What's at stake financially in Chris Pratt and Anna Faris's divorce?
Chris Pratt and Anna Faris are separating after eight years of marriage, leaving both actors to face the task of divvying up their assets and making custody arrangements for their son Jack, who will turn 5 later this month.
Both stars’ careers have taken off since their marriage in 2009, and it remains unclear if the couple had a prenuptial agreement in place. But L.A. family law specialist Steve Mindel, who is not representing either star, told PEOPLE that based on their joint statement, “It’s highly likely that their business managers are already working together in the background to negotiate some kind of settlement.”
Pratt, 38, was one of Hollywood’s highest-paid actors in 2016, raking in $26 million following the success of his two blockbuster franchises, Guardians of the Galaxy and Jurassic World, according to Forbes.
He was Forbes‘ top-grossing film star of 2015 following the success of Jurassic World, which earned $1.67 billion worldwide on a $150 million budget. However, the magazine estimated that he signed an upfront contract for the film worth under $10 million. He made $13 million between June 2014 and June 2015, reports Forbes.
Pratt earned $12 million starring in 2016’s Passengers alongside Jennifer Lawrence, who earned $20 million on the project, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Before he and Faris, 40, wed in 2009, Pratt starred in the popular TV series Parks and Recreation for seven seasons. (His co-star Amy Poehler reportedly earned $200,000 per episode for the NBC comedy.)
Meanwhile, Faris, who starred in a string of films including the Scary Movie franchise and The House Bunny before marrying Pratt, now reportedly makes $125,000 per episode for her sitcom, Mom, which just wrapped its fourth 22-episode season.
As for their physical assets, Pratt and Faris bought a 4,700-square-foot home in Los Angeles from Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino in 2013, according to Variety. The home was reportedly listed for $2.97 million and has three bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms. A month later, Variety reported that the couple sold their previous Hollywood Hills residence, which is across the street from their new home, for $2.3 million.
“If they have a premarital agreement, it probably makes things easier on three key issues: spousal support, intellectual property and earnings from employment. All of those would be handled as separate property if they signed a prenup,” Mindel told PEOPLE.
“If they don’t have a prenup, then they’ll need to trace the assets they had at the time of their marriage, which shouldn’t be too hard to figure out since they presumably had business managers at the time,” added the lawyer. “Those premarital assets, and any accumulations of those assets, would then be considered separate property. Everything earned during the marriage would be considered community property, and would be divided evenly.”
As for custody of their son, Mindel acknowledges that situation can be trickier “if one of them gets upset over something” and generates a custody battle. However, the former couple addressed co-parenting in their separation statement, saying, “Our son has two parents who love him very much and for his sake we want to keep this situation as private as possible moving forward.”
The two met on the set of Take Me Home Tonight in 2007 and got engaged a year later before marrying in the summer of 2009. Faris divorced actor Ben Indra in 2008 after four years of marriage.
There had been rumors of tension between the couple over the past year, and Pratt was recently spotted without his wedding ring in public.
The actor previously told PEOPLE in 2015 he and Faris worked hard to not lose track of their own relationship amid work, family and fame.
“It’s just as important, if not more important, to focus on your relationship with your partner because your children are going to leave one day [and] you have to maintain a relationship that’s going to outlast your child’s needs for you,” he said. “I have the support of a strong partner who’s been through this and understands it and whom I can share these experiences with. And we have a family that we’re starting that’s the focus of my attention.”
