Minnesota residents who are fans of actor Cuba Gooding Jr. may be interested to learn that the actor recently filed for divorce. Gooding Jr. had been married to his wife, whom he met while in high school, since 1994. The former couple has three children together — two sons and one daughter.
The divorce comes three years after the wife filed for legal separation. After filing for separation, the ex-wife cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split. During the time that the couple was separated, Gooding Jr. spoke on a talk show about how he was still officially married and wanted to rebuild the relationship. While he said that sometimes marriages take a break, he expressed that attempting reconciliation would be the right thing to do for the family. Gooding Jr. claimed that he took his wife out on a date during the separation.
In his recent divorce filing, 49-year-old Gooding Jr. requested joint legal and physical custody of his 10-year-old daughter. He also indicated that he is willing to make spousal support payments. The actor has requested that he be allowed to keep any income that he earned since the date that the ex filed for separation.
Married couples often separate before divorce paperwork is filed. Whether a separation was official or unofficial, the date of the separation may be important for property division negotiations in the divorce. An attorney may be able to help determine separate property from marital property so that the client can pursue a fair division of the marital assets.
Source: The Huffington Post, “Cuba Gooding Jr. Files for Divorce From Wife Of 20 Years Sara Kapfer,” Brittany Wong, Jan. 20, 2017