Kate Beckinsale Divorce: Does Len Wiseman Have Any Rights Over His Stepdaughter?

It’s official: Kate Beckinsale and Len Wiseman are getting divorced. After a plague of rumors over the last few months, during which both parties were photographed without their wedding rings, director Wiseman officially filed for divorce. Neither is seeking spousal support and it is believed that the two have a prenuptial agreement.

While Wiseman and Beckinsale have no children together, Beckinsale does have a 17-year-old daughter from a previous marriage. This brings up an interesting question ”“ does Wiseman have any parental rights over his stepdaughter?

Colorado Stepparent Custody & Visitation

While we can’t speak for other states with different laws, if Beckinsale and Wiseman were Colorado residents, Wiseman would have certain rights over his stepdaughter, though those rights would be much less powerful than Beckinsale’s.

Given the high rate of divorce in this country, many children have stepparents. A stepparent in Colorado may assert custody of a child if he or she has been one of the child’s primary caretakers for six months. Additionally, courts are able to grant visitation for stepparents who have acted in the place of a parent.

Stepparents have an easier time obtaining visitation rights than they do custody rights over stepchildren. It all hinges on the court’s interpretation of what would be in the best interests of the child. If the stepparent was an active participant in the child’s life, has been an active participant for a decent length of time and it would be a detriment to the child for the stepparent to be removed from the child’s life, the courts will likely grant some rights to the stepparent.

Ask a Denver family law attorney about your rights as a stepparent in divorce.

These Two Celebrity Divorces Show Why You Need a Prenup

Actress Amber Heard filed for divorce from husband Johnny Depp in May of this year, and their rocky relationship has consistently made headlines ever since. TV star Kaley Cuoco, of The Big Bang Theory, divorced her husband, tennis player Ryan Sweeting, earlier this year as well. The two divorces have a lot in common ”“ celebrity couples with high net worth. But there’s one thing that they don’t have in common ”“ one couple had a prenup, and the other did not.

Cuoco was named the TV’s highest paid actress in 2015 (tied with Sofia Vergara), making $1 million per episode of The Big Bang Theory and having a net worth of around $45 million. Her ex-husband, on the other hand, is worth about $2 million. Thanks to the prenuptial agreement signed by Cuoco and Sweeting, Cuoco was able to retain full control of her substantial net worth, including the money she is to receive as she fulfills her 72-episode contract. She also kept their couple’s two homes.

Depp, on the other hand, did not have a prenup with Heard. He agreed to pay $7 million to Heard for the divorce, and based on recent drama may end up parting with more. After Heard announced she would be donating the money to charity, Depp decided he would do it himself. This means he can claim tax deductions from the charitable offering and Heard cannot. Now, Heard and her attorneys are calling Depp out for changing the divorce settlement and are demanding Depp pay an extra $7 million to charity, in order to meet his $7 million obligation to Heard.

What’s the moral of the story? The more you have, the more you have to lose. You don’t have to be a celebrity to have assets you want to keep after divorce, like your house or your car. A prenup is the best way to protect your property in divorce.

Our Denver family law attorneys serve clients throughout Colorado and can help you protect your property in divorce.