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| (Photo/Xinhua) |
Pre-nup, post-nup
While New York law almost guarantees a court will grant a divorce, the couple could still fight about finances, who gets their New York apartment and over their two children, Grace, 11, and Chloe, 9, including custody and child support.
Deng has yet to make any kind of public response to her husband's filing. Steven Rubenstein, a spokesman for Murdoch, declined to comment on whether the split could be resolved amicably.
Financial matters are likely to be governed by the agreements the couple signed. "New York is very favorable toward enforcing pre-nups," said William Zabel, an expert on such agreements.
In the Murdochs' case, they signed a pre-nuptial agreement in 1999, in which Sloan represented Wendi Murdoch, and they signed two post-nuptial agreements in 2002 and 2004, the person with knowledge of the case said.
Some divorce lawyers said that if the couple have not agreed on a proposed settlement, there is always the prospect of a public battle, if not one in the courtroom.
There is the possibility that "one wants something the other doesn't want to give," said Miami lawyer Jason Marks, who has represented celebrity clients including baseball player Alex Rodriguez.
The two girls have stakes in the family trust that holds the Murdochs' share of News Corp, but they do not have voting rights, unlike Rupert Murdoch's four grown children from his first two marriages.
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