Lawyer: Kardashian-West divorce should be 'amicable and fair' — for the sake of a $2.1B fortune

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Kim Kardashian has filed for divorce from Kanye West, multiple sources confirmed on Friday, and the big question now is what will happen to the couples' massive wealth.

Forbes has estimated both Kardashian and West have a combined net worth of $2.1 billion. Individually, West is worth $1.26 billion of that total, according to the magazine — with the bulk of his income resulting from his successful and highly lucrative Yeezy fashion brand.

Meanwhile, Kardashian is worth an estimated $750 million. She owns 72% of her KKW beauty line, which comes out to about $500 million. Additionally, the reality star sold a 20% stake of that company last year, which amounted to $200 million in cash. Coupled with her various other revenue streams such as the "Keeping up with the Kardashians" reality series, her clothing label Skims and KKW fragrance line, Karadshian's assets are both liquid and vast.

"The way they treat each other in this divorce is extremely important as it relates to their brand," Dror Bikel, a New York City-based divorce lawyer and author told Yahoo Finance.

TMZ reported that the duo has a prenup in place, which protects their individually owned assets prior to the marriage. This likely includes the rapper's Yeezy line and recordings, in addition to Kardashian's reality TV empire.

The big challenge will be the assets they acquired during the course of their nearly 7 year union, which includes cars, collectibles, art, jewelry and real estate. The former couple own a number of homes together — including a Calabasas mansion in Los Angeles with a $30,000 bathroom sink — in addition to $300,000 worth of livestock and other valuables. Forbes estimates that the duo's combined assets are worth approximately $70 million.

So how will all that money be divided up, especially if the proceedings turn messy?

Both Kardashian and West have "controversial personalities and that has helped both of their independent brands because it draws attention to themselves; however getting into an ugly divorce does not help anybody," according to Bikel, who wrote a book called "The 1% Divorce – When Titans Clash."

For those reasons, name calling, putting children in the middle, fights over money and personal attacks can depreciate the overall value of their brands and prevent both individuals from growing and evolving professionally.

"It's important for both of them to resolve this divorce amicable and fairly," he concluded.

So far, that seems to be the case. TMZ reports that Kardashian filed for joint custody and that neither party has contested the prenup. Additionally, the former couple is reportedly close to a property settlement. If that continues, this divorce could be settled quickly — with both Kardashian and West walking away satisfied with the results.


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