Divorce Lawyers Directory Blog

After 24 years of marriage, oil tycoon Harold Hamm and his wife Sue Ann are getting divorced. With a net worth of approximately $11.3 billion, Hamm’s divorce settlement will likely become the most expensive of all time, shattering the current record $1.7 billion settlement Rupert Murdoch paid to his ex-wife Anna.

It is not public knowledge whether Hamm and his wife signed a prenuptial agreement nearly a quarter century ago. But without one, more than $5 billion of Hamm’s fortune may be at stake when they settle all property division disputes.

Oklahoma is an “equitable distribution” state, which means that the couple’s assets will be divided in a manner that is fair, but not necessarily equal. Since both Hamm and his wife made significant contributions to the oil business during the course of their marriage, she may be entitled to half of his stake in the company he founded in 1967. Hamm currently owns 68% of all shares of his oil company, Continental Resources. If this were split evenly between the Hamm and his wife, he could potentially lose control over his company.

One way for Hamm to avoid losing control of his company would be to pay his wife the value of her portion of the shares. Both parties will present evidence in May with the intention of reaching a settlement. If they are unable to do so at the negotiating table, they could be facing a nasty court battle with extremely high stakes.