What Jennifer Lopez Filing for Divorce Without a Lawyer Really Means for Ben Affleck Legal Battle
Jennifer Lopez made a bold — and likely strategic — move when she filed for divorce from Ben Affleck without using a lawyer.
“She probably is sending a message that there’s not going to be a fight,” celebrity divorce attorney Chris Melcher exclusively told Us Weekly about Lopez’s decision.
“I believe that this is intentional to send a message that this will not be a fight,” he reiterated. In California, divorce proceedings are public record, so if Lopez and Affleck end up in a lengthy court battle, it would be thrust into the spotlight.
Will Fighting in Court Affect Their Reputation?
Melcher suggested that it would be “toxic to their brand if they were to fight in court.” Because of this, he believes that Lopez and Affleck might have “worked out most of these issues before going public with the filing.”
He continued, “This could be the first step that we are seeing as the public, but it could actually be one of the final stages of their divorce settlement.” Despite Lopez filing without legal assistance, she most likely had help from an attorney along the way.
Lopez and Affleck wed in July 2022 after rekindling their romance one year prior. The pair were previously engaged in the early 2000s before getting married to other people and welcoming children. Lopez shares twins Max and Emme with ex-husband Marc Anthony, while Affleck shares Violet, Seraphina, and Samuel with ex-wife Jennifer Garner.
Earlier this year, Affleck and Lopez sparked rumors of a split after fans noticed they hadn’t been seen together in 47 days. It was confirmed that Affleck had moved out of their joint Beverly Hills mansion, and he later purchased a new house in Los Angeles without Lopez. The duo didn’t celebrate their anniversary together last month.
Lopez’s Bold Move
Lopez filed for divorce in Los Angeles on Tuesday, August 20, handing in the paperwork herself instead of using counsel. While Lopez listed the date of separation as April 26, she waited until the two-year anniversary of her and Affleck’s Georgia wedding to file. The singer and the actor quietly wed in Las Vegas in July 2022 before throwing a larger wedding for friends and family in August 2022.
“The timing of the divorce was a big statement to Ben,” a source exclusively told Us after Lopez chose to sever ties with Affleck.
Melcher told Us that Lopez filing first doesn’t give her much of an advantage in the divorce. The “slight” leg up she received would be tied to “control of the speed of the case.”
Legal Insights
Melcher explained that if there were a trial, Lopez would get to speak first since she filed before Affleck. “The real benefit of filing first is to try to take the initiative and make it look like Jennifer’s the one who is deciding to end the marriage,” he continued. “But practically speaking, there can only be one petitioner and one respondent. So there is no such thing as a co-filing of divorce.”
He noted, “The attorneys and accountants would be in the background to assist the party in resolving everything, and the final step is filing for a divorce in these situations, because only a judge can terminate the marriage.”
He surmised that the actors “probably already agreed on the division of assets and we’ll see them show up sometime down the road with an agreed judgment of divorce.”
