According to Us magazine, Elin Nordegren signed a prenuptial agreement at the time of her marriage to Woods worth a reported $300 million, topping the previous record for celebrity divorces held by Michael Jordan’s wife, Juanita, who received approximately $150 million.
In addition to the settlement, Us reports that the couple –married since 2004 -- own a $2.6 million home in Florida, a 155-foot $22 million yacht and a $39 million mansion on Jupiter Island.
Woods, who Forbes magazine said has made $1 billion since 2006, has some of the biggest sponsorship and endorsement deals in professional sports. Nike alone pays Woods more than $30 million annually, and other companies like Gatorade and Gillette have pledged to support him and his family during this time.
But the Chicago Sun Times says Nordegren will not have access to any significant portion of Woods’ fortune until their marriage reaches the 10-year mark. After that, she would be entitled to collect $20 million, the Sun-Times said.
California vs. Florida
As of Friday, neither Elin nor Tiger Woods had filed for divorce in Orange County, where both were registered to vote in 2008 and where they share ownership of a 6,800-square-foot home in Isleworth worth $2.4 million, according to local court and property records.
It was not clear, however, where their divorce paperwork might pop up. Although they live in Isleworth and Tiger, through a trust, owns a second home there, Tiger bought an exclusive Jupiter Island compound in Martin County. It was valued at $38 million when it was purchased in 2006, records show.
Tiger is from California. Elin is from Sweden but became a U.S. citizen when she married Woods.
Elin most likely would fare better with a California divorce than a Florida one, attorneys say.
California is a "community property" state, meaning all income produced during a marriage must be split 50-50, Stanford University family-law professor Richard Banks told the Los Angeles Times.
Under Florida law, "you have to divide the assets equitably, but that doesn't necessarily mean equally," he said. "In fact, the greater the pot of money, the less likely a court is to split it evenly."
In Florida, the spouse who earned the family's income "generally gets to keep it," although the other spouse's lifestyle during the marriage comes into play, Banks said.
Efforts to reach Woods' agent, Mark Steinberg, were unsuccessful Friday.
A wreck and a crash
Divorce became a topic for Woods after a recent whirlwind of events. A national tabloid broke a story that the golfer had had an extramarital affair with a New York club hostess.
Then at 2:35 a.m. Nov. 27, Woods drove a Cadillac Escalade into a hedgerow, over a fire hydrant and into his neighbor's tree in Isleworth.
Two rear windows were smashed out, police said, and Woods was in and out of consciousness before he was taken to a hospital in Ocoee to be treated for facial cuts. He was bleeding in his mouth, according to a police report.
Woods has been tied to at least ten other women and has apologized for his "transgressions" via a statement.
“I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart," Woods said. "I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves. I am not without faults and I am far short of perfect. I am dealing with my behavior and personal failings.”
Woods and Nordegren, a former swimsuit model, met during the British Open in 2001. At the time, Nordegren was a nanny for Swedish golfer Jesper Parnevik. The couple began dating and married in October of 2004 on a golf course in Barbados.
Within hours of the accident, the gossip world was abuzz with rumors that Nordegren and Woods had been arguing for hours before he crashed his SUV into a fire hydrant and a tree. Later, reports claimed that Nordegren had used golf clubs to attack her husband, rather than in an attempt to help him out of his vehicle. Woods has vehemently denied those claims.
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Parnevik, the man who introduced the couple, has since come out saying he owes Nordegren an apology.
“We probably thought he was a better guy than he is,” he told the Golf Channel, referring to his wife and himself. “"I would probably need to apologize to [Elin] and hope she uses a driver next time instead of a 3-iron … It’s a private thing of course, but when you are the guy he is — the world’s best athlete — you should think more before you do stuff ... and maybe not ’just do it,’ like Nike says."
Tiger woods is a good player & a legend in golf. His splendid career in golf shouldn't have ended up like this. He is truly a gift to golf game. Golf is a difficult game to master and most golfers don't have the time it takes to practice, practice, and practice to significantly improve. When you're playing golf badly it isn't a lot of fun. You need to put in lot of hard work & determination to achieve your goal. You need to have expert golf coaching to excel.
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