Tom Cruise/Katie Holmes divorce - Are 5 year marriage contracts legal?

[milhouse24]

Katie Holmes has filed for divorce from scientologist Tom Cruise after just a little over 5 years. 
This had led to speculation that there may have been a marriage contract with financial incentives per year and financial penalties for divorcing before 5 years. 
Tom Cruise may have been worried about his public image, so he wanted to guarantee at least a 5 year union, instead of a more embarrassing 1-2 year marriage. 

He may have agreed to a hefty marriage bonus after the 5 year mark.  I can understand why a rich person may want to protect their finances in the event of a short-term marriage.  He definitely does not want to lose Half his money if the marriage ends quickly.  But he also wants to give his wife a financial incentive to stay married to him despite potentially getting very little in a divorce due to the pre-nup. 

Do you think the pre-nup had a special 5 year bonus?  Do you think these 5 year escalation contracts are common for rich people?  How are these 5 year contracts organized? 

It makes Katie Holmes seem like a prostitute for staying in an unhappy marriage just for a 5 year million dollar bonus.  Do you think Tom was obligated to pay more if "he" was the one who decided to end the marriage first?  It seems unfair that Katie has to stay in the marriage, but what if Tom wanted to end it.  Or perhaps Tom just wanted to stay married forever, to have a beard to protect his image.

[Simfan34]

If you don't intend to stick together for life, don't get married. If this is true, I hope the two are charged with prostitution.

[milhouse24]

If you don't intend to stick together for life, don't get married. If this is true, I hope the two are charged with prostitution.

Well, without the 5 year pre-nup agreement, Katie Holmes may have been entitled to a 50-50 split of his fortune.  Pre-nups just promise what she gets in a divorce (with her getting more the longer she stays married).

[Paul Kemp]

Thank god for the sanctity of marriage!

[Holmes]

If you don't intend to stick together for life, don't get married. If this is true, I hope the two are charged with prostitution.

Things can happen during the marriage that might not make this possible. It's not as black and white as you think.

[Simfan34]

Of course, but you should be coming in with the hope and intention of permanence. To do otherwise is to make a far greater farce of marriage than any gay person.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

If you don't intend to stick together for life, don't get married. If this is true, I hope the two are charged with prostitution.

Um... on what grounds?

[John Dibble]

Not surprising this finally happened. From what I know about this she wasn't exactly thrilled about how Scientology was running her life. I hope she gets sole custody of the child.