After a year of quarantine many things have lost excitement, like television. Unless it is a good movie it no longer steals time. In my case, I would rather enjoy of one of my ultimate #sinrecato pleasures: sleep.
But thanks to my one and only beautiful niece Andrea, who led me into the addictive world of Netflix, I started watching a series called ‘100 días para enamorarnos’ or ‘100 days to fall in love’. I have tried to control myself so I do not neglect my family combo though. Anything that has to do with lawyers, relationships, marriages and humor, of course, interests me.
Those who know the law understand that sometimes couples in the real world sign agreements and it does not happen only in Hollywood. These prenuptial agreements are known as capitulations: “marriage capitulations are a convention or contract entered into by the spouses before marriage and, through an inventory, establishes what assets are brought into the marriage and the gifts and concessions that they want to make to each other, both in the present and in the future”.
Many couples, because of the famous agreement, have had the first stumble in their relationship, because trust and feelings are questioned and for some that is as far as the “happily ever after” goes.
I am not going to make spoilers so you can also watch it, but what I will say is that for me the most striking part of the series is the agreement signed by the main couple, in which they agree to take some time and then see if they continue their marriage, or divorce.
I am a lawyer and my practical side tells me that, in reality, relationships are so complex precisely because there are no agreements from the beginning and along the way they appear: is that I…, is that they…, is that we…. Love is a powerful feeling, but it ends up being conditioned and accommodated.
How many couples are together and unhappy, but not just cause but due to excesses. People accept, omit, silence, postpone and do not speak, because they think it is better to accumulate anger, resentment, frustrations or dreams. Couples with mutual agreements promise and fail to comply until the next screw-up and so the days, months, years go by and time takes its toll.
That is why, instead of taking a marriage to the imminent divorce, it is better to sit down and reach timely agreements; here are some celebrity arrangements:
Tom Cruise and Kate Holmes: they made their separation public in 2012. The agreement they signed before getting married said that, if they divorced before 11 years of marriage, she would receive three million dollars for each year they were together. And if they stayed longer than that, the actress would get half of the actor’s fortune. The couple only lasted six years together. Money is not always happiness.
Jay-Z and Beyoncé: although this couple’s problems have been quite public, they are still together. They got married in 2008 and also signed a contract where Beyoncé is the biggest beneficiary. One of the clauses specifies that she will receive five million dollars for each child, and in case they separate, he must give her one million dollars for each year of marriage together.
Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan: the creator of Facebook has a fortune of more than 63 billion dollars. Before formalizing their relationship, the couple reached two agreements: the first is a date once a week, for an hour; and the second, Mark can enjoy 100 minutes alone.
There are also agreements in the royalty. In the case of the King and Queen of Spain, Felipe and Letizia Ortiz, they agreed that, in case of divorce, she will receive a compensatory monthly income and cannot claim part of Felipe’s patrimony or the crown; he keeps custody of their daughters and Letizia loses, in addition, her titles; that is, she returns to normality.
In the case of Kate Middleton, she will return to being a commoner if she divorces Prince William, heir to the throne of England. The princess will receive only a pension, which she will lose if she resumes her life.
When a couple decides to move in together, they think about all the good things that unite them, but very few think of the differences that sometimes become the rock in the shoe of the relationship.
Traducción del español: Catalina Oviedo Brugés
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