Prenuptial Agreements Contain More Bizarre ‘Lifestyle’ Clauses

Jamie Foxx and Katie Holmes made a splash in the media when they were spotted together on a beach in Malibu. This is the first time the pair has been seen in public, despite reports that they have been dating for almost five years. This reason for their secrecy is supposedly due to a clause in Holmes’s divorce settlement with ex-husband Tom Cruise. Allegedly, a clause in the settlement prohibited Holmes from publicly dating anyone for some set period of time after the divorce. None of the parties involved have affirmed the rumors as true.

While such a clause might seem odd, a number of lawyers are reporting an increase in ante-nuptial stipulations that limit or restrict a partner’s behavior. Randell Kessler, a divorce lawyer based in Atlanta, has seen provisions ranging from limiting weight gain to penalties for cursing. While these provisions are still fairly uncommon and very unlikely to be enforced by a court, spouses with significant assets prior to marriage have some leverage to assure compliance from a more submissive spouse.

See Kari Paul, Prenuptial Agreements Contain More Bizarre ‘Lifestyle’ Clauses, Market Watch, September 9, 2017.

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.)) for bringing this article to my attention.