Maria Shriver officially files her divorce petition

When the news initially broke that Maria Shriver and Arnold Schwarzenegger, it was not clear what was going to be next for the couple. They announced their separation just weeks after the 25th anniversary. The couple had accumulated substantial assets over those 25 years, with Schwarzenegger as a lucrative box office draw and Shriver working as an acclaimed journalist over many of those years. The couple also has four children, two of them under 18 years of age, together. If they were going to file for divorce, the issues of marital property division, child support, child custody, and alimony would need to be resolved.

Recently, we learned more about the fate of their marriage. Citing “irreconcilable differences,” Maria Shriver officially filed for divorce from Arnold Schwarzenegger in California last Friday. Like Wisconsin, California is a community property state. This means that both spouses are legally entitled to half of the property earned during the marriage.

The divorce filing came six weeks after it became publicly known that Schwarzenegger had an extra-marital affair and had fathered a child with the family’s housekeeper. The couple separated after Shriver learned of the affair.

According to the divorce petition, Shriver is seeking to share physical and legal custody of the couple’s two minor children with Schwarzenegger. The petition also states that the property accumulated during their marriage will be divided at a later time.

Given the tumultuous circumstances surrounding their separation and divorce, one could easily foresee that this divorce would be a hotly contested one. However, the fact that Shriver wants to share child custody with Schwarzenegger indicates that this divorce may be on its way to being settled by the parties.

Source: San Francisco Chronicle, “Maria Shriver seeks divorce from Schwarzenegger,” Carla Marinucci, 7/2/2011