It is no secret that actor Johnny Depp and actress Amber Heard
have settled their divorce case. It is also no secret that Heard
will be receiving $7 million dollars in the divorce settlement. The
parties were married for 18 months (3 months of which they were
separated). This may seem like a lot of money for a relatively
short marriage, but given Heard's charitable intent to donate
the $7 million, many would say give her more!
From the perspective of a family law practitioner, divorce is
difficult but settlement often is encouraged over litigation. Many
settlements are reached because both parties give up some of what
they feel they are entitled. In this case, for Heard, that may have
been agreeing to dismiss her domestic violence petition. Within
days of filing for divorce, Heard filed for and was granted a
temporary protective order against Depp. The final protective order
hearing was scheduled for August 17th, but prior to the hearing the
parties reached a divorce settlement in which Heard agreed to
dismiss her protective order petition.
Heard plans to donate the $7 million dollars she is receiving from
the divorce settlement to charity. Heard intends to use her
settlement to donate equally to two charities: 1) American Civil
Liberties Union; and 2) Children's Hospital of Los Angeles.
Among other legal services, the ACLU is dedicated to protecting
women from domestic violence and the Children's Hospital, where
Heard has volunteered, is dedicated to treating critically ill
children.
Because there was no final protective order hearing, whether the
abuse allegations were true or financially motivated can never be
known with certainty. No matter the reason, Heard's intent to
generously donate millions of dollars to charity is admirable and
it will go a long way toward helping victims of domestic violence
and children.
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