to get married with you, not sign a business contract with you. Or I want to get married with you, not with the government too!

That's like an old southern saying, "I'll meet you at the church. But I ain't going through the door with you"

Re: Elon Musk: Correcting the Record About My Divorce

#112

Post by ZachPruckowski »

loewenskind wrote: post #93
barmstrong wrote: post #10

This whole thing is a bit surprisingly to me since it seems like Elon covered his bases with the separate property agreement. Yet it still has been a major hassle for him money wise. Gene Simmons (from the band kiss) has an interesting approach to this which he wrote about in his book. He never married his long time partner and playboy playmate Shannon Tweed. But he took it even a step further having her and other li…

>This whole thing is a bit surprisingly to me since it seems like Elon covered his bases with the separate property agreement. This agreement was put in place after they were already married, right? That's what this case is basically about: determining if an agreement made in such a manner is valid.

The article suggests that the document was negotiated over a 3.5-month period, with the wedding occurring part-way through it. It's not unreasonable to claim that both parties went to the altar with a basic idea of what was going to be in the final draft.

Re: Elon Musk: Correcting the Record About My Divorce

#113

Post by yardie »

loewenskind wrote: post #95
jboydyhacker wrote: post #29

To be honest I have never been what you would call a huge Elon Musk fan but this was a very well laid out case. The amazing part of course is even though he had a prenup, the judges and lawyers have allowed this to go on so long he has huge legal fees. I have seen this happen to several entrepreneur friends of mine--in fact (true story)-- I know what entrepreneur who had a prenum and divorced and remarried the same w…

>even though he had a prenup He didn't have a prenup. If he did the case would probably already be over.

Prenups can be disregarded for all types of reasons. The main one I've heard is when one spouse makes, whats considered to be, unreasonable conditions, ie., "Sign this contract or I won't marry you".

That's why Elon put in their that little line that witnesses and council were there for the postnup. If one spouse has council and the other doesn't when they sign a prenup. that prenup is toast.

Re: Elon Musk: Correcting the Record About My Divorce

#114

Post by tomjen3 »

lionhearted wrote: post #18

> What caught me by surprise, and forced me to seek emergency loans from friends, were the enormous legal fees I had to pay my ex-wife's divorce lawyers. In a California divorce, the wealthier spouse must pay both sides of the battle even if they are not the aggressor. > The legal and accounting bills for the divorce total four million dollars so far, which is an average of roughly $170,000 per month for the past 24…

Of course it is - it is marriage in California - properly the most loopsided situation outside family court.

Re: Elon Musk: Correcting the Record About My Divorce

#115

Post by cromulent »

pohl wrote: post #36
lionhearted wrote: post #18

> What caught me by surprise, and forced me to seek emergency loans from friends, were the enormous legal fees I had to pay my ex-wife's divorce lawyers. In a California divorce, the wealthier spouse must pay both sides of the battle even if they are not the aggressor. > The legal and accounting bills for the divorce total four million dollars so far, which is an average of roughly $170,000 per month for the past 24…

What can we do? Abandon the institution of marriage entirely. Nuke it from orbit, as it were. It's the only way to be sure. The legal end of it is a mere wealth-redistribution mechanism. The social end of it is made of community who loves to witness people getting into marriages, but they scatter during the demise. So what function does it perform? From my perspective, it only serves to weaken commitment by trying to…

I'm not convinced that abolishing marriage would end the wealth-redistribution system.

I'm not worried about the external social part of it, but the personal part of it is that many people (including myself) enjoyed both getting and being married. Obviously, YMMV.

I guess that marriage has some "legal framework" but I've never even thought of it in that way. To me it is a personal declaration of two-way commitment, made in front of friends and family, and it's worth as much, and as little, as how you live by it. Same as any commitment, I guess.

I like being married. It's not a charade to me. If you don't like me being married, because you don't like divorce lawyers, so be it.

Re: Elon Musk: Correcting the Record About My Divorce

#116

Post by tomjen3 »

neilc wrote: post #21

Why is this on HN, and the top story no less? Gossip about celebrities is boring, even if the celebrity happens to be a famous geek. I'm not one to bitch about off-topic stories, but I'm genuinely curious why people find this story to be interesting.

As a warning to other entrepreneurs: you can either get married or make a company, but dammed is the poor fool who does both.

Re: Elon Musk: Correcting the Record About My Divorce

#117

Post by pellicle »

defen wrote: post #28
petercooper wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Psychic or just being a perceptive partner in a long term relationship heading toward a life-long commitment. People can change over time in ways you wouldn't anticipate, but if you marry someone only once you know them deeply (and if you don't, you deserve what you get), you should be reasonably confident of what sort of person they are or could become.

> People can change over time in ways you wouldn't anticipate, but if you marry someone only once you know them deeply (and if you don't, you deserve what you get), you should be reasonably confident of what sort of person they are or could become. "Reasonably confident" is a remarkably weak threshold for putting half of one's future wealth on the line. What else does one deserve to get, as "punishment" for not being…

> "Reasonably confident" is a remarkably weak threshold for putting half of one's future wealth on the line.

Half of your wealth is very very small compared to losing custody of your kids. If she leaves, the legal system will almost always make sure she gets the kids. Unless you have kids, it's difficult to understand how horrible this is for dads.

Re: Elon Musk: Correcting the Record About My Divorce

#118

Post by egkjellman »

yardie wrote: post #113
loewenskind wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>even though he had a prenup He didn't have a prenup. If he did the case would probably already be over.

Prenups can be disregarded for all types of reasons. The main one I've heard is when one spouse makes, whats considered to be, unreasonable conditions, ie., "Sign this contract or I won't marry you". That's why Elon put in their that little line that witnesses and council were there for the postnup. If one spouse has council and the other doesn't when they sign a prenup. that prenup is toast.

> unreasonable conditions, ie., "Sign this contract or I won't marry you".

I'm confused. Isn't this kind of the point of a pre-nup?

If this "threat" weren't hanging over every pre-nup, why would one ever be signed in the first place?

Re: Elon Musk: Correcting the Record About My Divorce

#119

Post by dgabriel »

alanh wrote: post #25
rumpelstiltskin wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

the wife only gets half after ten years or something You mean 'spouse' right? Edit: Granted, there may not be very many instances (or any for that matter) where the man is going after the woman's wealth, but the point is that the provision applies to both parties.

Yes, in theory. But anecdotes of the opposite case happening do not readily come to mind (though this is a cognitive bias). It’s my understanding courts favor women in divorce proceedings.

I am a woman who pays my ex-husband a small amount of alimony, and a significant amount of child support even though we have 50-50 physical custody.

The courts do not favor the woman, they favor the spouse in the weaker position financially, especially if that spouse was the primary caregiver. In most cases, this is the woman.

Re: Elon Musk: Correcting the Record About My Divorce

#120

Post by kristiandupont »

acangiano wrote: post #34
MikeCapone wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It can be a risk. But a good partner can also be an asset. In the book The Millionaire Next Door, many of the interviewees credit their spouses (usually a wife) for helping them succeed and keeping expenses low. You still have to pick the right partner, but if you can do that, it could be a big plus. But hey, I'm getting married next month, so take what I say with a grain of salt ;)

> But hey, I'm getting married next month, so take what I say with a grain of salt ;) I'm happily married (6 years in October) and I believe my wife is a great asset to me. However, I believe that marriage remains a major financial and emotional risk.

>marriage remains a major financial and emotional risk

Things that genuinely make your life better typically are.

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