Generally speaking, celebrity and other high-asset divorce cases aren’t all that different from those of ordinary people, except that there are often complex financial issues that must be considered during the division of assets and debts. In the cases of some celebrities, however, another difference can arise: the possibility that public interest in the case could affect its outcome.
That may be what happened recently in the divorce of Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade and his ex-wife Siohvaughn Funches-Wade. The pair was divorced in 2010 after a lengthy dispute. Nevertheless, Ms. Funches is unsatisfied with her property division and alimony orders, and she recently took her complaint directly to the public. On July 19, she perched herself out the courthouse with a sign reading “NBA Miami Heat star, mother of his children on the streets.”
According to Funches, a temporary property division and alimony settlement Wade offered to her, which would have ordered some $25,000 a month in alimony, along with an additional $10,000 for travel and living expenses, is not an acceptable repayment for what she believes she is owed.
“Dwyane Wade is offering to pay only some of what he owes me if I sign an agreement never again to discuss what happened in our marriage or with our children. I refuse,” she told the reporters.
Of course, we in the public have no way of knowing the truth of her statements. However, Dwayne, not Siohvaughn, has been granted primary child custody over their two sons, so it is unlikely the boys are homeless as her sign suggested. She was also arrested for child abduction last year, when she refused to return the two boys after a visit.
In this post-divorce dispute, Funches has claimed that the NBA star has not repaid money he owes her, and she would like additional visitation time with the children. Any visitation with Funches, however, might have to be supervised in light of the child abduction complaint.
Through his attorney, Wade released a statement saying that the pair had reached a financial settlement on July 16, notwithstanding Funches’ “erratic public display” on the 19th. It goes on to list elements of their existing divorce decree, asserting that Ms. Funches already receives more than $25,000 a month, plus full payment of her monthly mortgage, home maintenance and security, four cars, and insurance. He also paid all of her attorneys’ fees during the divorce.
Source: The Huffington Post, “Dwyane Wade’s Ex-Wife Siohvaughn Funches-Wade Speaks Out,” July 22, 2013
