Settled: The Murdoch Divorce Matter

It has been a tough couple of years for 82-year-old Rupert Murdoch. The Chairman of News Corporation continues to endure fallout from a British investigation following a hacking scandal. At present, editor Rebekah Brooks — a Murdoch favorite — remains on trial for conspiracy. 

Closer to home, Mr. Murdoch filed to divorce his wife of 14 years, apparently taking Ms. Murdoch by surprise. While the couple executed pre-and post-nuptial agreements, property and custody of the two daughters of the marriage remained in play. 

Mr. Murdoch has four children from two previous marriages. The children share equal interests in the family trust that contains the better part of Mr. Murdoch's wealth, rumored to be around $13 billion. The children of Mr. Murdoch and Wendi Deng, 10-year-old Grace and 12-year-old Chloe, have equal interests in the trust, but they do not have voting rights as do the other Murdoch children. 

In November of last year, after Ms. Murdoch hired aggressive legal counsel to move her case forward, the case was settled instead of proceeding to trial. Though the 100-page settlement document is confidential, points of the agreement are believed to include: 

• Ms. Deng is to retain ownership of the Murdoch home in Beijing
• Ms. Deng also retains ownership of the Fifth Avenue penthouse where Ms. Deng and her children currently reside 

While divorce is common, no two financial or custodial situations are alike. Regardless of the size of your estate, when considering divorce in New York seek aggressive legal counsel from Bryan L. Salamone and Associates, P.C. to protect your assets and rights.