(Us) - The Spousal Support
While Clarkson asked the court to enforce their prenuptial agreement and block spousal support, TMZ reports that he is seeking $436,000 a month —$301,000 in spousal support and $135,000 in child support — from the musician. He is also asking for Clarkson to pay his $2 million attorney fees.
Coparenting
Like several celebrity couples, Blackstock and Clarkson are expected to use Our Family Wizard to “share calendars and documents regarding the children, including “significant school events, doctors appointments and therapist appointments.”
Kelly’s New Music
It's likely fans will get more insight into their split while listening to Clarkson’s upcoming ninth album.
“This next record, this will probably be the most personal one I’ve ever released,” she teased during an interview on Sunday Today With Willie Geist in September 2020. “The whole record is basically every emotion you experience from the beginning of a relationship to the end of what it is now or where it is now. It’s been very therapeutic for me. It’s very honest.”
The Hardest Part
“It’s horrible. There are so many hard parts. The hardest for me is the kids. That’s the hardest for me,” Clarkson said on her talk show in December 2020. "I think as women we are trained … to take it all on and you can deal with it and you’re fine, but it’s your babies that you worry about.”
Work Drama
Us Weekly confirmed in December 2020 that the musician filed legal documents with the California Labor Commission in October, alleging that Brandon and his father Narvel’s Starstruck Management company defrauded her by charging her outlandish fees during her 13 years with the team. Clarkson claimed that her agreement with the management company was a “fraudulent and subterfuge device” that allowed her managers to perform “illegal services” as agents, which they were never licensed as in the state of California. The singer is seeking payment from all of the fees she paid out to the company over the years.
Firing Back
Us confirmed in January 2021 that Brandon filed a response to Clarkson’s claims of defraud in November 2020. In the petition, which was filed with the California Labor Commission, Brandon denied all of Clarkson’s claims and said she was not entitled to any money that he, his father or their company earned while working with her for 13 years.
Brandon’s attorneys argued that the father-son pair and their company are not subject to the Talent Agencies Act because they did not perform their duties in California. They also said that if Clarkson were to prove her claims of the pair performing “illegal services” as unlicensed agents in California, Brandon’s attorneys would argue that she can only claim commissions for one year prior to her October 2020 filing, based on the one-year statute of limitations in the Talent Agencies Act. Brandon asked that Clarkson’s petition be dismissed and that she pay for his attorney fees.
Making a Change
In documents obtained by Us in July 2021, Clarkson and her lawyer filed a motion for a separate trial to terminate her marital status. While Clarkson's divorce proceedings continue, she would be legally considered single. The paperwork also included a notice from the court that suggests that both parties meet to resolve the issues currently still pending in their divorce.
In the docs, Clarkson claimed she "has made good faith efforts to settle" while her estranged husband and his attorneys "have no intention of reaching a global settlement of this matter anytime soon."
"Irreconcilable differences have existed and continue to exist between [Brandon] and me, which have caused our marriage to irretrievably break down,” Clarkson wrote in the docs. “No counseling or reconciliation effort will be of any value at this time. There will be no prejudice to [Brandon] if our marriage is immediately dissolved. I have been attempting to reach a global settlement on this matter with [Brandon] since I led for divorce in June 2020. [Brandon] and I both deserve the opportunity to build a new life. Therefore, I am asking that my request to bifurcate and terminate marital status be granted."
Us confirmed in September 2021 that both Clarkson and Blackstock were declared legally single one month prior.
Spousal Support
Us confirmed in July 2021, a Los Angeles County Court has ruled that starting on April 1, 2021, the “Miss Independent” singer became required to pay Blackstock $150,000 per month in spousal support. According to court docs obtained by The Blast, Clarkson must pay the talent manager $45,601 per month in child support bringing the total owed to Blackstock each month to $195,601.
The Montana Ranch
Court documents obtained by Us in August 2021 revealed that Clarkson wanted to sell the Montana ranch that the couple shared during their marriage, but her request was denied. Blackstock has been living at the property, which according to the court costs $81,000 per month to maintain. The music manager is also planning a career change. During hearings in February and March, he testified that he plans to leave the entertainment industry to become a full-time rancher and rodeo sponsor.
"The evidence in this case shows that after the date of Separation, Respondent made a very deliberate choice to change his life and become a rancher full-time," the judge wrote in court documents filed in August. "He testified that he is not devoting any effort toward expanding his client list and music management business. ... Respondent has made a very deliberate choice, that he testified he planned for a long time, to significantly change his lifestyle from primarily working in the music and entertainment industry to working in an agriculture community and lifestyle involved in full-time ranch and cattle work."
The judge ordered that Blackstock must pay the maintenance costs associated with the ranch. If he fails to do so, Clarkson can file another motion to sell the property.
That same month, Clarkson was granted most of the couple’s assets, including the Montana ranch where Blackstock was residing at the time.
The performer filed an objection later that month to clarify the ownership division of the Montana properties. According to legal documents obtained by Us, the prior order referred to all of the properties as the Montana Ranch, but there were, in fact, four separate properties.
Two of the properties have Clarkson listed as the only owner, but under the premarital agreement the "ownership is based on capital contributions," meaning based on who put in more money into each property.
Finalizing Things
According to August 2021 court docs, Clarkson and Blackstock’s “marital or domestic partnership status” will end on January 7, 2022.
A New Judge
During a November 2021 hearing, a privately compensated temporary judge was appointed to hear the estranged couple’s divorce proceedings, according to the court docs obtained by Us.
By Sarah Hearon
