A Ben Affleck-Jennifer Lopez divorce could be far more difficult if they have mingled their finances in the two years they have married, an attorney has said.
Affleck is at the center of reports of a split from his wife, actress and singer Jennifer Lopez, two years after their July 2022 wedding in Las Vegas, Nevada.
In July, the pair put their 38,000 square foot Los Angeles mansion on the market for $68 million and the division of assets in the sale could prove messy.
Leslie Silva, a matrimonial and family attorney at McCall, Sweeney & Silva law firm in New York, spoke to Newsweek amid widespread reports that the two-year marriage between Affleck and Lopez is at an end.
Silva said that the shortness of their marriage may help both parties pull away from the marriage without a protracted property battle.
"In New York, when dealing with a marriage of this length, it is highly likely that the parties would be able to accurately account for their pre-marital contributions in order to essentially leave the marriage with the assets they brought into the marriage," she said.
"However, if they put assets in joint names after they married, and there is no controlling prenuptial agreement, it is possible that the assets would be considered entirely marital."
"Additionally, if they co-mingled their funds and used them for marital purposes, those assets may be distributed differently. Ultimately, the way the law treats assets depends on the law of the state where the parties maintain their primary residence," she said.
Lopez has also sold her 4-bedroom New York City penthouse for some $23 million.
Newsweek sought email comment from attorneys for Affleck and Lopez on Friday.
The couple reunited in 2021 after 18 years apart following the singer's split from her fiance, MLB star Alex Rodriguez. "Bennifer" made headlines in the early 2000s for their high-profile relationship, and ultimately ended their engagement in 2002.
While neither party has publicly confirmed the breakup speculation, multiple sightings of the two spending the summer apart have been reported. There have also been claims that Affleck recently purchased a property of his own.
On August, August 15, there was some glimmer of hope that the couple could work it out.
Lopez made a low-key appearance at Afflect's Brentwood, Los Angeles, house for his birthday.
However, she made no acknowledgment of his birthday on social media, posting only a photo of herself in a Dior dress.
She had posted an effusive and loving message for his birthday the previous year.
Affleck had not attended her birthday in July of this year.
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