Warning: This article contains discussion of drug addiction which some readers may find distressing.
A legal expert has revealed what the 'worst-case scenario' would be for Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban in their newly announced divorce.
The former couple, who share two teen daughters, were wed for 19 years after tying the knot back in 2006, with Kidman petitioning to end the marriage in a Nashville court just yesterday (30 September).
Court documents cite the reason for the split as 'marital difficulties and irreconcilable differences', with the filings including a marriage dissolution and childcare plan agreed on by the couple and submitted for a judge’s approval.
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According to the documents, the Babygirl star will be the primary residential parent to the two children, having them for 306 days per year, while their father, Urban, has them for the remaining 59 days.
The filing also states that, because each parent earns over $100,000 per month, neither will need childcare or spousal support.
The marriage dissolution plan also maps out a 'roughly equal' division of joint assets, with Kidman and Urban keeping all the assets that are in their own name, including the copyrights and royalties for their artistic work.
Parenting plan explained
"The mother and father will behave with each other and each child so as to provide a loving, stable, consistent and nurturing relationship with the child even though they are divorced," the permanent parenting plan outlines.
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It adds: "They will not speak badly of each other or the members of the family of the other parent. They will encourage each child to continue to love the other parent and be comfortable in both families."
However, there's apparently also a 'cocaine clause' that's come into play.
'Cocaine clause' explained
As reported by Radar Online, the clause states that if Urban remains sober from drugs and alcohol throughout the marriage, and if it were to end, then he would receive a payment of $600,000 for every year that they were together.
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They married in 2006 before filing for divorce this year, meaning they've spent 19 years together.
A quick bit of maths reveals that it adds up to some $11.4 million in payments from the 'cocaine clause'.
'Worst case scenario'
Certified family law specialist David Glass has since shared his insights on what the 'worst case scenario' would be for the former couple - a messy trial rather than a quiet out-of-court settlement.
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Glass, who is not connected to the case, told PEOPLE: "Whether it’s two people with 'W2 jobs,' a house, a car and a 401k, or it's celebrities with fancy jobs who are high earners, the worst case is if they go to court and someone is angry and feels like they have to make a point, or there's a principle that they have to stand behind.
"People like that start putting a lot of things into affidavits and declarations, and they feel like they have to air their dirty laundry to show that they were the party who was right and the other party was wrong."
'Best possible result'
Not only would a public divorce trial air out private details of Kidman and Urban's relationship, but it would also likely result in disclosures about their finances.
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According to Glass, most celebrities 'don't want people to know what's in their estate, where they're keeping their assets or even the size of their assets'.
"The disclosure of that information can all be avoided if the couple comes to a private settlement," he outlined, adding that a 'confidential divorce settlement' would be 'the best possible result' for both parties.
"In most celebrity divorces that we've seen over the last five years, it seems that parties are saying they're separated, then they get their attorneys and they negotiate an overall deal behind the scenes without anyone knowing what's going on," he explained.
Glass adds that, if terms are agreed to before filing for divorce, Kidman and Urban can avoid having to file their settlement agreement.
"That's the way you keep your private life much more private,” he says. “Once something is filed in the courthouse as part of a divorce, it's an open record for the public; anyone can look at it," he says.
The power of the prenup
If there was a failure to reach an agreement before filing for divorce, it could mean that the couple's 'entire private lives' could 'get exposed in a way that probably isn't gonna be good for either of their careers'.
And, Glass says, reaching an agreement will become more complicated if Kidman and Urban don’t have a prenuptial agreement.
"If they don’t have a prenuptial agreement, because Nicole has presumably made more money from her acting career, she would be sharing a larger portion of her money, could be asked to pay child support, and could even have to pay spousal support to him," Glass says.
Without a one, Glass says: "Every single asset that you've accumulated between the day that you got married and the day that you decided that you were not going to live together anymore."
However, 'most people who were already famous in their own right when they got married have business managers and agents, and those people would've been talking to them about preparing a prenuptial agreement,' Glass adds.
In short, having a prenup 'makes the process of dividing the 'marital assets easier' so that 'there's just not that much to argue about,' Glass notes.
LADbible Group has previously contacted Kidman and Urban's representatives for comment.
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Topics: Celebrity, Nicole Kidman, Sex and Relationships, Money
Rhiannon Ingle