In this episode of Money Rehab, Nicole Lapin and attorney Jackie Combs discuss how influencers and content creators can protect their digital assets during marriage and divorce. The conversation covers the role of prenuptial agreements in safeguarding intellectual property, brand value, and revenue streams, as well as the importance of hiring business appraisers to properly value digital assets.
Using real-world examples like the divorce of influencers Kat and Mike Stickler, Lapin and Combs examine how courts handle the division of digital platforms and social media accounts. They explore the distinctions between separate and community property in digital assets, and discuss how confidentiality agreements can protect both parties' reputations and earning potential during and after divorce proceedings.
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In a detailed discussion, Jackie Combs and Nicole Lapin explore the unique legal considerations influencers and content creators face when protecting their digital assets in marriage and divorce.
Combs emphasizes that influencers must treat their online presence as a legitimate business, protecting their intellectual property, endorsements, and revenue streams through prenuptial agreements. She advises hiring business appraisers to value these unique digital assets, considering not just current worth but future growth potential. The agreements should include confidentiality clauses to prevent spouses from monetizing relationship details or damaging the influencer's brand through media appearances.
Lapin and Combs discuss how courts handle digital assets in divorce proceedings, using the case of influencers Kat and Mike Stickler as an example. They explain that courts treat digital platforms as business assets, dividing them between separate and community property. Assets created before marriage are typically considered separate property, while those obtained during marriage are community property, unless specified otherwise in a prenup.
The complexity of these divisions is highlighted in cases where one spouse continues to grow the brand post-divorce. For instance, when Kat Stickler's TikTok following grew to over 10 million after divorce, it demonstrated how ongoing effort by one spouse can affect future income distribution.
Combs details how celebrities and influencers require special consideration during divorce proceedings due to their public status. She recommends using mediation and private judges to maintain privacy and minimize public exposure. Confidentiality clauses in divorce agreements are crucial to prevent spouses from making public comments or monetizing divorce details.
The discussion concludes with Combs highlighting the importance of financial protection provisions in prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, noting that while some clauses (like those based on infidelity) might not be enforceable, focusing on legally viable provisions is essential for protecting both reputation and earning capacity.
1-Page Summary
Jackie Combs and Nicole Lapin engage in a dialogue outlining that influencers and content creators need to treat their online presence and intellectual property as a legitimate business, suggesting a variety of ways they should protect themselves legally, particularly when it comes to marriage and potential divorce.
Combs underscores the importance for influencers of treating their brand as a business, protecting their intellectual property (IP), endorsements, trademarks, and revenue streams through a prenuptial agreement (prenup). These assets include videos, scripts, and other content that can be monetized, licensed, and used. She advises keeping intellectual properties separate to ensure that, in case of divorce, these properties remain with the influencer. Income derived from deals made during marriage might be shared, but ownership should stay intact post-divorce.
Given the uniqueness of an influencer's brand, Lapin and Combs discuss the complexity of valuing such a brand for prenuptial arrangements. Influencers are encouraged to hire a business appraiser to assess the value of their brand, which includes all IP, trademarks, contracts, revenue streams, and income. Combs suggests considering the growth trajectory of an influencer’s career, including plans for future content creation and potential business pivots, when determining how to share or maintain separation of assets during a marriage.
The conversation goes deeper into the specifics of what should be protected in prenup agreements for influencers. Confidentiality clauses are highlighted as valuable tools to prevent a spouse from monetizing intimate details of the relationship or to protect against negative exposure through books, scripts, or reality TV appearances. Combs suggests clauses that prevent a spouse from participating in certain types of media, which can be crucial for influencers whose careers involve a heavy social media presence.
Lapin and Combs clarify that considerations should be made for what happens to a jointly created monetized channel in the event of a divorce. Arrangements for revenue and ownership should be clear and agreed upon, ensuring the influencer retains control over their individ ...
Prenups and Postnups For Influencers and Content Creators
When influencers go through a divorce, the court often has to decide on how to divide their digital assets and business operations attached to their online presence.
Nicole Lapin discusses the case of influencers Kat and Mike Stickler, where the division of their digital assets was ruled on by the court upon their divorce. Kat was awarded the TikTok account and Mike the YouTube channel, highlighting how these platforms are treated like business assets in legal proceedings. Combs explains that division relies on existing agreements such as prenups or postnups and the distinction between separate and community property. Assets acquired before marriage are considered separate property, while those obtained during the marriage are typically deemed community property.
For influencers, the intellectual property (IP) created and revenue received prior to marriage would be separate property. In contrast, deals entered into during the marriage would be community property, unless an agreement specifies differently. In the absence of such an agreement, assets created during the marriage, like trademarks and income streams from digital platforms, could be divided as community property.
The case of the Stickler's divorce underscored the complexity of digital asset division and how the influencer who continues to work on the brand post-divorce may gain a larger income share due to their ongoing efforts and the continued growth of the brand.
Dividing Digital Assets and Intellectual Property In Divorce
As Combs underscores, celebrities face unique challenges during divorce proceedings, emphasizing discretion and the preservation of their public image—aspects that are crucial due to the direct impact on their reputation and earning potential.
Celebrity divorces often aim for as much privacy as possible, with mechanisms in place to shield the process from public scrutiny.
Combs suggests that lawyers frequently utilize mediation to resolve divorces for public figures, which helps keep the proceedings private, avoids court, and minimizes legal fees. This can be accompanied by hiring private judges and emphasizing the essential role of publicists when presenting joint statements to the media. Here, the objective is to settle issues amicably and discreetly, avoiding the spotlight of public filings.
The insertion of confidentiality clauses in divorce agreements is pivotal, Combs indicates. Such clauses serve to stop spouses from making public comments or capitalizing on the details of their divorce, thereby safeguarding the individual’s image and personal affairs from becoming fodder for public consumption. Moreover, prenuptial and postnuptial agreements might include provisions against derogatory comments to further bolster privacy.
Celebrities' earning potential can be highly susceptible to public perception, an aspect crucially managed through prenups and postnups.
Combs highlights the pertinence of having financial protection provisions in prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, considering the volatility of influencers’ net worth and the possible impact of scandals. These agreements forecast potential fluctuations in income and career trajectory, including setting support limitations and waivers to secure one's finances adequately.
Additionally, Combs ment ...
Legal Aspects: Celebrity Divorce Privacy & Image
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